The camping essentials - I've found a bargain which you all need to know about thread...

[SKYY]

Ooops ...

You're not the Travel John person!

If you have the same shewee as mine, it will work fine with the lenor bottle, becos you place it on your self and it forms a seal

place the tubey bit in the bottle

Don't use the paper ones in your tent in the lenor bottle .... it is much harder and may spill... I wouldn't do it

In summary

My night-time aid of choice is the Travel John, you place it one your person and it forms a seal

My day time choice for porta loo/ long drop is the paper sheewee

Lenor bottle, Sheewee which you place on your person which forms a seal and the tubey bit in the bottle

Mine is purple, I've also seen white ones which do not form a seal on your person

Where did you get the paper ones please? Slightly worried about my 'aim' in the porch in to a traveljohn after a few bevvies! I'm taking a huge lenor bottle so a paper shewee would be ideal!

[AiiShotTheDJ]

Ooops ...

You're not the Travel John person!

If you have the same shewee as mine, it will work fine with the lenor bottle, becos you place it on your self and it forms a seal

place the tubey bit in the bottle

Don't use the paper ones in your tent in the lenor bottle .... it is much harder and may spill... I wouldn't do it

In summary

My night-time aid of choice is the Travel John, you place it one your person and it forms a seal

My day time choice for porta loo/ long drop is the paper sheewee

Lenor bottle, Sheewee which you place on your person which forms a seal and the tubey bit in the bottle

Mine is purple, I've also seen white ones which do not form a seal on your person

Thats brilliant, thank you. I'm slightly worried about using a traveljohn after a few so will invest in a shewee as a back up!

[sunnyshoes]

Has anyone tried these thingies that you put on a gas ring and you can make toast? Worth the effort?

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/gelert-folding-4-slice-camping-toaster-p118074

Shewees sound good but I'm sure it was on here years ago that the idea of a cheap plastic kitchen funnel (not to be put back to use in the kitchen) and a fabric conditioner bottle was suggested - cheaper than shewees and travel johns.

[Thearg]

Has anyone tried these thingies that you put on a gas ring and you can make toast? Worth the effort?

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/gelert-folding-4-slice-camping-toaster-p118074

Save yourself a few quid = Coat hanger.

[AiiShotTheDJ]

Has anyone tried these thingies that you put on a gas ring and you can make toast? Worth the effort?

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/gelert-folding-4-slice-camping-toaster-p118074

Shewees sound good but I'm sure it was on here years ago that the idea of a cheap plastic kitchen funnel (not to be put back to use in the kitchen) and a fabric conditioner bottle was suggested - cheaper than shewees and travel johns.

I had a look for a funnel today and cant find a big one

[Bubblecup]

I had a look for a funnel today and cant find a big one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Funnel-Plastic-10-25-5-cm/dp/B004MALNDM/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1370298722&sr=1-9&keywords=funnel

big enough for even the poorest of aims!

[moheetoes]

Can't seem to copy the link but for those looking for disposable p-mates/shewees, I usually buy from http://www.pmate.co.uk , £3.99 for 5, not the cheapest but can't put a price on not visiting long drops in middle of the night, or not hovering in a turdis in the dark - these were handed out free at the shepees when they first came to Glastonbury.

Edited June 3, 2013 by moheetoes

[coma girl]

Has anyone tried these thingies that you put on a gas ring and you can make toast? Worth the effort?

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/gelert-folding-4-slice-camping-toaster-p118074

I have one of these and it worked reasonably well

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/toaster-folding-1-slice-p152188

[BA4 4BY]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Funnel-Plastic-10-25-5-cm/dp/B004MALNDM/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1370298722&sr=1-9&keywords=funnel

big enough for even the poorest of aims!

Now THAT'S a funnel!!

[The Naughty One]

I've also decided to go for this option and have my mind pretty much set on a pair of these:

http://www.outdoormania.co.uk/Item-0-0-cat-21-brand-1412-Salomon_Cosmic_4D_2_GTX.aspx#prettyPhoto

Before I dive in head first I was wondering if anyone might have any experience of these, or knows where I can get them for less than £130 in the Spring Green colour as shown in the link above please ?

Go Outdoors are selling the Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX boots in the sale for £84.99. I'd post a link but this useless machine I'm using doesn't allow me to.

[gmb1992]

Can't seem to copy the link but for those looking for disposable p-mates/shewees, I usually buy from http://www.pmate.co.uk , £3.99 for 5, not the cheapest but can't put a price on not visiting long drops in middle of the night, or not hovering in a turdis in the dark - these were handed out free at the shepees when they first came to Glastonbury.

I'd recommend getting a Shewee Extreme, I got mine from Play.com and it cost about a tenner. But it can be used all weekend and comes with a case and everything!!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Go Outdoors are selling the Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX boots in the sale for £84.99. I'd post a link but this useless machine I'm using doesn't allow me to.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/cosmic-4d-gtx-p163156

[The Naughty One]

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/cosmic-4d-gtx-p163156

Thanks

[BA4 4BY]

Go Outdoors are selling the Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX boots in the sale for £84.99. I'd post a link but this useless machine I'm using doesn't allow me to.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/cosmic-4d-gtx-p163156

Thanks for this. This is the old model that has since been replaced by the Cosmic 4D 2 GTX, which as it happens I ordered from Go Outdoors on Friday using their price promise where they will beat any valid like for like price from another supplier by 10%, so I got them for £121 in the end. They arrived at lunchtime today and I've been wearing them since, along with a pair of Bridgedale bamboo socks that arrived separately 10 minutes later! So far I can thoroughly recommend both and I'm well pleased, I have already ordered two more pairs of the socks.

