The Outdoorsy "Sofa".
- Thread starter chilango
- Start date
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Do you have a GoOutdoors near you? They normally have them out so you lie on one.
If you want to go the mat route, then Vango ones are good balance between price/quality. Don't go thinner then 5cm for car camping.
baldrick
hmmmmm
I panic bought a new headtorch last week as I needed it to last all night and I was worried about the ones I already have not being bright enough as I would be on my own.
I got a biolite 800 and oh my goodness suddenly running in the dark is a whole lot easier. Was only using mid-ish power to conserve the battery but I honestly didn't need it brighter.
I used to struggle with depth perception and trip/stumble in ruts and stuff - well, no more. Total revelation. Should have done it years ago!
I got a biolite 800 and oh my goodness suddenly running in the dark is a whole lot easier. Was only using mid-ish power to conserve the battery but I honestly didn't need it brighter.
I used to struggle with depth perception and trip/stumble in ruts and stuff - well, no more. Total revelation. Should have done it years ago!
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
A decent head torch makes such a difference! Fustatingly I've not been able to find my Fenix for a little while and am getting dangerously close to having to buy another.
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
Having a few days in Norway staying in a DNT hut by a glacier. Admittedly it's microbrewery is a key draw but it's fucking stunning here.
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chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
Yes, but not as expensive as I'd feared. £8 a pint. Getting here was cheaper than getting to say Scotland.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
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ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
Apart from alcohol, is it expensive to stay there?
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
In the DNT huts, no, not really.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Going to near Whitby for 3 nights. I once travelled the world for 18 months with a medium rucksack...
klang
klang
Is the bag with gravel on the right going on the roof?
Elpenor
a clown’s heart and a mandolin
Nice bivvy bag on the left
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
Took a punt.
Got a summer of camping adventures - bothies, youth hostels etc.. so took the opportunity to have a looksie at one of the Chinese jobs.
Naturehike Opalus 3 tunnel tent - just short of 3kg, got it from outdoor gear essentials for £230 with next 48 hour delivery.
It's got doors on either side of the porch, and a mesh vent on either end. The inner is half mesh, half fabric, and it comes with a shaped footprint.
It was very easy to put up - the kids did it with me standing over them.
I was really impressed with the value - Nordisk want £70 for the same footprint - and i think that in some ways it's better (differently applicable?) than the Nordisk Oppland it's based on. The two doors vestibule, the half mesh and therefore much cooler inner, and it feels like it's a bit taller inside. On the down side, the inner door only has a single zip pull, though the whole door is mesh I suppose, so it's not a huge problem - the Naturehike pegs (the red ones in the picture) however are pretty rubbish and won't hold for shit in the wild. The yellow ones are the Nordisk, and the blue some extras I got on AliExpress.
The Nordisk is a 'better tent' - same weight, but 40D flysheet over the 20D of the Naturehike, but obviously rather more £££££....
The Naturehike is the summer, going with the kids tent, the Nordisk is the winter tent. It's also a much darker green, which allied to the full fabric inner, makes it pretty warm in the summer.
Got a summer of camping adventures - bothies, youth hostels etc.. so took the opportunity to have a looksie at one of the Chinese jobs.
Naturehike Opalus 3 tunnel tent - just short of 3kg, got it from outdoor gear essentials for £230 with next 48 hour delivery.
It's got doors on either side of the porch, and a mesh vent on either end. The inner is half mesh, half fabric, and it comes with a shaped footprint.
It was very easy to put up - the kids did it with me standing over them.
I was really impressed with the value - Nordisk want £70 for the same footprint - and i think that in some ways it's better (differently applicable?) than the Nordisk Oppland it's based on. The two doors vestibule, the half mesh and therefore much cooler inner, and it feels like it's a bit taller inside. On the down side, the inner door only has a single zip pull, though the whole door is mesh I suppose, so it's not a huge problem - the Naturehike pegs (the red ones in the picture) however are pretty rubbish and won't hold for shit in the wild. The yellow ones are the Nordisk, and the blue some extras I got on AliExpress.
The Nordisk is a 'better tent' - same weight, but 40D flysheet over the 20D of the Naturehike, but obviously rather more £££££....
The Naturehike is the summer, going with the kids tent, the Nordisk is the winter tent. It's also a much darker green, which allied to the full fabric inner, makes it pretty warm in the summer.
