After 2 weeks use at 4 campsites including one in the dunes in the Bay of Biscay my tent was looking distinctly wonky despite repairing 2 splitting pole sections with Elastoplast strip from my first aid kit. it had stood up to wind and torrential rain and survived. I will need to replace the 2 pole sections.
This was my Lichfield Apache 3 tent.
My North Face sleeping bag needs replacing, the outer casing is not so much tearing as shredding the filling is becoming compressed and less insulating and the string that is supposed to tighten the hood hasn't worked for 5 years. I think it may be 25 years old.
My free Waitrose coolbag worked really well as a larder keeping all the food in one place and fairly cool.
My Asda camp chair was rather comfortable causing me to sit reading my Kindle in the mornings. I should have bought the aluminium rather than the steel frame for lightness but it was so cheap and tempting.
My Camping Gaz propane/butane mix stove and lamp worked really well again and the resealable cans are much cheaper in French supermarkets than at Halfords.
My really cheap satnav scraped through although I couldn't see it in sunshine, needs replacing with something better. Was a little shocked when it said "Follow the road for 100 miles" then shut down for the next couple of hours.
I lost my toothbrush and had to buy a new one, asking for "To clean the teeth but isn't cream" at the Superette at Erdeven. Opposite the Superette is a kite shop named Extreme Vent, which translates to Extreme Wind which could be a medical condition.
We bought a electric coolbox from Aldi, but weren't expecting it to be brilliant in the heat in France, but it was great for chilling drinks and keeping non essentials such as salad chilled.
Our stove that we use with a double skillet as a BBQ was pretty useless when windy and really envied our neighbours cadac - time to upgrade!
We also ditched our awning and it made life so much easier. Just having the tent was fine, plenty of room. Not sure why the car was still so full though!
Apart from buying our 'new to us' folding camper, which was just THE best thing this year there have been several things that have worked well for us this year:
Proper camping loo to keep in the awning for night time 'necessities'
Electric hobs to cook on in the awning, ditto electric multicooker, saving on expensive Campingaz and maximising the EHU that we've paid for!
Drymat underlay for the beds in the folding camper, really keeps moisture away from the mattresses, as we discovered when one of them accidentally got folded back when moving campsites, the area that was unprotected got damp the first night until we found it and put the drymat back where it should be!
Memory foam mattress toppers, never been so comfortable camping, almost as good as at home!
2016 has been a great year purchase wise, and hoping that will continue for the rest of the year camping wise, can't wait to get away again now!
Jane.
------------- Enjoying life beyond kids, new love, living on a boat and a new lease of life in my mid 50s! Never too old to reinvent yourself.....
Mum to five - 4 girls, 31,28,25 and 22 and one boy, 20
Engaged! Wedding June 2020!
# We bought a Safari Chef 2 to replace both our portable charcoal BBQ and to let us do English breakfasts outdoors (caravanners for two years but previously tenters for 20, old habits die hard)
# Since I have a cordless drill for steadies, bought some screw-in rock pegs. Absolutely brilliant and a joy to extract.
No disasters to report, except three days off-grid flattened my battery because I was using stuff as though I was hooked up. Learning curve ... :-)
------------- Camping Gear expands so as to fill the space available for its transportation.
We bought a gadget from the caravan show at the nec last year that would supposedly give us an internet connection anywhere. it doesn't. it's crap
We also bought a fiamma caravanstore second hand from gumtree which is brilliant. It's currently in France on its third trip away, although currently it's attached to my parents caravan, because they've decided that they prefer it to an awning as well
------------- Doing whatever the rice krispies tell me to.
After using a Cadac for years, I bought a Lotus Grill BBQ and I love it! It takes up less space, is easier to clean and it is proper charcoal, which is ready to use in less than five minute Since!
We also bought a small pop up tent from Decathlon so my son had his own space, and we didn't have to make up the dinette each night. It is quick to put up and take down. However, I initially bought a 'Fresh and Black' model, which was too dark for him, so had to buy another one when we were away! Anyone want a nice two man tent?!
A Vango carpet for the bedroom of my Nevada M. I already had a carpet in the living area but thought i'd try the bedroom too. This felt quite luxurious under bare feet and was good when the wee lad slid off his SIM.
A 100ltr duffel bag. This is great for chucking lots of stuff in and making things easier to find (rather than a few smaller bags in the boot of the car).
A Thermarest compressible pillow. I hurt my shoulder a while ago and sleeping the time before last was tricky but the new pillow was good on my last trip.
My tent 'hack' worked well... joining up two inner tents to make a bigger room: I sewed them together then cut out the mid section and finished the edges - And made a breathable window in the bedroom door with roll-up panel.
Very pleased and wished i'd done it before...
------------- Camping - emotional resilience in action, a triumph of hope over adversity and antidote to virtual reality.
Filling a large Thermos flask with boiling water for the endless cups of tea. Saves gas by reducing the amount of times having to boil up a kettle.
Putting the (non electric) coolbox in the shade of the surrounding hedges during the day to help keep contents even cooler.
Done this for years - washing/showering paraphernalia stored in a supermarket Bag for Life. One each for me and my OH. keeps it tidy in the tent and so easy to take to the shower block.
The rotary washing line. Even fits under the porch (just) of the Edoras so could still dry things when it was dull/rainy.
My backlit e-reader - happy bedtime reading without fighting with a torch and keeping my OH awake.
Filling a large Thermos flask with boiling water for the endless cups of tea. Saves gas by reducing the amount of times having to boil up a kettle."
campasarow (love your username!) exactly that, we do the same, and have a 1.5l thermal jug which will keep hot all day, not only do we drink a lot of tea, its useful to add some hot water to the washing up bowl in our camper to wash up a few bits without boiling the kettle for hot water.
Jane.
------------- Enjoying life beyond kids, new love, living on a boat and a new lease of life in my mid 50s! Never too old to reinvent yourself.....
Mum to five - 4 girls, 31,28,25 and 22 and one boy, 20
Engaged! Wedding June 2020!
We invested in a Kampa Sabre Link strip light for our tent and it's been amazing! Gives off brilliant light in stages that go up in percentages, we usually had it on only 20% which was perfectly ample but could turn it up for reading. Comes with a remote so great that you can get into bed and then turn it off! Not particularly cheap but the best lighting we've ever had.
At the other end of the scale I bought an elasticated washing line off ebay, didn't use it much as a washing line but hung it along the side inside the tent and put my kitchen roll, lamp and tea towel on it!
------------- May/June - Spring Valley
Aug/Sept - Leekworth
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: What worked well (or not) this year?
there have been several things that have worked well for us this year:
