Camping essentials?

[Jomo]

My daughter, whose idea of ‘roughing it’ is a Four Star Hotel, has been persuaded by her cousin to go on a camping trip for 3 days.
As she has no camping experience and no camping gear, she is intending to purchase everything she needs.
They are driving to a remote state forest where the only amenities at the campground are some toilets.
Water is available from the river nearby.
It is midsummer. The weather is hot and rain has been frequent in recent months.
What should be on her list?
-Tent
-Air bed and pump
-Bedding
-Insect repellant
-Torch & batteries
-SPF 50 sunscreen (she is very fair and burns easily)
?

[pete9012S]

Great question Jomo!

A friend who camps regularly recommends this set up for the times in the night you don't want to trek to the toilets on site.




https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vivo-Technolog ... NrPXRydWU=


These portable stoves are great to cook on:



https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASAB-Portable- ... RydWU&th=1


I have included the amazon links, but I appreciate they may not work in your part of the world.

Regards

Pete

[Boatbuilder]

If, as you say Jomo, your daughter's idea of 'roughing it' is a four star hotel then it's quite possible she might hate camping after the experience. I would recommend trying to borrow all the things she needs for the first time. If she splashes out on all that gear, she may end up having to try and sell it later if camping is not her thing.

[Daisy]

Footwear should include waterproof boots - the dew is quite heavy in the morning. In the UK a pair of wellington boots was always a necessity at Guide camps. A waterproof coat or mac was always essential too!

[Hannah]

Probably a small detail but if she can't sleep when there is light I'd recommend a sleeping mask (something like this).

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's useful to take a few spare plastic bags of various sizes (bin bags, carrier bags and sandwich bags). They can be used for sitting on if the ground is damp, storing items to keep them dry, packing food to take on a hike, covering rucksacks to keep them and their contents dry in the rain, etc.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I've been looking through my Newnes Campers' Handbook from 1940. It assure me that a party of 2 going camping for the first time with a car needs to spend no more that Thirty Five Shillings on their equipment!

Here's my more modern thoughts - I assume they are driving to the camp-site and not carrying everything in a ruc-sac
Practice putting up the tent and using any other kit safely before leaving home!
Wellies are standard in UK, but if you don’t mind damp feet and are unlikely to get cold, flip-flops take up far less space.
Pack food into a strong plastic crate with a clip-on lid. It can double as a food prep area and table. A small melamine tray to fit inside the crate is also useful to stop things toppling over
Decant washing-up liquid into a tiny bottle (hotel complimentary shampoo bottle is good!)
Leaving bottles of water in a hot tent gives you warm water for washing hair
Pillows are bulky, so just take a pillow case and stuff it with spare clothes instead
Games for outside (frisbee) and inside (cards)
Wildlife identification book
Spare bog roll, matches, tin-opener, string and safety pins are always useful.
NEVER candles inside the tent!
Making a tripod and having a bowl at waist height makes so much difference when it comes to washing. Camping in a forest, I assume they’ll be able to find some fallen branches to make a tripod. If they don’t know knots, a botched job can often be sufficient for a few days. A round bowl is needed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9MRmw6-Gzk

Plan meals.
Eggs can be taken hard-boiled and suit any meal. No litter!
I like Weetabix for breakfast because they don’t take up much space.
Food that requires boiling water to hydrate would be useful; cous-cous, custard (with bananas), and when I once ran out of milk, I used water-mix Ovaltine on my Weetabix. Most delicious!
A lady in my shop once told me “Enid Blyton nearly killed me”. Her guide patrol had chosen the last night of camp for their midnight feast, and so stashed away in her kit-bag, ready for the occasion, was a pork pie.
I’m sure all Aussies know how to keep a bottle of milk cold, but if not… Put an inch of water into a container, place the bottle (or container with pork pie etc) and cover it with your damp face flannel or dish cloth. Part of the cloth should dangle into the water, which will keep it damp and cool.
The biggest disasters make the best stories afterwards…
Viv

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

Probably a small detail but if she can't sleep when there is light I'd recommend a sleeping mask (something like this).

A clean sock can suffice!

[IceMaiden]

Bug repellant. Definitely would be high on my list! Spider deterrent, wasp spray, tick remover - in that order.

Is anyone else sitting there like this > < at the thought of camping in the middle of January? It's freezing cold, icy, dark, damp and miserable - my mind just cannot imagine being comfortable in a tent when I can't even get comfortable in bed with the heating on .

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

Bug repellant. Definitely would be high on my list! Spider deterrent, wasp spray, tick remover - in that order.

and repellent for Heffalumps and Gruffalos!

[Fiona1986]

Field glasses
Rope (can be worn around the waist to save room in the backpack)
Intelligent and powerful dog
Propensity to fall into adventures

No wait, that's what the Famous Five pack, sorry.

[Boatbuilder]

Is anyone else sitting there like this > < at the thought of camping in the middle of January? It's freezing cold, icy, dark, damp and miserable - my mind just cannot imagine being comfortable in a tent when I can't even get comfortable in bed with the heating on .

Have you forgotten that Jomo's daughter is in Australia, Fiona, where it is the height of summer, or are you just thinking of camping in Scotland at this point in time?

We rarely have heating on in the bedroom, even at our age, and that's nothing to do with the current high fuel prices - just a comfort thing.

[Jomo]

I've been looking through my Newnes Campers' Handbook from 1940. It assure me that a party of 2 going camping for the first time with a car needs to spend no more that Thirty Five Shillings on their equipment!

That’s £350 in today’s money?

Great suggestions Viv!
Yes she’ll be going by car, so has room for a lot of camping gear -
I can’t see her leaving pillows at home
The hard-boiled eggs are a must.
As for keeping things cold for a day or two, an esky is a must have - freeze some bottles of water and put them in the bottom of the insulated box and you have fresh food refrigeration until the ice melts, then you have chilled water to drink.
Good tip for the warm water for washing!

[Jomo]

It's useful to take a few spare plastic bags of various sizes (bin bags, carrier bags and sandwich bags). They can be used for sitting on if the ground is damp, storing items to keep them dry, packing food to take on a hike, covering rucksacks to keep them and their contents dry in the rain, etc.

Absolutely essential, especially as the weather has been so unpredictable lately!

[Boatbuilder]

I've been looking through my Newnes Campers' Handbook from 1940. It assure me that a party of 2 going camping for the first time with a car needs to spend no more that Thirty Five Shillings on their equipment!

That’s £350 in today’s money?

A bit less than that, Jomo.



https://iamkate.com/data/uk-inflation/