Saw a young fella using one of these last week, strung up in a forest. Turns out he'd been to the same festie we had the weekend before, so it was a double-good chat ha. But ooo, now this is camping porn for me, I would bloody love one of these (if they didn't cost an arm and a fucking leg, like):
www.tentsile.com
Tree Tents | The World’s Comfiest Hammock Tent | Tentsile
Shop our collection of tree tents, which come with the protection of a tent and the versatility of a camping hammock for the ultimate outdoor experience. Get closer to nature.
www.tentsile.com
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Was meant to be a quick getaway weekend, one night in Anglesey, a bit of coatal walking and beers and a BBQ.
Coast was nippy but was a nice walk. Got to the campsite and found it fuller then expected, had to pitch in the middle of a small field, whereas everyone else was on the edge. Fucking pole broke in the wind trying to put it up. Thought I'd try to see if we could do it anyway and another broke with hardly any tension. Like they're made of fucking balsa wood or something. Packed up and drove home.
That god it wasn't further away like the North Yorkshire or Norfolk trips we've done recently, but a lot of time in the car. Especially as it was a bit of a crawl going to N Wales as obviously many others had the same plan. I guess we did get a quick getaway!
Will try and make the effort tomorrow to walk somewhere we've not been before. I've still not been up to Hebdon Bridge, so might go explore up there and have lunch. And possibly cook the stuff I bought for the BBQ tomorrow evening...
Edit. Did see an adder very close up in the dunes though. That was cool.
Coast was nippy but was a nice walk. Got to the campsite and found it fuller then expected, had to pitch in the middle of a small field, whereas everyone else was on the edge. Fucking pole broke in the wind trying to put it up. Thought I'd try to see if we could do it anyway and another broke with hardly any tension. Like they're made of fucking balsa wood or something. Packed up and drove home.
That god it wasn't further away like the North Yorkshire or Norfolk trips we've done recently, but a lot of time in the car. Especially as it was a bit of a crawl going to N Wales as obviously many others had the same plan. I guess we did get a quick getaway!
Will try and make the effort tomorrow to walk somewhere we've not been before. I've still not been up to Hebdon Bridge, so might go explore up there and have lunch. And possibly cook the stuff I bought for the BBQ tomorrow evening...
Edit. Did see an adder very close up in the dunes though. That was cool.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
That blows..
Yes. I've been wary of bigger tents since I got one about 15 years ago and the poles broke the first night. Assume it's a cost thing, but wish they were aluminium like my small tents.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
furluxor
snake with a claw
Camping nerds, would you be able to recommend me a 4-person (which, measured on my scale, is really 2-person) tent? Other needs:
Happy to pay more for quality, so no set budget. Thanks to anyone who can advise.
I went camping for the first time in years and survived it, but my borrowed tent made me feel a bit claustrophobic. Thinking about a festival next year.
- I like ceiling space. Sitting cross-legged should leave quite a bit of space above the head.
- It should pack up comfortably and not involve extra tight rolling/sweating/tears.
- Can be transported by airplane.
Happy to pay more for quality, so no set budget. Thanks to anyone who can advise.
I went camping for the first time in years and survived it, but my borrowed tent made me feel a bit claustrophobic. Thinking about a festival next year.
I like Coleman tunnel tents. Sturdy, good rainproofing, generous porch space, easy to erect and quite light. Too heavy for hiking but perfect for general camping and festies.
furluxor
snake with a claw
They look nice. Would you mind sharing which one you've got and how easy it is to disassemble and place inside its bag? I'm fine with solving a puzzle but get cranky if things need rolling really tightly and it's a battle to zip them into the bag (hence no love for inflatable anything).
I THINK ours is a 6 person Coastline tunnel tent. It's at least 8 years old by now and I can't find the original purchase email, so it might be a 5 person. Or even a 4 tbh. Sorry, bit useless!
In all honesty, I don't think a tent exists that goes back easy into its original bag. I never bother. Just roll it all up tight and secure it with string.
Pretty easy to assemble and disassemble though.
furluxor
snake with a claw
Thanks, that's helpful! I might just do the same - the fight to fit camping gear into its tiny bags really knocks the will to live out of me.
I suspect there's some kind of vacuum-packing trickery that goes on to get the fuckers into the original bags!
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
And yet tents you carry on the hill don't have this problem, so someone could design it properly if they put their mind to it.
neonwilderness
What would Badgers do?
I was about to say the same thing. I wonder if it's a cost thing, trying to save a few pence by making the bags as small as possible? Of the three tents I have, the more expensive the tent the easier they are to pack away
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
I was about to say the same thing. I wonder if it's a cost thing, trying to save a few pence by making the bags as small as possible? Of the three tents I have, the more expensive the tent the easier they are to pack away
I suspect the cost saving may be storage, but not sure.
