You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Excited it's been years (bar the odd event) since I've been camping but off to Coed y Brenin this weekend for 3 nights, 4 days of camping/riding and getting quite excited. however need to buy a few bits! have the trangia, so I'm thinking about all I need to buy really are saucepans and a kettle (got plastic plate, cups, cutlery etc already). Am i missing something fundamental? (got the bin bags, washing up liquid etc). feel like I need more? Trip to Go Outdoors Thursday day time I feel (except Tesco have a great deal on 2 saucepans, frying pan, 2 plates and cups for £15 .. which is cheaper than others even though I don't need plates).
OOOOO excited .. sorry a bit of random waffley thread.. can you all do the sun dance for me.
Oh and I thought whatever I buy we can take to chamonix when we go in June and do a little self stylee camping there too.
doesn't your trangia have pans already? They usually do...
Trangias come with pans?
You'll be needing fuel.
Presume you've got a sleeping bag and sleeping mat?
Cider for round the camp fire and plenty of munchies and some more cider.
Beer!!!
Something extra to tie the thing down, it's been mighty windy.
P.S. Our camping days are over, as mr.b.h bought a caravan, oh the luxury 😉
A decent light for the evening?
[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3537/3439980122_e45b962727.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/bucklevision/3439980122/ ]Camping by LED light[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/bucklevision/ ]j.buckle[/url], on Flickr
A torch. Lots of people forget torches for the first camping trip. A light to hang up in the tent in the evenings. A lighter/box of matches.
EDIT: Bugger you coffeeking!
oooh eck!
Bugger you coffeeking!
Something to do for the evening, personally i just take a book but each to their own.
OO I'd forgotten matches and torch! Thanks. We have tent, sleeping bags (or double duvet!!) and roll mats already. We have never had pots the trangia came from a friend...maybe it's not a trangia, it's similar to this one (is that called something else!?)
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-3031.aspx
I'll have nibbles and beer (someone else is bringing pud and others the BBQ stuff!)
A pillow.
They're not pillows!!
*s*****
Expanding on the torch subject...headtorches very handy 🙂
Insect repellant and anti-hisatamine for when you do get bitten.
Oh and I thought whatever I buy we can take to chamonix
The wife and I stayed in Chamonix last year for a few days. Fantastic.
We stayed in [url= http://www.chamonix-camping.com/uk/welcome.html ]THIS[/url] campsite and would highley recommend it, if it's the sort of thing you were after. We set our tent up so we had an great view of Mont Blanc. Plus you get free bus / train rides into town. I'd love to go back there with my bike.
PS. I realise you weren't asking for campsite recommendations 😉
Coolbox/Coolbag?
Freezing cartons of juice is an excellent alternative to those freezable blocks you get.
Kitchen Roll
Marshmallows
We loooked at that campsite but we decided on this one probably:
http://www.campingchamonix.com/
Oh I can't wait not been to Chamonix before, so camping for 5 days will do some cooking (once i've purchased bits for this weekend).
Never thought of freezing cartons of juice .. best get on it! Marshmallows funnily enough I found some in my "baking" cupboard yesterday.
Assuming you're car camping:
sachets of tommy sauce/brown sauce, available from cafes/restaurants, often for free.
some washing up liquid decanted into a small container (boots do some little bottles which are ideal for camping quantities of stuff).
Dishcloth for drying your stuff before you bring it back to the tent.
Tupperware type container to keep all your edible stuff in or better still a coolbox.
A couple of spare tent pegs for when you bend one and lose one.
Small dry bag, keeps your stuff dry (obviously) and doubles up as a pillow.
But better than that would be a real pillow.
A few metres of 3mm cord. useful as a clothes line if stuff gets wet but can also double up as guy lines etc.
Bacon. Nothing better than frying some bacon in the tent porch.
MuppetW sounds like you are seasoned, most of that was on my list! mmmm bacon and egg butties in the fresh air before AND OR after MTB (or all!).
If car camping; chairs. Saves rolling around on the floor.
mmmm bacon and egg butties in the fresh air before AND OR after MTB (or all!).
I swear that sometimes that is the only good reason to go camping. I do like that sunday morning smell around a decent camp site.
Another good easy cook food is the tinned steak that M&S sell, heat that up fry some sliced potatoes add a bit of veg and you've got a super quick sunday (ish) dinner.
