New Tent!

[snowdragon]

I went to my first festival last year but only had day tickets. It was close to where I live. This year I have booked up for three and was going to use tangerine fields but instead have treated myself to a tent. This works out much cheaper than the tangerine fields option and I will also use it to go camping and exploring between festivals I think. I quite like the thought of just randomly disappearing off somewhere.

The tent I treated myself to is a QueChua QuickHiker III.

Edited April 18, 2012 by snowdragon

[jump]

I never even considered using the pre-made tents before, waste of money.

[snowdragon]

It seemed very convenient to have the tent already for you but the videos of the quick hiker three show that it can be put up in less than five minutes and also is really compact and lightweight in its carry bag. I also got a lightweight sleeping bag that is rated at five degrees.

I initially considered a QueChua pop up tent but they seem to be in a huge circular case of some nearly one metre diameter. The one I have chosen is in a forty cm wide by eighteen cm bag.

Now I can't wait to get out there.

Edited April 18, 2012 by snowdragon

[grumpyhack]

Welcome to the club. You may have started down a slippery slope. Not long before you get into tent porn - discussing all sorts of extras you can add to your tenting collection, like portable stoves, storage shelves, aid beds etc.

After that you end up with so much gear that you get into trolley discussions.

Never throw away a tent. Take it home after each fest, clean it off and repair any problems before you pack it away.

Our gang started with small tents, graduated to a four bedroomed dome tent palace - 8ft 6" high with tables, chairs. After that it was a trailer tent with fridge, sink and all the works.

This year I've finally graduated to a small touring caravan, complete with toilet and shower.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

And always put your tent up before drinking, unlike these two;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV9x0w8fXLY

[grumpyhack]

Take a claw hammer. Good for pulling pegs out as well as putting them in.

And think about where you camp - before the rain falls..

Edited April 18, 2012 by grumpyhack

[snowdragon]

Welcome to the club. You may have started down a slippery slope. Not long before you get into tent porn - discussing all sorts of extras you can add to your tenting collection, like portable stoves, storage shelves, aid beds etc.

After that you end up with so much gear that you get into trolley discussions.

Never throw away a tent. Take it home after each fest, clean it off and repair any problems before you pack it away.

Our gang started with small tents, graduated to a four bedroomed dome tent palace - 8ft 6" high with tables, chairs. After that it was a trailer tent with fridge, sink and all the works.

This year I've finally graduated to a small touring caravan, complete with toilet and shower.

Edited April 18, 2012 by snowdragon

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Drunken staggering oafs come with the territory. Chances are that you'll get away with any major collateral damage. I've never taken a catastrophic 'hit' yet in all the years I've been going to festivals.

Do Boomtown Fair tell you to leave your stove at home or just advise it? I'd be tempted to think they are in cahoots with the food providers.

[snowdragon]

It says on the Boomtown website that you can eat really well and cheaply on site so ditch the food and cooking equipment.

Sod that I want to have so hot water to make a decent brew and cocoa. Also to make some hot milk for my porridge in the morning.

Has anyone here used any of the freeze dried pouch meals like the mountain house or real turmat?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I would have thought those specialised meal packs would cost as much as buying a meal from a vendor, only you've got the hassle and mess of cooking it yourself and cleaning up afterwards.

[snowdragon]

I wouldn't use them at festivals per se I was thinking for camping elsewhere.

I will still take the stove to Boomtown though. I bet it gets dear keep buying tea and coffee from the vendors and I bet they can't make a brew how I like it!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I should imagine they wouldn't make a brew how you like it - nor how anybody else likes it either! On saying that there are good vendors at some festivals.

[grumpyhack]

Possibly the most useful bit of camping gear I've bought over the years was this

A camping toaster. Folds flat to the size of a plate but you can toast five slices of bread (four round sides and one on top). So with a one burner cooker you can get a toast factory going. Toast and marmalade for breakfast, toast and pate, toast and Marmite etc. Somehow toasting elevates humble bread to something else.

[markeee]

Possibly the most useful bit of camping gear I've bought over the years was this

A camping toaster. Folds flat to the size of a plate but you can toast five slices of bread (four round sides and one on top). So with a one burner cooker you can get a toast factory going. Toast and marmalade for breakfast, toast and pate, toast and Marmite etc. Somehow toasting elevates humble bread to something else.

[grumpyhack]

They're absolutly brilliant though I've only used them on portable gas cookers like this

Light to carry (the toast rack) and compact about the size of a plate. I'd never go camping without it.now.

[snowdragon]

I am really surprised a lot of people leave their tents behind at the end of a festival. They could use them another time.

Goes to show what a throw away society we are when it even comes to single use tents.

Edited April 20, 2012 by snowdragon

[Jaybles]

I am really surprised a lot of people leave their tents behind at the end of a festival. They could use them another time.

Goes to show what a throw away society we are when it even comes to single use tents.

[snowdragon]

When the majority of tents at festivals are bargain 20 pound tents from asda or tesco, its not too surprising.

Cheap single skin tents that are normally broken before the end of the festival.

I always take my tent home, but then I paid for a decent one. Has lasted me about 4 years worth of around 10 festivals

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I've bought new equipment for this years festivals. Namely a Gelert Tornado three man tent because I'm p*ssed off with the lack of room for one person in a supposed 2 man tent. I've bought one of those sleeping bag pods from the camp shop on this very site. I've always hated the restriction of movement in a 'normal' sleeping bag. On top of that for some reason I couldn't actually get into my normal sleeping bag last year! On a previous year my friend couldn't actually find the open end of his sleeping bag so he cut the bottom closed end with a knife and got into it that way! I have also bought a self inflating mattress to take the place of the heavy and self deflating air bed I used to bring.

I have also bought some other items whose sole purpose is to get stuff past little sniffing doggies. They are very ingenious but suspect the little doggie handlers know all about them already. Still, what can you do. I'm now on ebay looking for a fishing trolley to cart all the stuff on. I used to carry everything in the past but last glasto did me in ( mind you I was carrying a friends 3 or 4 man tent in for him as well as my own stuff).

I know none of you wanted to know all that cobblers but I happen to be bored out of my mind with very little else to do. Apologies for wasting that fraction of your life you spent reading this.

[LondonTom]

I've bought one of those sleeping bag pods from the camp shop on this very site.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Got one last year, do not regret at all!!! I am a mover at night and the regular sleeping bags just pissed me off to much.

[snowdragon]

I am a bit worried. I saw a thread on here about people throwing pee at festivals. Not sure if it was genuine prma joke thread. Throwing pee at other festival goers? Anyone doing that should be booted off camp and banned for the remainder of their naturals.

I've been to one festival called rhythmtree on the isle of wight and that never happened there.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Rhythmtree is a world music festival and is without doubt not going to draw the type of person who throws piss into the crowd. I've seen it done quite a few times at Glasto ( basically they can't be bothered to go to the toilet, piss into their plastic pint glass ( yes I know!) and then lob it over peoples heads in front of them). I've never seen it done at Bestival where I believe you are going to. Can't say about the others you are going to because I've not been to them but suspect not. I wouldn't let it put you off going. Festivals are too good to be worrying about the very unlikely chance that you'd get hit by a container of piss.

In terms of anyone who does that being thrown off site and banned for their naturals - I think I might go a bit further than that with them in terms of 'educating' them on the error of their ways.

No idea what prma stands for in your post.

[snowdragon]

I am going to Boomtown Fair, Rhythmtree and Bestival. Probably Folkstation on Isle ofWight too. I have thought about Download as there are lots of bands playing there I like. It's quite far to travel to though.

It seems pee throwing happens mainly at Reading and Leeds. I don't know much about those festivals. It seems that looking into it festivals seem to be graded from beginners to experienced goers and I think Reading and Leeds are not beginners festivals. That said I googled about throwing pee at festivals as I was in disbelief and it seems to happen at Download too so not sure where that festival sits on the experience spectrum.

The word you didn't understand was meant to be or. The IPad corrected it to that jumble for some reason.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Here's an example of a woman getting her own back after somebody threw a bottle (not sure if it was full of piss or not) into a festival crowd. Good on her.