My next purchase needs to be gaiters, then I think I'm about done.

[sheffieldlady]

I just need some insoles and a self inflating mat and booze and I'm done :-)

[ilovelanegan]

Picked a blue one of these up in Sports Direct yesterday (was £2 instore).

http://www.sportsdirect.com/2012-team-gb-gym-bag-388128

Great as a cheap day sack- I prefer to carry stuff on both shoulders rather than relying on the tote bags they give out at the gate.

[daclown28]

I take a draw string bag like that every year, it's called my "udder" as it always has a cider and wine tap poking out of the top, and I keep them under my arm like a bag pipe and milk it into a cup, I'm happy drinking warm scrumpy and if its really hot I have cinnamon sticks and star anise, take a wine box and a cider box a day in the morning and go back for spirits and to grabs jumper/ trousers in the evening. I try to get a kids designed bag each year 2011 was batman I think

[bucko]

my sis-in-law got this today from costco http://www.igloocoolers.com/Coolers/MaxCold/165-Quart-MaxCold they don't have it on the website but at £90 its almost £50 cheaper than anywhere else.

[benm61]

What are people's thoughts on footwear from sports direct. I know they have shall we say a mixed reputation, but they do have a lot of karrimor boots for fairly cheap.....

[AiiShotTheDJ]

What are people's thoughts on footwear from sports direct. I know they have shall we say a mixed reputation, but they do have a lot of karrimor boots for fairly cheap.....

I've had many people question my love of sports direct. I bought a pair of £2.99 karrimor flip flops for the poolside in Florida and ended up spending the whole 2 weeks in them (literally all day everyday) because they were so comfy.

[mikeb]

What are people's thoughts on footwear from sports direct. I know they have shall we say a mixed reputation, but they do have a lot of karrimor boots for fairly cheap.....

The "Karrimor" branded stuff sold by SportsDirect is NOT a product of the highly reputable UK-based Karrimor company of many years ago who produced top quality gear. The original company folded up donkey's years ago and SportsDirect simply bought and now just use the name on products various so do not expect the same quality product or very good reputation of years gone by and all that. The gear mostly appears to be just another cheaply made overseas sourced item now. Also beware of the "original selling price" often quoted to highlight the bargain prices so to speak because it always seems to me to be a pretty unrealistic RRP i.e. it's significantly higher than the going rate for very similar stuff from elsewhere.

Having said that, some of the gear I've actually looked at doesn't seem too bad at all given the prices and I have been seriously tempted a few times. However, I think it's probably fair to say that quality is highly variable going by reviews various ! I would suggest that you make sure you actually have a good look at what you're interested in before parting with any do$h to ensure that it really is suitable for your needs and also do your homework first to ensure that the bargain price on the ticket really is a genuine bargain. As is almost always the case, you generally only get what you pay for and all that, but that certainly doesn't mean that there aren't bargains to be had providing you know exactly what you're getting for your do$h and don't have unrealistic expectations.

Many el-cheapo things I've bought from the likes of Aldi, Lidl and various other places over the years have lasted for absolutely ages and have without any doubt whatsoever been significantly better and massively cheaper than very similar well known brand goods. Bargains are defo out there to be had, you just need to make sure you find the genuine ones and ignore the cr@p rather than simply believe the hype from the marketing department !

Edited June 7, 2013 by mikeb

[frostypaw]

While much of it is alright I've found the sports direct footwear is so cheap as it lacks any insole what-so-ever - you will need to factor the price of those in or you'll murder your feet.

[bamber]

Hello frostypaw

[benm61]

The "Karrimor" branded stuff sold by SportsDirect is NOT a product of the highly reputable UK-based Karrimor company of many years ago who produced top quality gear. The original company folded up donkey's years ago and SportsDirect simply bought and now just use the name on products various so do not expect the same quality product or very good reputation of years gone by and all that. The gear mostly appears to be just another cheaply made overseas sourced item now. Also beware of the "original selling price" often quoted to highlight the bargain prices so to speak because it always seems to me to be a pretty unrealistic RRP i.e. it's significantly higher than the going rate for very similar stuff from elsewhere.

Having said that, some of the gear I've actually looked at doesn't seem too bad at all given the prices and I have been seriously tempted a few times. However, I think it's probably fair to say that quality is highly variable going by reviews various ! I would suggest that you make sure you actually have a good look at what you're interested in before parting with any do$h to ensure that it really is suitable for your needs and also do your homework first to ensure that the bargain price on the ticket really is a genuine bargain. As is almost always the case, you generally only get what you pay for and all that, but that certainly doesn't mean that there aren't bargains to be had providing you know exactly what you're getting for your do$h and don't have unrealistic expectations.

Many el-cheapo things I've bought from the likes of Aldi, Lidl and various other places over the years have lasted for absolutely ages and have without any doubt whatsoever been significantly better and massively cheaper than very similar well known brand goods. Bargains are defo out there to be had, you just need to make sure you find the genuine ones and ignore the cr@p rather than simply believe the hype from the marketing department !

Thanks for the info. I'd thought I'd read somewhere about the karrimor brand malarkey. But of a shame as I seem to remember them being reputable. Having looked at some reviews I think I may splash out a bit on something that might last!

[daclown28]

I have bought a lot of sports direct/ field and trek stuff and its not all rubbish, the karrimor stuff is good, maybe not as good as the rrp states but usually better than the sale price would suggest, go into a shop try it on, you will know if it's cheap crap or any good