Camping

[Hedgetrimmer]

With the progress of the new year, I thought it might be useful to start a thread on camping kit, tips and advice to help those who might be considering it for a first time, and also for more experienced people who are always looking to improve on their kit and technique for this hobby that often seems inextricably linked to the biking experience.
 We have recently had a new thread on bivvys and bashas, but this method of stripped-down-to-bare-essentials won't be for everyone, although no reason why it shouldn't also be included here. My intention is for anyone with experience to be able to contribute their thoughts, kit reviews and suggestions, but also for would-be and novice campers to ask any questions they might have on the best kit and general how-to stuff.
My personal experience comes from first camping trips with my parents at a young age, car and trailer loaded up with everything including the kitchen sink, to weekend bike rallies and events, to longer bike tours, and also backpacking trips from a week to 2 months duration, using everything from cheap, heavy Millets gear, to light weight and expensive designed-for-purpose kit, developed by companies such as Rab, Vaude, MSR, Western Mountaineering, Mountain Equipment etc etc.
I have found that purpose designed backpacking and outdoors-pursuits items often transfer very well to bike-based camping trips, as the kit is often light, packs down small, and much is multi-purpose, further reducing the load you need to carry, and so allowing your bike to handle better when packed, and being far easier to organise with less specialist biking luggage, which can also be very expensive of course.
However, I think that we should consider here all price ranges, with their attendant advantages and disadvantages, because of course, not everyone who does the odd camping weekend will be interested in spending major bucks for kit that may only be used once or twice a year.

So, if you have a tent, or camping stove, or air mattress or whatever that you have found to be a great buy, or you want to get it off your chest about how crap it was and should be avoided; if you have a query about how to decide where to pitch your tent when the options seem limited; if you want to know what hydrostatic head is, and how it could be useful to you when choosing a tent; if it's pretty much anything to do with camping/bivvying in the great outdoors, why not pop it in here and help to build a shared knowledge-base for all Foccers - then, next time you go to a big bike meet where a tent is a requirement, you'll be able to laugh at all the other hapless goons who make a pigs ear of it all, without fear of being in that category yourself!

[andybesy]

Ohh yes please! I'm planning a tour of Scotland in May and although I've done a lot of touring it'll be my first time camping with the bike so this thread will be useful.

I'm going wild camping and so the plan is pretty much just to pitch up where looks nice and live simply for a couple of days, then move on somewhere else.

Lots of research going on at the moment but I'd like to make outdoor cooking a bit of a feature of the trip and so any advice in that respect would be great. 

I think I've settled on a Coleman duel fuel camping stove which runs on unleaded:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coleman-1-Burner-Sporter-Liquid-Stove/dp/B0009PUQAU

I'd like to use it to make a brew a few times a day, as well as cooking breakfast and dinner.

Ideally I'd like to do a fry up English breakfast in the morning and another meal in the evening.

Can anyone confirm if the stove is up to the job or not? Good choice?

How do you store fresh food like sausages, bacon and eggs? Coldbag good for a couple of days? I'd rather not have to go to civilisation everyday as it's at odds with the wild camping live simply adventure theme.

Any suggestions for nice meals I can cook in the evening which can be done practically on just the one burner?

I know I can survive on freeze dried or boil in the bag but where's the fun in that?!

Andy

[Mattsplat]

Ive found that the tent is almost the least important thing and you dont need to spend big bucks on one either. I have everything from one man tunnel tents to massive family pop up tents, about 5 at the last count 

The one man tunnel tent (coffin) is my least favourite. Claustrophobic, nowhere to put your gear, cant sit up, condensation, have to undress and dress outside. Basically its a glorified bivvy with poles so I tend to use my bivvy if its summer and Im 'sneaky' camping somewhere.


The two man tent is a Colemans, I paid less than £50 for it and its my best 'biking' tent. Room to get my gear on and off inside, you can leave your boots in the space between the tent and the doorway. Packs down to less than 5kgs and is about the same size as my matress.


I said the tent is almost the least important thing because a tent doesnt give you a good nights sleep, thats the job of the sleeping bag and matress.
Matresses - To me, this is the most important camping item, if you have a uncomfortable night, your next days riding isnt fun. You can go from basic foam mat (not comfortable/little insulation from the ground, not recommended).

To expedition matresses that you can sleep on snow with and thick enough that you can sleep on your side without waking up with shoulder and hip pain.

