The Camping Forum

[dizzylisa]

It was only yesterday I purchased on the spur of the moment I saw the Coleman 4 weekend tent on the shelves at Argos then I saw this thread and exchanged it for Regatta Hydrafort 4 which seems quite a lot heaver than the Coleman which maybe a good thing?

I myself was going for the Vango icarus 500 package set ,carpet and footprint £214. But my finances also have failed me at the last min, I had no plans on buying a tent yesterday but today I have bought sleeping bags air bed lights kettle all very cheap in sales at various shops. I'm only going 10 miles away to my friends little pub with a camp-site just to see if I like it then next year I maybe try something bigger and better. Unfair to say better as I haven't given the Regatta Hydrafort 4 a chance yet. So roll on Saturday the wind and the rain of Macclesfield lol.

[M0KAS]

who cares about wind and rain, long as you have a good time, there is some good summer sales about on camping equipment at the moment. Macclesfield eh, last time i was in there, i was on my way through to Matlock, and that was a while ago. enjoy your weekend, ad look forward to spending money on more camping gear the rest of the year. camping is an addiction, you will become addicted...

[dizzylisa]

I am really looking forward to, Thanks

[nutgone]

If you have a little time to spare, it's surprising how cheap you can kit yourself out for camping at various different shops.

My cutlery was a half price set, bought for £4 from Tesco.
My pots & pans were from Ikea (3 pan, stainless steel set for about £3.95 plus the legendary blue frying pan for about £2.50)
My chopping boards are a Tesco value plastic one (perfect size for camping, & about 75p) plus a small, camping sized, wooden one from pound stretcher for £2.50 (couldn't resist myself when I saw it, it's so dinky, but perfectly formed, & wood has natural anti-bacterial properties, whereas plastic doesn't)
My spatula/serving spoon set was from Ikea, for less than a quid & is also perfect size for camping.
I also got a massive set of plastic food storage boxes, all different sizes for so many different uses. I think there were 17 in the set, & that was also from Ikea for about £2.99

So it doesn't have to cost a fortune, & it certainly doesn't have to have a big camping brand name attached to it.

Anyway, enjoy your trip.

[M0KAS]

I have to agree with Nutgone, alot of camping gear is made in the far east, even my outwell hurricane lame is Chinese made, so buying cheap things from poundshops, and other bargain shops is a good idea to save money, my local poundshop is doing enamel bowls, plates cups ect for a pound each (only come in blue or black )and UFO lights also, B&M always have lots of usable items for sale, cookers, heaters, gas canisters, as well as rugs ect.. I don't go to Ikea, its far to large for me to walk around (the Warrington one is).. and they you have other places like ebay, pre loved, freecycle and car boot sales where you can get some real cheap items, I tend to get nylon tent pegs off ebay..

camping is not about whose name is on your gear, its about enjoying yourself, and enjoying the outdoors, you can have a week in a £50 tent and still have as much fun and enjoyment as someone who has £3k's worth of gear, camping is what you make it,

[nutgone]

What is B&M? I've heard it mentioned time & again, but have never actually seen it/one?

Mind you, I only just discovered "The Range", so I'm not really up on these things.

Does B&M exist in the south, or is it a northern chain?
I've got family up in Cheshire, I remember always going in certain shops up that way, which didn't exist down south. One of those used to be Morrisons, until they bought out Safeway.

(Must get off memory lane, I keep coming down this way! )

[M0KAS]

Here you go lol..

http://www.bmstores.co.uk/

we used to have memory lane cakes here too, but that closed down....

[nutgone]

Here you go lol..

http://www.bmstores.co.uk/

we used to have memory lane cakes here too, but that closed down....

Thanks for that.

Eastbourne shows up on their map, but their store finder simply doesn't work (& is just winding me up! )

Maybe the good old yellow pages will answer me???

Thanks anyway, very good of you. & it's by no means your fault their website doesn't work properly. I can see all the bits & bobs for sale, just dunno where to go buy them!
It's given me something else to do this evening anyway......

[nutgone]

My mistake, it does work, it's just not a good store finder. It only goes up to 25miles radius. Looks like there's none near me. Which is a shame.

Still, I never had a proper look round The Range.....

[dizzylisa]

Hi all had a good time. The Regatta is a good tent, not very big or tall and I have backache today to prove it, the porch is very handy. Overall I would says its well worth 34.99 that I paid at Argos.

[M0KAS]

sore back eh, this is going to sound dreadful but how did you get the bad back, was it due to the air bed or the low hight of the tent, but long as you had a good time, and everything went well including the weather, thats what counts..

Only reason Im looking for a smaller tent is i think the Atlantis 5 is rather large just for me on a weekend, and not a good size for drying in the house lol

[dizzylisa]

Bad back from crouching in and out, chasing a 4 year old about lol. The bed was lovely and comfy and I had a really good sleep. Its this tent you are looking for. I'm going to get one I can stand in so im selling mine if your interested?

[M0KAS]

i wouldn't sell your tent, thats what i did, and now i regret selling my smaller tent, it was an ideal weekend tent, but wasn't big enough for a week of my stuff in there, that's how i ended up with the Gelert Atlantis 5, similar to the icarus 500, but cheaper, give it a while before you put your tent on the market, get some more weekends camping in it then decide.

[nutgone]

Yeah, always keep your tents.

I had a hankering for something with standing space, the Regatta is a fantastic little weekend tent, maybe not so good with the little one, but will still have it's uses, I'm sure.

I'm really glad it worked out well for you. I notice you have your bed round the other way to me. Also, you have the same little backpacker table I have (I've got 2 of them, brilliant to put the cooker on, or chopping board to prepare food).

There are plenty of smaller tents with standing room though, & most have a small living area as well. I went canvas crazy & got myself a 2nd hand Sunncamp Ranch, followed by one of the small Cabanon frame tents (the C series, you can see them HERE)

Mind you, canvas isn't for everybody, I'm sure there's plenty of people here with suggestions for a small tent with standing room. I reckon the Coleman tents are very good value, in fact I was going to buy a Coleman tent last year, but went for the Regatta instead.

Anyway, how did the little one get on? Enjoy it? It sounds like you had a good time, let's hope it's the first of many.

P.S. I'm glad you came back to let us know how you got on, & thanks for the pics