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Camping Equipment

What to take

Once you’ve chosen the tent, you’ll need some extras to improve comfort. Most people choose a sleeping bag for night-time use, usually the mummy-shaped lightweight type for backpacking or cycle camping or, if weight isn’t a concern, the rectangular type that can be fully unzipped and used as a quilt. Lightweight sleeping bags are more technical and are filled either with man-made fibre or down in varying quantities, depending on temperature use. Down is lighter and more compressible but is also more expensive than fibre. Lightweight campers often lie on a closed cell foam insulating mat, which cuts out the cold from the ground but does little to reduce its hardness. There are lightweight self-inflating mattresses available, however, which will improve comfort. Most other campers use airbeds, which are reasonably cheap and comfortable, though some people prefer campbeds.

Cooking and lighting

The kitchen’s main item is the cooker, probably a single-burner for lightweight campers, and a double-burner, possibly with a grill, for family campers. Lightweight stoves are available for operation with gas, petrol, paraffin or methylated spirits, and there are some multi-fuel models available. Doubleburners are primarily for use with gas, but there are some models that use petrol. If you have the space, inside a frame or large hoop tent for instance, a kitchen unit is useful. You can place the cooker on top to use it at a convenient height, and you can stack, pots, crockery and food etc on the shelves instead of on the ground. And don’t forget to buy a cool-box to keep perishables fresh. Then there are those items that bring some of the comforts of home to the campsite. If you’re travelling lightweight you won’t have the room for most of these, but with a family sized tent you’ll want a folding table and chairs, perhaps even a couple of loungers.

You’ll also need lighting, either a gas lantern or electric lighting which can be plugged into the campsite’s electrics via a hook-up unit. Such a unit also allows you to use other luxuries, like a radio-cassette player, tv, electric fridge etc.

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