As with everything, with matresses, you get what you pay for. Ive spent enough uncomfortable nights camping to realise when your awake at 3am, cold and uncomfortable, youll pay anything to be warm and comfy, so if you intend to camp fairly often, spend the money upfront!

Sleeping bags - The biggest item you will carry on the bike. Never trust the temp rating of your sleeping bag, the manufacturers always give an optimistic rating, I add 5° to whatever they rate it to and that seems about right. So if you expect your night time camping temp to be 5°, make sure your sleeping bag is rated to 0°, then youll stay warm.
If you want to be cheap and boost your bags temp rating, buy a silk sleeping bag liner. It folds up to nothing, keeps the inside of your bag clean and adds a few degrees of temperature.

Cooking - Unless your going to be away for weeks, dont bother with a multifuel stove, its big and smelly. For rallies or a week or so away, a small micro gas stove is more than adequite and packs away small.

Take a seat!
Nothing worse than cooking on your knees on grass and not being able to sit down and have a brew.

Im sure I'll think of more things to add later 

[knoxy]

Buy a tent strap it to the back put your clothes and sleeping bag in a bin liner and fuck off
 
its so simple

[Mattsplat]

Cooking utensils - I use a Trangia kit. All the pans fold into one, including a kettle and pack fairly small.

Without doubt, the biggest waste of money is a titanium knife and fork set. A normal fork and spoon will be more than enough, add a Leatherman knife for hacking your meat up and your good to go.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Hi Andy

Haven't yet done any wild camping in Scotland, but one thing to be aware of is MIDGIES!! In May you might be ok if the weather hasn't started to warm up properly by then, but if it has, they will be a scourge! Especially if you camp anywhere near water: burns, lochs, rivers etc. Our Scots foccers will know a bit more about when they start to become a problem, but I would strongly recommend Avon Skin So Soft as a repellent - it works, and you won't smell like a chemicals factory all day. A lot of places in Scotland will point you to it when you ask for an insect repellent. I went to a garage, for instance, at the top of the Loch Leven loop on the main road, and they had it on the counter there.

The Coleman stove you linked to wouldn't be my choice. In fact, I wouldn't use anything requiring petrol, although I note it's dual-fuel. You can get some good little meths burning stoves if you're in to using liquid fuels, although these can be equally hazardous, especially as you can't see a meths fire - the flame is nigh-on invisible. No, personally, for UK use, I'd stick with the usual gas canister type. There are very few places in the UK where canisters won't be available, and if you're heading to somewhere particularly remote, you can always stock up on an extra canister before you go. I find a small canister will last anything up to a week.

I currently have an MSR Pocket Rocket gas stove, which is small and light and fits neatly in the little container provided with it. It has a very powerful jet which also adjusts down to a nice gentle flame when you want to avoid burning stuff on the bottom of a pot. I have also used a Fly-Ti titanium one - ultra light and compact, but I had a problem with the collar that the canister screws on to coming loose - different expansion rates of the body and brass collar I suspect.

Also consider using a heat shield to fit around the stove - keeps wind out and heat in and makes the gas go much further. You can buy purpose designed ones, but personally I've made them myself out of extra strong kitchen foil, which will last a few days, or my current one I made from the bottom of one of those thick foil turkey roasting tins you can get in supermarkets. When not in use, I just wrap it around my cooking pots, keeping things nice and compact and helping to keep the kitchen stuff together. It's high enough that it also helps in preventing me from knocking a pot over whilst in use.

I've used boil-in-the-bag meals, and there are actually some quite good ones out there. I can't remember my preferred brand, but I'll find a link later if I can. But they're expensive, and even the larger sizes don't provide huge helpings. The breakfast ones in the particular range I'm thinking of are pretty good though. I'm pretty lazy on the food front myself, and can't be bothered with fry-ups and the like, so I'll leave it to someone else to give you more on this. I'll sometimes just buy a can of beans & sausages for breakfast, and the other thing I've used is sachets of oatmeal to which you only add water and heat; they already contain milk powder - although I haven't seen these in a little while, not everywhere does them.

You'll probably want a water filter if you're staying away from civilisation for a bit though and again, I'll find you a link to the one I use if I can. Also, take at least 3 litres worth of foldable water storage containers. Then you can filter enough water when you settle down in the evenings for all your cooking requirements then and in the morning - brews, cooking, washing up etc. If it's pissing down when you first wake up in the morning, you'll want a nice hot brew before you get out of the tent!

