Camping

[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  :rolleyes

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