Get tooled up. You never know. My last camping trip:
[img] 
[/img]
Electric hook up for your tv and digi box, hairdrier and drinks fridge! Yep people really do! 😆
Trangias are awful. Avoid.
Okay Oxboy since you started it NO I won't be taking my hair straighners however I do have my dry spray shampoo (although it does have showers). I say trangia Molgrips but is that what I put in that link? what's wrong with it? what do you recommend then?
Electric hook up for your tv and digi box, hairdrier and drinks fridge! Yep people really do!
no tv or digi box, but a leccy hook-up is a massive bonus if you're staying somewhere for a few days. We have an electric cool box - cool beer and wine, milk and other perishable stuff. Why suffer? 😉
sachets of tommy sauce/brown sauce, available from cafes/restaurants, often for free.
Free? only if you nick 'em. 😆
Electric hook up for your tv and digi box, hairdrier and drinks fridge! Yep people really do!
a little inverter for the car so you can charge phones, cameras and music players is a good idea, though.
And if you really want to get comfy, a double air mattress, fitted sheet, pillows and a duvet! Some airbeds are awful, but the aerobed ones are great: [url= http://www.aerobed.co.uk/pages/rangedetail.asp?type=Mattress&range=Outdoor ]http://www.aerobed.co.uk/pages/rangedetail.asp?type=Mattress&range=Outdoor[/url]
Small washing-up basin to keep all the washing-up stuff together - wash-up liquid, scourer/sponges (don't fancy using any old ones lying about) - and chuck all the dirty pots, plates, etc. in it to take it to the washing-up area, rather than trying to balance it all, especially if you've had some aperitifs.
m-c: trangias are special campy sets which nest together with pans, kettle, base and burner. they run on meths.
yours isn't one of those. Def make sure you can get spare gas for yours, or make sure the right type is available en france.
or make sure the right type is available en france
+1, they don't do Calor Gas in France (not that I ever saw, anyway)
We love our storm kettle too (or kelly/volcano/ghillie kettle, they're all the same). Excellent piece of kit, satisfying to use, and you can wrap bits of banana and rolos in tinfoil and stick them in the embers. Yummy. Or once the water has boiled for a cuppa, stick some bacon on a rack across the base for bacon roll to go with the cuppa. Yummy too.
Maybe not essential, we always take it camping though, or for day trips out.
Just asked Mr MC and was corrected as to what a "trangia" was appears I've used it for many years as meaning generic camping stove for cooking with a few pots. I am corrected I DO NOT have a trangia, I have the thing I posted above (similar) then I'm heading to Tesco tomorrow to buy a 2 saucepan, frying pan, 2 plate and 2 cup combo for £15!
Oh yes, sorry didn't read your post properly. Trangias are unpressurised meths stoves with two settings - burn your food to the bottom of the pan or do nothing.
No reason to use one in this day and age 🙂 Gas stuff is much better. Those large rings are good, if you can turn them low enough to simmer 🙂
MC we have a two ring petrol coleman stove if you want, in Cardiff.
We once borrowed a couple of those stoves you have from my mum , lets just say they aren't too cracking . Maybe you could try them out before you go see what you think.
One thing we wouldn't be without are our Thermarest mats , not cheap but in 15 years they haven't let us down. There are cheaper versions that are almost as good , our 6 year old has a Vango one that only cost us £15 it just doesn't pack down as small as the Thermarest.
if you can stand the wind afterwards instant mash and a Beanfeast savoury mince make a great speedy shepherds pie.
Take ear-plugs, unless you're going to be the ones up all night enjoying your bbq.
Don't be tempted to go for lightweight aluminium (or whatever) frying pans. Just get a cheap throwaway non-stick one from Tesco. Much easier to clean 🙂
Will see you there then, going up Saturday morning, back Monday afternoon 🙂 can't wait, not been up there for nearly two years. We will be in a motorhome though, glamping I believe it to be called 🙂
I like my Trangia but I've got the gas burner for it - ditching the manky uncontrollable meths thing transforms it into a good, stable, controllable stove.
+1 for getting a non stick pan, especially if fried eggs are on the cards!
Pans: We bought a tefal non stick camping set a few years back, it's very good, think it was about £40-50 but well worth the money.
My camping list:
Tent, sleeping bag, pillow, ear plugs, money, tictacs, strong deodorant.
That's it.
I'm a fan of MSR stuff here, being costly but long lasting and cool 🙂
Thermos flask - for when you make the tea. Store boiling water for the next. Simples.