Here's the water filter I use - you can then get your water from any clear source and not worry about what bugs may be floating around in there:

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/bushcraft/PA101.html

Photos
1. MSR Pocket Rocket stove
2. Full cooking set up (+ another 1 and a half litre water bottle and water filter)
3. Mountain Equipment air mattress, Vaude Power Lizard UL tent, Western Mountaineering Summerlite goose down sleeping bag, Rab silk bag liner.
4. All my kit, including clothing for a week pretty much packs into this luggage, and is not at all heavy.

[Mattsplat]

Looks like Im not the only one who is serious about camping Nick 

[Hedgetrimmer]

Looks like Im not the only one who is serious about camping Nick 

Well Matt, Knoxy has a good point too about stripping it down to basics - when you're pissed and stoned in the middle of a muddy field at a bike rally, you probably won't notice the rain much - been there, done that too 
But camping has become more of a hobby in itself than that for me, what with all the backpacking I used to do too - then you HAVE to think carefully about your kit, cos you've got to lug it all about with you up mountainsides etc, in all weather - it'd better be light, and it'd better work when you need it.
As said in my opening post here though, anybody that's done any kind of camping can contribute here, not everyone has the same ideas, as already shown, and the more variation we get here, the more likely that a novice can go, well, he thinks like me, so I'll pay more attention to his way of doing it. If you see what I mean. 

[Phil]

Normally I advise not bothering with camping on tours, go for cheap B&Bs/hotels. But seeing as I'm being made redundant I'll doing the camping thing. I had planned to go to Croatia this year for a 2 week trip, but now I'll have loads of time. 

I've done loads of camping before over the years, but nothing too recent. The last time I camped with the bike was WSB at Brands years ago when at the bottom of Paddock Hill bend a new pond appeared. The pits flooded too, so did the campsite where about 1/3rd of the tents were sitting in water. I gave up bike/camping after that.

I have bought a load of kit to replace my older,  larger items.

All this I've fitted into a 46l topbox:

Tent - http://www.nevisport.com/pr/8958/hoolie-2  - packs down to 42cm x 15cm
Its a lot smaller than my current 2 man dome tent, but as there is only me I'm not too bothered.

Sleeping bag - http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-ultralite-600-sleeping-bag-p196171 - packs down to 20cm x 17cm (4.5L). I was going to get a Nitestar 350 as they looked good VFM, but when you compare the size when packed down, due to different materials and also a tighter fit,  it was a no brainer.  Twice the cost though.

Stove - I pondered about this for ages, but went for a petrol one rather than gas. You can get some really small gas stoves but finding fuel might be difficult in some places. http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/coleman-sportster-2-camping-stove-p118560
At least I will be carrying a 17l fuel tank at all times.

Pans - http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/107901-vango-non-stick-cook-kit-2-person.html . I could have gone smaller with the 1 person set, but the frying pan might not be big enough for an egg 

All that fits into the top box comfortably, and isnt too heavy either.  I can fit in my puncture repair kit, wd40, chain lube, toolkit around it.

I might also get some tarpaulin to go under the tent http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ECONOMY-TARPAULIN-TARP-LIGHTWEIGHT-WATERPROOF-GROUND-SHEET-COVER-GREAT-VALUE-/400270626376

The sleeping mat, one of those self inflating ones when you roll them out like this one,  http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-explorer-5cm-sleeping-mat-p143981, Top it up with air after. That will go in a kit bag with my clothes strapped to the pillion seat on the grab rails. I was thinking of getting some new throw over panniers, but the bag should suffice.

I wouldn't mind going on a mini trip away to test it all out,  but not to keen on the weather at the moment tbh 

This is a useful website for camping in Europe.  http://en.camping.info/campsites eg Lake Bled in Slovenia - €7.52 a night. Germany/Austria/Belgium/Luxembourg etc are more expensive, €10-€20 a night but will be better equipped than the €5 ones in Montenegro/Romania.   They seem expensive in Croatia, but I've only had a quick look so haven't found any cheaper ones. There seems to be a cheaper mini-camping market where people with a bit of spare land on their farms/hotels etc offer cheap basic camping, just toilets and showers, no bar/kiddies creche/swimming pool etc
 

[Phil]

I think I've settled on a Coleman duel fuel camping stove which runs on unleaded:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coleman-1-Burner-Sporter-Liquid-Stove/dp/B0009PUQAU

I'd like to use it to make a brew a few times a day, as well as cooking breakfast and dinner.

