Hi all,
We are complete novices when it comes to camping so please bear with me. Doing research now so that hopefully we can buy equipment and practice in the garden for next year. We hope to travel in Europe for 6-8 months, career break. Will drive and are hoping to use campsite for at least half of accommodation. Have literally never set up a tent! Would like a good quality tent with living space and cover for rain that is high enough to stand up in. I read great reviews about Outwell Montana 6P but think it may be too big and difficult to pitch. Would be really greatful for advice on all equipment we will need but especially the tent. Thank you and apologies for the essay. Angie
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Hello Angie and welcome. Your plan sounds great! I would suggest going down the cotton tent route considering the amount of time you may be camping in the sun. UV rays are a polyester tents worst enemy. Have a look at OBELINK OR HYPERCAMP to give you an idea of the styles available. Or perhaps a bell tent--really easy to put up and take down. There are a lot of fans of dutch tents on here (they will be along shortly ) and you could quite possibly be starting your european adventure in Holland.You could pick one up on the way!
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Obelink do have some great polycotton tunnel tents but they have reduced the number that they put on the UK version of their website. You need to get into the full version in Dutch to see the full range.
Also look at the Vango Rosewood, currently a great price in the Millets sale, but look elsewhere on the web for a better ‘walk through’ of its features.
What are your key priorities? Will you be pitching for 3+ nights at a time or lots of overnighters as you travel?
Budget conscious? If not look at the inflatable Karsten. There is a huge thread about them in the Tent board.
No worries about bulk and weight? A polycotton inflatable could work: easy to put up, but inflatable tents are much bigger and heavier to pack.
You can mitigate the effects of UV on a polyester tent with a tent roof, but if much of your time will be in the S part of Europe in the warmer months a poly cotton or cotton tent will be much more comfortable. But if you had a wet pack up you would need to get it out and dried again within about 3 days as they are more susceptible to mould than polyester.
May I suggest that after watching YouTube videos you purchase a second hand tent to pitch in your garden or lounge or even in the local park when the restrictions are relaxed more. This will give you an idea of how tents go together.
Next look at interval size and what furniture you'll have for these months. You can plan on space and how it could fit in with room to move around. Also look at ease of pitching and think about how often you'll be moving on. Also what the weather will be like over the whole time - so perhaps a cotton or polycotton material tent to keep you warm in cooler times and cool in hotter times. This will however mean you'll spend a lot more ££'s.
Thank you all for your very good advice. Cotton/ polycotton tents seem to be the best option. I think we would only camp in good weather so overheating in hotter summer months may be problem in manmade fibers. We will probably stay for a few days once tent is set up. We will mix camping with home exchange and perhaps b&b as we go along. Very much in early stages of planning. Hoping travel restrictions will have modified by next year. Uncertain times Thanks again. A:-)
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Yep Angie, the planning is all part of the fun, for hotel overnight stops in France at least, we always use the “Premiere Classe” budget hotels, last year we used five of them, and they averaged out at £30 per night including breakfast, and we would always book those with a Campanile hotel/restaurant in the same grounds so to get 15% discount of the evening meal should you choose to have one, in fact breakfast would some times be at the Campanile for the PC price, just more choice than what the PC breakfast offers.
“Premiere Classe” are great for an over night stop, we have used the others like B&B and Formule 1, these type of hotels are not everyone’s cup of tea, but they are often close to the autoroute and make for a hassle free stop over after a long days drive, which for us is usually between three and four hundred miles.
Back in the day, we would also pack a small back packing tent, and use campsites along the way, but that was long before these budget hotels came onto the scene.
When I started to go camping in 2005, I found the C&CC website had loads of useful information and advice.
My kit had evolved through the years based on changes in circumstances, needs and comfort level.
My final upgrade on my kit was in 2012, except for the tent which was upgraded in 2016, and am switching to a camper van later this year due to changes in circumstances again. It will be sad to part with some of them, like the SIMs, camp bed, the tent and the trailer, however, they will be surplus to requirement.
My advice would be not to go overboard with spending too much on equipment, to spend more on the tent by visiting as many tent shows and exhibitions as possible in person, making a list first of your wants and needs in a tent, such as size and height of the living area, number of berths (remembering the general guidance is n-1 for comfort where n is the number of berths as stated by the manufacturer), cooking preferences, types of camp sites and facilities required (e.g. EHU or no EHU), and how many seasons you are planning to camp, as the kit and tent for fine weather camping is different to the one for camping in the colder months.
Good luck, and enjoy the planning/buying processes.
DK
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Thanks so much for the warm welcome and the really welcome advice. We are very excited to be planning for embarking on this adventure. It will be a complete break away from standard living and regular jobs. Secretely, I am hoping if it works out well and we can rent out our house, we may extend the trip for a year or 2..... will see how it all works out but certainly the camping and stopovers in inexpensive hotelsas suggested by you Francais will make it all more affordable.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: New to camping advice
) and you could quite possibly be starting your european adventure in Holland.You could pick one up on the way!
via mobile 07/5/2020 at 8:23am