Something to sit on. Those cheap folding chairs are better than nothing, but I like my Lafuma 8)
Never thought of freezing cartons of juice
For festivals we freeze 3ltr cartons of Weston's organic cider
Salt, Pepper, Oil. These are the things I normally forget.
I don't think a coolbag will be of much use to be honest since you are going to be away for several days and a cool bag will only really work for one day at a push.
Trangias aren't that bad. Granted there are better stoves these days for simplicity and realibility (and the ability to burn any flammable liquid) you can't really beat them. That said I generally use an MSR unless I'm car camping in which case I use a proper multi ring Butane stove.
I am with gonefishin on Trangias - their main advantage is reliabity. When you have had a gas stove fail because the temp is too low to vaporise the gas then you want a trangia. I also have loads of half used gas cans.
When you have had a gas stove fail because the temp is too low to vaporise the gas then you want a trangia.
Not an issue for 99% of the camping population.
MSR Whisperlite/XGK for the win, anyway. No gas problems, use most liquid fuels so easy to find, no cold problems, can simmer and boil quickly.
Oh yeah - another tip - thermal mug. Sounds overkill but tea goes stone cold really quickly in a normal one, unless it's a really hot day of course.
Maybe not but all stoves are a compromise and a trangia is simply a different one. Main drawback is the fuel is smelly.
Molgrips thanks for offer but not in Cardiff for a while but thank you. Bought a saucepan set from Tesco this morning. Ooo got day off tomorrow to buy long list of stuff don't thnk it will be that warm so should be okay without cool box just have pasta for first night, BBQ 2nd and maybe a cheeky pub for 3rd.
Where you staying? We are at Cae Gwyn farm
I'd say Trannies are heavy (as a set), fuel is smelly and gets on your fingers, only two heat settings which means cooking without burning can be tricky, they are also a bit of a risk if knocked over - the fuel can spill out* and they are uneconomical on fuel.
Advantage is they are unpressurised so nothing to explode, fuel is available in most DIY shops and Tesco Extras etc, the pan set is fairly neat and comes with a wind guard etc.
Personally I hate the cooking experience, which is the main reason for me not using them.
* before anyone accuses me of irrationality this apparently has happened and set fire to stuff, and it's NOT the reason I don't use one.
MSR Dragonfly.. stove porn.. 🙂
[img] 
[/img]
Folding utensils!
[img] 
[/img]
Storage containers that fit inside your pans!
[img] 
[/img]
I splashed out £10 on one of those Sunn-Gas cookers, that come in a case. Despite shonky quality it has done numerous trips & has a nice big burner thats controllable. The gas cans are cheap, about a £1 each. If your car camping why compromise. We keep one in the boot with a pan, great for impromptu hot-dogs when taking the kids out. 🙂
Wellies might be a good idea though, this weekend might be wet.
Only two settings on a trangia is one more setting than on any of the msr stoves I've used! They're great for boiling water, but pretty much anything else gets cremated.
Trangia with gas conversion is the bees knees 🙂
Only two settings on a trangia is one more setting than on any of the msr stoves I've used! They're great for boiling water, but pretty much anything else gets cremated
Ah yes.. the ones with the valve on the bottle do require an extremely careful touch, in all fairness, but it's not unmanageable once you've got the hang of it. The one I posted above has a valve on the body though which is meant to be much better.
Trangias are infinitely variable as well.
We used the MSR dragonfly snow camping, we were only melting snow and boiling water (dehydrated food). It had the valve on the body, and was ace. huge amount of heat if you needed it, but controllable down to a simmer and quite economical.
It looked like it had seen a good few expeditions over the years, but never missed a beat in 2 weeks of fairly heavy use.
Bloody noisy though!
OOO Takisawa when I lookd it said "light rain" still plenty of time to change, annoying after todays sunshine if it does rain.
How the heck d'you manage to tip over a trangia? 😕 They are about the single most stable stove out there, except for the flat heavy type that take blow torch canisters.
Reliable. Definitely. Bought mine when I was in Scouts and it's still working perfectly 25years later. Except for the o-ring on the lid, but that's no issue at all.
Not the best for cooking on, but more than adequate for boiling water for tea, heating a tin of beans, cooking a curry, etc...
Expanding on the torch subject...headtorches very handy
Also Fenix torches with the add-on diffuser (that makes it look obscene). Hang them anywhere convenient as a lantern.
Never tried the dinky LED lanterns, nor the wind-up ones. Parents have them, and are apparently quite handy.
