Читать книгу Cool Camping - Laura James - Страница 13

essentials tents

loitering within tent

Technology and design have moved on massively and leaky, cold tents are a thing of the past. Tents are now pretty cool places in which to hang out.

Tents come in all shapes and sizes, from the very small and inexpensive to luxury versions with multiple bedrooms and space for everything, including the kitchen sink. Tents offer a compact and cost-effective means of camping. It’s important, though, that you choose a tent that best serves your needs and that you put it up properly. The weather can change really quickly and you need to ensure your tent offers you proper protection and will withstand the elements.

With tents, as with many things in life, you get what you pay for. Having said that, it makes no sense to spend a fortune on a tent if you’re not sure if you’re going to like camping. Larger camping shops have a good selection and staff who will be able to advise on the right tent for you. Whichever tent you go for, it’s a good idea to practice putting it up at home before you take it away for the first time. Manufacturers’ instructions can be a bit of a nightmare to follow and forget about trying to put it up for the first time on site and in the dark or bad weather.

Second-hand tents can be a good idea if you’re on a tight budget or are unsure if you’ll enjoy camping. Local papers, eBay and army surplus stores are good places to hunt out bargains. If you can get hold of an old-fashioned Scouts or army tent made from proper canvas, then you’ll have loads of space.

When you get to a temporary oasis, choose where you think you want to pitch your tent and sit on the grass for ten minutes. This is a useful exercise as it ensures it is indeed a good place to camp. Lie on the grass, too, and make sure it’s flat, even and comfortable.

The next step is to pitch your tent. If you’re a girl alone, you can always stand there batting your eyelashes and allow a knight in shining armour to do it for you. Whatever your tent looks like on the outside, you can make it gorgeous on the inside.

Picture credit: The North Face

The most important thing is comfort. As soon as your tent is pitched, decide what is going to go where and keep it meticulously tidy. If everything’s in its place, you won’t end up trying to find your torch in the pitch black or rolling over to find yourself putting your head on a pile of plates.

It’s best to decide where your bed is going to be positioned first. I can cope with anything as long as I have a good night’s sleep. But, if deprived of my full eight hours, even in the wilderness, I become impossible. Make sure you think about which way you want to face while sleeping. I like to have my feet facing the door, although at festivals it’s quite popular to sleep with your head close to the door, so you can chat to your neighbours. Make your bed and pile on the pillows.

Next, choose your kitchen area, somewhere for clothes and somewhere for the important things including the torch, matches and corkscrew, books and chocolate. I think this is important regardless of the size of the tent.

Picture credit: The North Face

Luxuries are an important part of tent life. Rugs are a must, for me at least. They can be heavy, though, so tricky if you’re hiking. Groundsheets have a horribly crackly, utilitarian feel and walking on rugs is much more comfortable. They also help to keep the tent warm at night.

It’s also vital to get the lighting right. Bright fluorescent torches are OK for walking to the loo at night, but in your tent you’ll want an altogether softer light. Gas lamps are good for this, as are the lanterns that take tea-lights, but obviously take care to avoid any fire hazards.

Most campsites allow you to have a sleeping tent and a pup tent on your pitch. These are usually very small tents, but can be useful for storage.

If you’re going camping with older children, they tend to love sleeping in their own tents. As long as it’s safe I think this should be strongly encouraged. It makes it more of an adventure for them and more peaceful for you.

tent tips

Picture credit: The North Face

Buy the best you can

Buy the best tent you can afford and never buy a tent without first having seen it up.

Hot advice…

If you’re camping somewhere you’re likely to get chilly, then line the base of your tent with a metallic safety blanket. Shiny side up, it’ll reflect your body heat back into the tent.

Look for funky colours

Tents are often made in rather uninspiring colours, but you can hunt out some pretty ones. Cath Kidston makes gorgeous patterned ones for Millets.

The joy of text

If you’re camping at a large campsite or festival, it’s a good idea to put a flag on your tent. Orange developed a tent that lit up when you sent it a text message. Sadly, so far no one has made it commercially.

Make it your own

If you want to customise your tent make sure you do it safely. Paint and hangings can damage the waterproofing. A helium balloon flying from the top is always rather sweet, as is bunting.

Be prepared

Check the weight of the tent before you buy it. If you’re travelling by car and can park right next to your pitch it’s not an issue. If you’re hiking up a large hill it most definitely is.

Keep bedding dry

Store your bedding in a bin bag to ensure that it doesn’t get wet when you’re making camp. There are few things as depressing as being out all day only to find yourself sleeping in a soggy bed when it’s time to turn in.

tent types

Frame

These are the most like a house. They’re large and you can walk around freely as there’s enough headroom. Usually they have a number of separate rooms.

Vis-a-vis

This means the tent has a bedroom at each side of the living area.

Pyramid

These are triangular in shape and are easy to erect because they have a central pole.

Ridge

Traditional triangular tents, which are sturdy and offer a lot of headroom. Their weakness is that the sides are unsupported.

Lightweight/dome

The most suitable tents for backpackers as they’re compact and aren’t heavy. Dome tents come in larger sizes for families or those who want to camp in a crowd.

Geodesic

These tents are similar to the dome variety, but because they have a different pole configuration they’re sturdier in high winds.

Hoop

These are like a cross between a ridge tent and a dome tent. They’re lightweight, spacious and are good in windy conditions.

Inflatables

An ingenious invention, as you don’t have to go through the palaver of erecting the tent, you simply blow it up with a foot pump.

Picture credit: The North Face