I recently wrote about our first camp of the season and how we had made some revolutions about what camping kit we had.
The first massive school boy error on our part was expecting cheap £6.50 sleeping bags to keep us warm. In fact by 1am on the first night of our camp I was using all our spare clothing and towels as extra padding and wasn’t sure we would in fact make it to breakfast time through hyperthermia.
I can honestly say I have never ever been so damn cold in my life…. So much so I was the lady in the local co-op the following day buying picnic blankets and then raiding our friends dressing gowns before embarking on night two.
The boys were snug and warm in their set up but by god I never want to be that cold again so we have prepared for the next camp with a brand new double Vango sleeping bag specifically designed for keeping us warm even on the coldest nights unlike our previous offering that was only dinged for a supermarket special offer isle and only offered us warmth if we had set fire to it!
I have also learnt that sometimes purchasing items just for camping is a necessity especially as the car boot and roof rack space are at a premium. Towels and bedding took up so much space so we have decided to go down the proper camping towels route that are much much smaller and more compact but do what they need to do and are more boot space friendly!
Although we have camped so far without electricity I have to say that I am loving the idea of actually having it next time even if its just for lighting to have some proper lights at night while getting the boys to bed!
We are still on the hunt for some proper lighting but finally we have our main kit sorted so phone charging is no longer and issue and neither is pumping up the airbeds as we can now use the electric pump! … Heavenly!
My original list of camping essentials I wrote HERE is still super important as a checklist but my only bit of advice would to be research your products first before buying. Cheap is not necessarily the way forward and I am going to stick buying from proper camping gear suppliers from now on.
What would be your biggest mistake buy if you have ever been camping?
*Collaborative Post*
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