Backpacking/camping abroad

[Moscow Mule]

What is it with tents and their packed volume missing a dimension? I'm also wondering whether that volume area includes long bits, such as poles?

Normally they come in tube shaped bags. Unless they are giant 5 person things - in which case they come in a suitcase.

And yes, they do normally include the poles - they will be fibreglass sections with elastic inside at that price range.

[doodab]

Anyone been camping abroad recently? After a recent ultra sleeping rough holiday (not even taking a tent or sleeping bag, just skulking about at night looking for a place to lay down for the night in normal clothes), I've been thinking about going upmarket and buying a tent and a sleeping bag. Hotels are horribly expensive for the price of a bed, and are pretty grotty too. I might face paying for a camp site though, but if not a tent will make nights less long and unhealthy. Jesus, the places I kipped were rough. My feet are also covered in blisters from all the wandering about looking for places to kip.

Ideally I'd like all equipment to fit into one bag that can be carried as cabin luggage, to save on the extra cost of using the cargo hold. Then holidays, with Ryanair, could be more in the £100 bracket rather than £hundreds. Anyone got any experience of this? I do know some tents fold up into a compact size and are light weight.

We warned you about those primark trainers

Quite a lot of places won't let you put up a tent willy nilly, you'll need to use a proper campsite. You may find that these are booked up well in advance so it's hard to be spontaneous and just turn up somewhere and pitch your tent. You will also find they are full of Germans drinking beer and being loud until 2am.

[TimberWolf]

Normally they come in tube shaped bags. Unless they are giant 5 person things - in which case they come in a suitcase.

And yes, they do normally include the poles - they will be fibreglass sections with elastic inside at that price range.

So the real packed dimensions will be too big to fit into an airline cabin bag (55cm * 40cm * 20cm)?

[fckvwls]

Anyone been camping abroad recently? After a recent ultra sleeping rough holiday (not even taking a tent or sleeping bag, just skulking about at night looking for a place to lay down for the night in normal clothes), I've been thinking about going upmarket and buying a tent and a sleeping bag. Hotels are horribly expensive for the price of a bed, and are pretty grotty too. I might face paying for a camp site though, but if not a tent will make nights less long and unhealthy. Jesus, the places I kipped were rough. My feet are also covered in blisters from all the wandering about looking for places to kip.

Ideally I'd like all equipment to fit into one bag that can be carried as cabin luggage, to save on the extra cost of using the cargo hold. Then holidays, with Ryanair, could be more in the £100 bracket rather than £hundreds. Anyone got any experience of this? I do know some tents fold up into a compact size and are light weight.

Geez, you contract for this?

[TimberWolf]

We warned you about those primark trainers

Quite a lot of places won't let you put up a tent willy nilly, you'll need to use a proper campsite. You may find that these are booked up well in advance so it's hard to be spontaneous and just turn up somewhere and pitch your tent. You will also find they are full of Germans drinking beer and being loud until 2am.

I was thinking of a stealth type tent. i.e very small, just big enough to sleep in. And olive coloured. So nip behind some bushes in the dead of night and reappear before dawn. But a cheap campsite would be first choice, to avoid the skulking about at night part and to save on foot leather (or plastic). Another alternative is to use a bivvi bag, but that would look weird at a campsite, where you're often paying for a relatively large pitch and parking space. I gather.

[gingerjedi]

We've got 2 man pop-up that we used to take to festivals/short weekends, we probably wouldn't have bothered camping as much if it wasn't so easy to put up.

Planning on getting one of these for next season now the nipper is older.

Useless for anyone on foot unless you don't mind looking like TMNT.

[gingerjedi]

I was thinking of a stealth type tent. i.e very small, just big enough to sleep in. And olive coloured. So nip behind some bushes in the dead of night and reappear before dawn. But a cheap campsite would be first choice, to avoid the skulking about at night part and to save on foot leather (or plastic). Another alternative is to use a bivvi bag, but that would look weird at a campsite, where you're often paying for a relatively large pitch and parking space. I gather.

This one folds into a 56cm flat disc, you ain't gonna get one much more compact or easier to put up.

[TimberWolf]

This one folds into a 56cm flat disc, you ain't gonna get one much more compact or easier to put up.

It looks like a baseball cap!

[gingerjedi]

It looks like a baseball cap!

An no point on your requirements list did you specify that the tent shouldn't look like a baseball cap.

[doodab]

How does this work exactly?

How long do these holidays last? Are we talking Saturday night or weeks at a time? How do you wash? How do you eat? What sort of places are you going? What do you do when you are there?