The Camping Forum

[autonm]

Im just reading various websites on accessories and just seeing how much I need to win the lottery to afford everything.

So out of interest I am wondering what everyones Top 5 Tenting/Camping Accessories are?

[Rob-merlin1973]

Are we talking about acc's we have or we would like??

[autonm]

which ever is easiest to make a top 5. I was just interested to see which other accessories people find useful or believe they would be useful.

[Huff]

In no particular order:

1) My Maplin's Portable Power Pack - http://mobile.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=225153
A single charge lasts for ages, it recharges our lantern and blows up the airbed as well as keeping mobile phones topped up. Brilliant piece of kit.

2) Quest Traveller Alloy Chairs. Most comfortable camping chairs i've ever had, really light yet durable, fold down extremely flat and they have a 5 position reclining back support so they are just as good for sitting at the table as they are for a sprawled out afternoon kip.

3) Cotech Cordless Lantern - http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/Pro ... =156005194 - This is billed as an inspection lamp for DIY use rather than for camping and consequently its a good deal cheaper! Gives a fantastic spread of light, lasts for ages off a single charge and comes with both mains and 12v chargers included. Because its meant for DIY its also good and sturdy with a rubberised casing that makes it resistant to bumps and scrapes. I've tried my very best to break it but its still standing.

4) Petzl Headtorch - Never leave home without it whether im camping or not. Invaluable piece of kit and well worth the extra money over the cheaper imitations on the market.

5) A decent kettle. First job after getting the tent up is to get a brew on and you cant be making do with an inferior kettle. I inherited an ancient camping kettle from my Nan when i first started camping as a teenager and used it for years. It was made of decent metal so it didnt warp and rock about on the stove, it whistled properly so that you could actually hear it and it poured nicely so that you didnt splatter boiling water all over your feet everytime you brewed up. I was heartbroken when after something like 60 years service when i pulled it out of the cupboard ready for another trip to find that the bottom had fallen into holes.............. tried countless new kettles since and wasnt happy with any of them until eventually finding this little gem. http://www.outwell.com/en/Products/Othe ... 16ltr.aspx

[Wayne]

Backpackers Table, its brilliant for putting the water container on during the day and in the evening it goes next to our sleeping bags as a place to put wine and beer, so none get spilled



Stick Table, it shoves in the ground and is a cracking little table between your chairs, again just right for a glass of wine and beer (there's a trend developing here ).



Peg puller, I think its an important bit of kit thats often over looked until damage is done to the peg, guy line or tent. Although I must admit to fashioning my own out of large tent pegs and putting some heat shrink plastic on the handles. I made about ten and put one with every tent and in with my kit so I always have one.



Whilst we currently don't have a proper EHU like above, we do have electric in our tent and for us its not the same without, this is my next peice of invaluable kit I'm thinking of buying.



One of the best buys in the eyes of my OH was the large 3way fridge that really does cool the wine and beer (its there again) and theres ample room for all the stuff we need to keep chilled in the summer months.

So that is by no means the lot but its what I'm currently thinking of as my top 5 accessories

[LittleSkink]

well for us (young kids, minimalist campers) and in no particular order:

decent flushing toilet
suitcase stove (safer than other styles with kids about)
decent kettle (cant camp without tea)
single slice toaster (cant wake up without toast)
Canvas (ok not an accessory, but had run out of ideas)

[Rob-merlin1973]

1. for the bottle opener.

2. it has to whistle.

3. just in case.

4. Becouse i am lazy.

5. To look after me and the kids

[OutdoorRambo]

Well it'd have to be......

Chauffuer to drive me to the campsite

Butler to erect the tent

Chef to cook my meals

Swedish Au Pair to make my bed and keep me warm at nights

..... hmmm, that's only 4 ?.............. ok, i'll have two Swedish Au Pairs!!!

[M0KAS]

Difficult to choose 5, why coldnt it have been 10 lol. anyway here is mine, from a practical point of view,

1 Has to be taken on EVERY camping trip, nothing beats fresh brewed coffee, esp first thing in a morning


2 This is ideal for open fire cooking, just a bit of luxury really for the open fire


3 These are great to have, they work on gas, and open fire I use mine with the no2 on my list, brilliant for cooking anything that's needs to be fried, even use mine at home at times.


4 I love these lamps, have to be the best lamps in the world, bomb proof, last for years, (just i have to use a dual fuel by coleman, I haven't bought this version yet).. This is on my to buy list.....


5 And finally a decent sharp knife, I thought about buying this one, but I'm undecided, I'm more for carbon steel blades than stainless steel ones, but who knows..


That's my 5 for now, not very exciting are they lol

[Nunfa1]

That coffee pot looks good, how long does it take to brew? The wife does like her fresh coffee first thing in the morning.

[in-a-tent]

Yeah that coffee pot looks cool, got a link to where you can buy one?

Not sure what my 5 top accessories would be ...

[Nunfa1]

The coffee pots are here:

http://www.touring-gear.com/categories/ ... g-Kettles/

I got that site from a post made by Mokas before and bookmarked it, some good stuff on there.

[M0KAS]

brewing coffee takes a while, and its a learning curve on how to use the pot, one thing with using a pot like that is getting it to bubble nicely, if there is to much heat, it will burn the coffee or boil over, it should have a slow bubble rate, anything more and the basket will overflow putting coffee grounds in your coffee. but when its brewing, the aroma will wake a few up,

My method, is to fill the basket half way up, fill the pot to desired amount of water, then put the basket and perc assembly in the pot, put on the lid, fast heat until the water begins to bubble, then turn down on a simmer so you get around 1-2 bubbles every 30 seconds or so, if the heat isnt high enough to bubble the coffee, the water will evaporate off, to much bubbling will overfill the basket with coffee, once its to the right strength, let it stand on no heat for 3-5 mins, this allows the basket to drain fully, if using this on an open fire, follow normal open fire cooking rules, which is to only use the embers to cook with, far better constant heat..

Enjoy the coffee, best results i find are from strength 3-5 coffee for peculators are better, and if you have an grinder and decide to go that route, only course grind the beans, a to fine ground coffee don't work to well in this.

as this isnt like the drip percolators, this method keeps the bubbling coffee being fed through the coffee grinds over and over, done right, it has an awesome flavour and a serious caffeine count

it works well as a normal kettle too... never tried it for tea though, as i don't drink the stuff..

Also if your going to get a perc like this one, get the largest size you can, the 1 litre small one is way to small, and the basket often floods too..

[Nunfa1]

I noticed there are 2 different types of coffee pot on there, which one do you use?

[M0KAS]

I noticed there are 2 different types of coffee pot on there, which one do you use?

http://www.touring-gear.com/products/Co ... namel.html

I have this one in the biggest size 1.8 litre, the only difference between the 2 types of enamel ones is the handle on the top, one is metal/enamelled, and the other is plastic so you can see how strong your coffee is.. that's the idea anyway.

The pot in my avatar is the coffee pot in use