Ideally I'd like to do a fry up English breakfast in the morning and another meal in the evening.

Can anyone confirm if the stove is up to the job or not? Good choice?

How do you store fresh food like sausages, bacon and eggs? Coldbag good for a couple of days? I'd rather not have to go to civilisation everyday as it's at odds with the wild camping live simply adventure theme.

Any suggestions for nice meals I can cook in the evening which can be done practically on just the one burner?

I know I can survive on freeze dried or boil in the bag but where's the fun in that?!

Andy

I've bought one of those Coleman stoves, so I hope they are good. I've boiled a pan of water ok so far

Food wise I'm going to take salt, pepper, dried mixed herbs, then buy every day or 2. Otherwise you could end up carting around loads of heavy bulky foodstuffs. 
I did a 3 week windsurfing trip to Sardinia a few years ago. I slept in my van. I had a cooler box plugged into the fag lighter slot but that only works with the engine going. Thinks like butter, milk etc lasts 1 day before going off or melting.
I think rice probably has the best calorie to cc ratio. At a push, rice + cup-a-soup = risotto

[ajmes1]

Similar to you nick, My first camping experiences started young with regular camping holidays (at least 2 a year) with everything we could fit into a huge trailer!


I've only just started camping on the bike, but so far love it. I invested in a slightly larger tent that would probably be best as a base rather than one to take somewhere different every night! But the best investment so far is a couple of decent sleeping bags for me and the mrs that pack up small. My 2p here is essentially get the warmest sleeping bag you can afford, you can always unzip it if it gets too warm!


Biggest lesson so far though is don't let your mrs choose the tent, you'll end up chasing it across the field when you try and put it up as it's an inner first. SO not only have you chased it across the field, it's also P**s wet through!!!!! Definately go with a fly sheet first tent.


I saw someone mention tangias. While Nothing against them, I think for the price you can get slightly better separate pans and burner, as when I used trangias on DofE they took an age to boil 0.5l of water! (and burnt the sausages =[)


Good idea with the thread though, and i think as camping season progresses It will be popular!

[limax2]

I'm a fan of the Coleman stove when motorcycle camping. Used it many times. Lots of heat so really quick at making a brew etc. Bit bulkier than some others but having the fuel in your bike tank means you don't have to carry spare gas canisters. To fill it I have a length of small flex tube and a small syringe, like you get for filling printer ink cartridges, to get a siphon going. All goes in one box.

[Phil]

To fill it I have a length of small flex tube and a small syringe, like you get for filling printer ink cartridges, to get a siphon going. 

I bought a 1m length of 6mm tubing from B&Q. Put most of it into the tank, put your finger over the end, then take most of it out and when the end with petrol in the tube is below tank level you are ready to stick it into the stove and it will start siphoning. I think I will get an interim container and siphon into that first. Petrol is a bit smelly though.
I had a failure with a gas canister seal once. Having a 1/4 of a can of gas escaping out was a bit scary, it was a good job the stove wasn't hot.

[Kosmic Kartman]

Tent wise I'd recommend one of these. Like a tardis but packs up really small for on bike stowage. I've had mine for about ten years. It's been used pretty regularly and has never let me down. It's been up on the top of the Yorkshire moors in some horrendous weather and still kept me nice and dry. Fully erected in less than five minutes once you get the hang of it.

http://www.khyam.co.uk/detail.asp?p=335

For out door living these jetboil kits are the mutts nuts. The burner is good enough to rustle up a fry up in the morning. We use them at out arb shows, when not drinking beer.

http://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products-page/miscellaneous/outdoor-living/cooking-systems/

This is also a natty little gadget. I'm a fire starter.

http://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products-page/miscellaneous/things-you-didnt-know-you-needed/light-my-fire-firesteel-fire-starter/

I always take a one man first aid kit and a bag of this... Haven't had to use yet (touches wood)

http://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products-page/celox/first-aid-kits-knifes1/celox-emergency-hemostatic-agent/

If your traveling by bike take the usual stuff. Tyre repair kit, can of instant tyre weld and a few self tappers (various sizes).

Roll mat or self inflating mat.

