buying camping equipment - first time?

[dragon]

hi, im (hopefully) going to the i23 event up in newbury and will probably camping (although most the time ill be inside playing games and such )

anyway i need to get a tent.etc but i dont want to spend to much money as it wont get much use...

was looking in argos are the tents there ok?, looked at the 1 person tent (£14.99) or the camping starter set but im not sure whats a better idea to get the starter kit or to get everything seaperate esp as the starter kit is for 2 ppl and its just me i need to get stuff for.

i would rather get the stuff in town so its easier to return if somethings missing + delivery might be a problem with online orders due to corriers tending to pick a moment when no one is in to deliver stuff.

[Raistlin]

If you're looking at tents I would suggest you give consideration to a couple of things:

1) The tent that you are looking at is probably a single skin affair (I haven't seen it, I'm just judging by the price here). What that means is that there is only one bit of fabric seperating you from the elements. If you touch the inside of the tent when it is wet on the outside the water is conducted through the fabric and you wil get wet. This effect is minimised, and the danger of it happening reduced, if the tent has a seperate inner.

2) You really get what you pay for with tents. I know it's a pain to have to hand over the readies but at the end of the day you need to think what the consequences of you getting cold and (probably very) wet would be. In short, your entire weekend could be ruined.

I wuld certainly suggest getting the bits and pieces from a reputable town based store. Preferably one where the staff know what they're talking about. If there are any problems they will be easier to sort out.

[dragon]

thanks for the advise

[Raistlin]

NP, hope you get your stuff sorted and enjoy yourself

[dragon]

yep gonna get my butt kicked at almost every game i enter probably lol but who cares

[Raistlin]

What is i23 anyway sorry

[Halcyon]

See if you can get a small dome tent. They are really easy to put up and fold away into a really small bag too.

Originally Posted by dragon

anyway i need to get a tent.etc but i dont want to spend to much money as it wont get much use...

If you're ever going to use it more than once, don't skimp, a cheap tent is a false economy.

You can buy some very good dome style tents with fly-sheets for around the £35 mark and they will give you plenty of room plus be better for keeping you dry.

[quoite] im not sure whats a better idea to get the starter kit or to get everything seaperate esp as the starter kit is for 2 ppl and its just me i need to get stuff for.[/quote]

There's no real benefit to 1 person tents and a 2 person one makes life a lot easier! (And, hey, if you get lucky...! )

I've got a Teviot 2 man tent that I took when I went surfing last year. It was great for keeping me dry when it p$$$$d down with rain and there was plenty of space for me, my airbed and my gear.

One thing to note, when buying look at the *internal* dimensions of the tent and then check to see how much space you'll actually have with the tent assembled, eg a triangular tent loses a lot of space due to the slope of the walls, whereas dome or tunnel tents tend to be more spacious.

[dragon]

Originally Posted by Raistlin

What is i23 anyway sorry

http://multiplay.co.uk 900 user lan party up at newbury racecourse

[Raistlin]

Originally Posted by dragon

http://multiplay.co.uk 900 user lan party up at newbury racecourse

O, IC.

In that case (if you are taking computers 'n' stuff) you will definately want a waterproof tent!!

[dragon]

Originally Posted by Raistlin

O, IC.

In that case (if you are taking computers 'n' stuff) you will definately want a waterproof tent!!

computers are staying in the building with the lan wont be going near the tent besides ill leave em where secuirty can keep an eye on them

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by Graham

If you're ever going to use it more than once, don't skimp, a cheap tent is a false economy.

You can buy some very good dome style tents with fly-sheets for around the £35 mark and they will give you plenty of room plus be better for keeping you dry.

im not sure whats a better idea to get the starter kit or to get everything seaperate esp as the starter kit is for 2 ppl and its just me i need to get stuff for
There's no real benefit to 1 person tents and a 2 person one makes life a lot easier! (And, hey, if you get lucky...!
I've got a Teviot 2 man tent that I took when I went surfing last year. It was great for keeping me dry when it p$$$$d down with rain and there was plenty of space for me, my airbed and my gear.

One thing to note, when buying look at the *internal* dimensions of the tent and then check to see how much space you'll actually have with the tent assembled, eg a triangular tent loses a lot of space due to the slope of the walls, whereas dome or tunnel tents tend to be more spacious.

.[/quote]


Yes dimensions are important, some of the so-called 2 or even 3 man dome tents are not big enough for a double airbed.

Theres nothing like that lovely warm feeling, waking up in the morning to realise that when you pitched the tent in the dark, the groundsheet was sticking out and caught all the water. This made it all run under the tent!

I felt great until I decided to move

[dragon]

might pop in millets 2mmrw!

tried the website, it was shockingly lacking on anything.

[allieyoung666]

Argos and index, do some good deals, and you can buy everthing you need from there

[dragon]

first thing i shown was from argos... has anyone ever brought one of those tents from argos are they any good?