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 see you then Janso

Quote: Originally posted by Martin MC on 04/9/2008

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Me and the Mrs have lost the wee man for a weekend begining of October so are heading to the peaks for a weekend break. My old 2/3man dome tent is making a rare appearance, we normaly use a 6 man tunnel tent for our summer trips. So could be a culture shock to the Mrs going from such a spacy tent to a small one thats basically a sleeper only! Cant stand in the small one! LOL We too dont have electric and we never will.

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we are going half term 26th oct for 4 nights!!!!! i dont think we are stupid .....crazy maybe lol

need to get a fan heater with thermostat think pj's and cosy toastie clothes!!!!

we have booked park resort after a thread on here said you can ue tesco points so for a fiver of voucher we have got 4 nights £20.00........ not expecting a great deal will take plenty of films and games!!!!!

I'm hoping to camp in Sussex to attend the C&CCs AGM in October. (I've never had heating in my tent - the one we use is far too small to need it even in heavy frost)

Ive camped during winter many times in bleak places too where EHU are nowhere to be found in much colder temps than you find in October. Never had such problems. You are correct about breathable though. I can say ive only felt cold in the small hours once and that was a wet icy rain night in a forest in mid Wales ten years back. That was mainly as I got drenched during the day and couldnt really dry out.

Oh and I will never have a EHU ta that aint proper camping even if you are a golden oldie! Once my body says enough I may join the tupperware mansion brigade with all the toys! LOL

Quote: Originally posted by rexgrant on 07/9/2008

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Hi
It is very obverse to me that a lot of the posters have not had much experience of cold weather camping.
It is not just piling the blankets on in a tent to stay warm and comfortable you have to keep the moisture level down. There is nothing worse than to go to sleep hot and sweating then as the temperature drops around 0200 hrs the sweat cools down and you start to feel cold. The correct tent is very important Mountain tents are designed to pass moisture through the inner tent and condense on the outer and run down the sides and not on to the occupants, the sleeping bags they use are breathable,to let the moisture out so you do not get the cold damp feeling, and if you do not get a dry day following the cold damp night to dry out your sleeping equipment you will start out the next night wet. Been there it is not pleasant especially in the middle of Dartmoor
If you are going to camp in a family tent in winter especially if it is not a breathable tent, then I would say and EHU and a fan or convector heater is essential.
If you are in a 4 season all cotton tent such as the Cabanon Biscaya,or one of the strong polycotton tents, one of the Pyramid tents, or better still a DeWaard or karston, a bell tent or cotton ridge tent. any one of these with a breathable 4 or 5 season sleeping bag, and well insulated from the floor then you can safely do without heat.
But if you want your family to be worm and dry I recommend you use an EHU for winter camping.
Regards
Rex.

 

Thanks Rexgrant. You are quite right we have no experience of camping after August usually.  This weekend is our last without an EHU. In Octber we will definately be getting an EHU pitch.

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Quote: Originally posted by Martin MC on 07/9/2008

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Ive camped during winter many times in bleak places too where EHU are nowhere to be found in much colder temps than you find in October. Never had such problems. You are correct about breathable though. I can say ive only felt cold in the small hours once and that was a wet icy rain night in a forest in mid Wales ten years back. That was mainly as I got drenched during the day and couldnt really dry out.

Oh and I will never have a EHU ta that aint proper camping even if you are a golden oldie! Once my body says enough I may join the tupperware mansion brigade with all the toys! LOL

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Excellent explanation rexgrant, it appears to me alot of people dont heed the warning 'that it is not stupid not to take advice it is stupidity not to listen to it'

when you are in your 60's the one thing you learn is to keep warm and dry, damp can be a killer to anyone of any age as it soon turns to cold.If you have ever been in the forces the first thing you learn to do at night is to undress and pack your cloths including your boots in your sleeping bag with you, always have a clean dry pair of socks ,in the morning once dressed turn your sleeping bag inside out to make sure it dries out for the night. these are just basic survival rules even in these modern times especialy at this time of year. camping in a tent is still camping you get no medals for who can survive the night in the coldest weather with out using EHU or an heater, if that is what the weather dictates then that is what you use if you have it available, camping is for enjoyment not endurment LOL

Quote: Originally posted by lynn and ray on 03/9/2008

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 we are going from the 5th october for 4 nights in the lake district, there will be four adults,2children,1 toddler,and a baby

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Quote: Originally posted by oddy58 on 13/9/2008

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If you have ever been in the forces the first thing you learn to do at night is to undress and pack your cloths including your boots in your sleeping bag with you, always have a clean dry pair of socks ,in the morning once dressed turn your sleeping bag inside out to make sure it dries out for the night.

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That sounds like excellent advice Oddy.