[esetest]

I did my first biking/camping trip  in Scotland last August at the ripe old age of 48 , I decided to use Fort William as a base and stayed at the Glen Nevis site which has excellent facilities , i rode out and back from there rather than stay in different places and take down and put up a tent every day .
I took a 3 person tent with a porch area which was great for storing my kit , a self inflating roll mat and a good sleeping bag which goes down to -15 , all this fitted in the hein gericke roll bag and was secured to the rentec rack with bungees and a cargo net , I also wrapped my motorcycle cover around the roll bag , which kept the bag dry and in case of heavy rain overnight kept the water out the electrics .
As I was out on the bike all day and having my meals in the site pub I only used the tent to sleep in , I camped for 4 nights , if I was gonna stay longer I would want a bigger tent ( standing room ), a duvet ,  and a decent inflatable mattress ( any recommendations ) . Although I took insect repellent I was lucky and didn't see any midges .
I am planning to go to Scotland again this year taking the cage and the missus , so I will be buying a bigger tent , and a camping stove ( recommendations ) , it will be the wife's first camping experience .
I am also planning to spend a long weekend biking/camping in Snowdonia /N. Wales , so will take the smaller tent there .

[Hedgetrimmer]

My general guide for what size tent you want is:

If it says one man = very pokey
              two man = one man
              three man = two man etc.

Remember if you're camping with the bike, you may well want to keep some of your bike kit in the tent at night too, especially if you don't have a top box/hard panniers.

Fly sheet up first is definitely the way to go. Means you can be in shelter very quickly, fit the inner later when the weather has improved.

The tent I use most is this one:

http://www.vaude.com/en-GB/Products/Gear/Tents/Power-Lizard-SUL-1-2P-green.html

I actually paid less than £300 for mine - I know, still pretty expensive, but I judged it to be the most suitable for what I wanted it for, and it has performed really well. It comes with titanium wire pegs, but I've added some titanium V stakes for good measure. Silnylon, so totally waterproof, lightweight mesh inner, like silk, room enough in the porch bit (just) to cook without setting the tent on fire, and plenty of room to get all my kit, including bike gear, inside at night. I'm 6' 2'' and can stretch out full length in it with space to spare. Very high hydrostatic head on the groundsheet (i.e. very waterproof). The inner goes up in one with the outer, but can be detached to use outer only. The inner can also be tensioned independently from the outer to a degree.

Sleeping bag is this:

http://www.westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm?section=products&page=Sleeping%20Bags&cat=ExtremeLite%20Series&ContentId=69

I'd say it was a 3 season bag, i.e. warm enough on it's own for everything except winter temps, somewhat too warm for mid summer really, but then I unzip it all the way and use it like a duvet, or use just a silk liner. Goose down, packs down pretty small, much smaller than an equivalent warmth synthetic bag. Pertex equivalent outer shell, water resistant. The downside of down bags (excuse the crappy pun) is that if they do get wet, they take forever to dry out again, but all in all, I prefer them. Don't let them get wet in the first place, is the easy answer!

[gassitt]

Tent
VANGO Equinox/Omega 350   3 Man tunnel tent , light, packs up small, plenty room for 2 and all gear plus roomy porch for inclement weather sitting/boozing.Have had the Equinox for years and its never let us down but is getting a bit tired so now use the Omega its recent replacement .Dont be tempted by the lower price Beta , similar tent but not as trick ,heavier and larger pack

Sleeping bags
North Face Pyrenees , excellent combination of small pack and warmth

Mattresses
Pacific Outdoor Compact Ether  superlight and very small pack.  recently got  Multimat Camper Air similar pack size but a bit heavier Both inflateable and much smaller and lighter than foam ones plus double up as a bodyboard when camping near the beach

Pillows
One posh one from Blacks and one cheap one from Aldi , both inflateable,  fold up small and tuck easily in the front pocket of the panniers( where the useless waterproof covers live)

Couple of cheap Kagoul type things so as not be walking about in the rain getting bike gear wet

All the above packs easily into an Ortlieb 49 litre Rackpack and straps onto a Rentec rack on a 600

Stove and pans
Coleman F1 Lite , known as turbo stove , boils a litre brew pot in no time and has cooked Confit Canard, Merguez, full english countless times no bother at all . Vango cook kit 2 pans and Aldi camping cutlery , kind of clip together set with all you need . Collapsible mugs, cant remember the name Stove and cutlery fit into the pan set and mugs sit on top ,the whole lot sits easily in the tank bag.Always cook proper food or eat out, to use boil in the bag shite in Europe is just wrong!!!!!!!