How the heck d'you manage to tip over a trangia?
You kick it on your way in or out of a tent, you kick it when moving around not looking carefully enough etc etc. I've kicked stoves before.
LOL at the trangia haters - I have a windpro and a trangia, they both have their plusses and minuses.
Trangias are super reliable and impervious (even prehaps better) to the wind. You can boil stuff rigerously, or scramble eggs on them without welding them to the pan. If you know what you're doing that is. Completely hassle free.
The MSR stuff is lighter, packs smaller, is more intuitive on burn settings, more powerful on full chat, and can use a wider range of fuels. Messing about with bits of foil as wind sheilds and cleaning the line if you've been forced to use rubbish gunky petrol is WAY more faff, plus they are much more fragile. I only use mine if I CAN'T take my trangia. Sorry.
Sorry? You'd better be tranny boy!
Oh - another advantage to trannies is that you can use the meths to clean your discs and pads rather well 🙂
Lilo (sleeping)
inflatable settee
Tin/bottle opener
Loo roll
Big old plastic marg tub and /or big plastic bottle to wee in at 4am. Yes, you can do it outside your tent but someone else will be in your pitch after you
Always used to go camping with as little equipment as possible but haven't looked back since first taking electric hook up, cheating I know. Lighting, heating when needed, mini fridge and yes a tv/DVD for kids to watch DVD as mum and dad have well deserved drink sitting on inflatable settee in the sun when getting back to tent after a day in the great outdoors with the kids. Maybe electric hook up an age thing??
Lilo do these things still exist!!!!
It took a while for loo roll to be mentioned.
From my last experience at Cae Gwyn, take waterproofs and pitch your tent with wind in mind. It's pretty nasty when the wind comes howling up the valley at night.
Tosoinalake thanks for that! I was hoping it was going to be like today (hot and sunny) although having heard the forecast it's going to be cloudier and drizzly! Booo I can cope with cooler just don't want rain 🙁
MSR - Cheap fuel, fast boil times but only really 2 heats - hot and really hot. Can be dangerous in tents (as can all stoves but leaky petrol is mental).
Trangia - even cheaper fuel, bomb-proof but flame adjustment is fiddly, slow cooking times (though some see this as an advantage), smelly fuel and dirty pots.
Gas - expensive, wasteful packaging (but can be recycled if totally empty) PITA when cylinder is low on fuel / cold, clean on pans, adjustable flames, predictable.
I tend to use gas simply because its the easiest and most predictable. I like to use a tripod type one that connects with a flexible hose. Otherwise you can get 'feet' to make the stand up ones more stable. You can also get all sorts of little adapters that mean you can use all sorts of different canisters.
For torches and good tent lights check this website //"that I happen to run" {Mod}// [url=www.torches2go.co.uk]Torches2Go[/url] Also sells camping gear.
Thanks Horwichman .... after all my excitement I won't be camping for a while! we went to CyB with all my stuff .. Mr MC fell off 10 minutes into ride, crashed on innocous silly wet rock and has broken his olecranon (bone in elbow which connects tricep to elbow!). this was 2 weeks ago .. still got another week to wait before we find out if he needs surgery. So we came back from CyB promptly, we won't be camping in Chamonix in June so that's it! CAmping stuff packed away right to back of cupboard for now!!!!!!! Booooo
240v electric hook-up
fridge
tv
laptop
microwave
Ouch. Sorry MC, that sucks. Hope he gets better soon.
--
On a point of note, Horwichman is promoting his own business rather than providing impartial personal recommendation.
(From the Forum Rules:
"No Trade or business advertising – except bona fide retailers may respond to genuine enquiries from potential customers."
Dunno if this constitutes a "response to a genuine enquiry" though. Mods?)
Dunno if this constitutes a "response to a genuine enquiry" though. Mods?)
A bit naughty for a first post, no?
A bit of banter to lull people into a false sense of security would bne much more desirable. 😉
Thanks Cougar I hope so too! As we have a trip to Sierra Nevada planned for Sept, since we can't do Chamonix I haev to have something to look forward too 😉
An umbrella is a very useful accessory for all outdoor situations.
A bit naughty for a first post, no?
Now edited, it seems. Very good.
Sorry guys. I thought I would be allowed to post this. HONEST.
Link didn't work anyway ....
How is the patient MC? Was he operated on?
I thought may be able to [i]scrape[/i] through as a response to an enquiry.