Got gadgets too just to make the camping experience more homely, I Pod touch ,slim and easily slipped in anywhere  ,Travel speaker £1 from asda ages ago, Solar charger to keep phones and I pod going , couple of very slim but very bright LED camping lamps.All this goes in a tupperware box in the tankbag ( Bagster )  Maps ,documents ,passports kept in a zip up plastic wallet ( Rymans etc) that slips in the tank bag lid pocket

Main luggage is Oxford X60 panniers

Have done countless 1000`s of miles round Europe two up on a 600 using this gear .We can now stop set up camp and be ready for beer in about 15 mins, breaking camp and ready to move doesnt take much longer .Using this gear we have never been  cold wet or uncomfortable

Saying that , have also done 1000`s of miles with Knoxy and his method works just as well , tho he does scrounge our brew water of a morning

[Hedgetrimmer]

Mattresses
Pacific Outdoor Compact Ether  superlight and very small pack.  recently got  Multimat Camper Air similar pack size but a bit heavier Both inflateable and much smaller and lighter than foam ones plus double up as a bodyboard when camping near the beach

Pillows
One posh one from Blacks and one cheap one from Aldi , both inflateable,  fold up small and tuck easily in the front pocket of the panniers( where the useless waterproof covers live)

I used a Pacific Outdoor air mattress but found it punctured too easily, as it uses a very thin, lightweight material. Which is a shame, as otherwise it was excellent. It uses a foil insulating layer inside to help keep the warmth in. If only the second puncture hadn't been right near a seam, it could have been repaired, but any repair I tried didn't hold.

Pillows?! No, you don't need one. Multi-use items, a good way to keep size and weight down. I use a waterproof roll-top bag, which I usually have something else in when packed. I stuff my Primaloft jacket inside, or use the liners from your bike jacket and trousers, and wrap a light fleece pullover round the outside. Most comfortable thing I've ever used for a pillow whilst camping!

[mickvp]

Ive got a bit of a different setup. Ive gone down the hammock route, and have owned a DD hammock for about 5 years now:

http://www.ddhammocks.com/customer-photos

great bit of kit. a bit of a ballache to setup where theres no trees about, but generally not an issue in the uk (especially not in the highlands where i go most). built in midge net, and a twin layer setup so you can slot a rollmat into it to stop your arse from freezing during the night.

IT does need a tarp etc to go over it when its raining though.

[ajmes1]

Tent
VANGO Equinox/Omega 350   3 Man tunnel tent , light, packs up small, plenty room for 2 and all gear plus roomy porch for inclement weather sitting/boozing.Have had the Equinox for years and its never let us down but is getting a bit tired so now use the Omega its recent replacement .Dont be tempted by the lower price Beta , similar tent but not as trick ,heavier and larger pack

I went with the beta a while back, it's a good tent and to be honest only a kilo in it. I've managed to get it re-packed into a sleeping bag bag which drastically reduces it's size. Poles just strap onto a pannier!if I had had the money for the omega at the time it would have been that, but at £45 from go outdoors the price outweighed the weight.

[gassitt]

Pillows?! No, you don't need one.

Er yes we do , done the roughing it shit using bike gear , fleeces etc  but as the pillows take up no room at all why not use something designed for the job .Multi use just means average at lots of uses not excellent at one thing

[gassitt]

Weve used the Pacific Outdoor mattresses for 5 years now and had no leaks/punctures at all , even used em in the sea for numpty surfing so it must be how you treated it to puncture it

The Vango Beta 350 is a decent tent , I just found the guys and TBS bands of lower quality than the Equinox and the weight diff is actually nearer 3 kilo, yep I weighed them both , sad fucker 

[chaz]

I bought a three seasons sleeping bag, turned out to be this summer, next summer and the summer after? sill should have known at £19.99

[Hedgetrimmer]

Weve used the Pacific Outdoor mattresses for 5 years now and had no leaks/punctures at all , even used em in the sea for numpty surfing so it must be how you treated it to puncture it

Hmmm, yes, perhaps I shouldn't have slept on it? 

Oh, one other indispensable item - a head torch. Invaluable.

[mtread]

I bought a Vango Milano 2 a couple of years ago at a bargain price. The extra canopy space gives you room for your kit without much extra bulk. Essential I think.
I'd make a slight adjustment to Nick's size chart:
If it says one man = very pokey
              two man = one man
three man = one man + one girlfriend
four man = One man + two girlfriends