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 Topic: An Old Friend Lichfield Challenger
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05/9/2013 at 11:35am
Location: North West
Outfit: Obelink Familia 6; ESVO Bedouin 280
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Joined: 19/1/2008 Diamond Member 
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My wife and I started in our early twenties with a backpacking tent, a trangia to cook on and two decent sleeping bags (still use them!).
For budgetary reasons, and because we wanted a certain type, we decided to go without any sleeping mats. We bought them on our second day (for a lot more than we could have got them for elsewhere!).
We enjoyed it - We were young foolish and in love. I guess, aside from being a bit older, not much has changed...
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05/9/2013 at 12:14pm
Location: Scotland.
Outfit: Conway Camargue Lots of Vangos. .
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Joined: 19/6/2004 Diamond Member
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Lovely old tent! I hope you still use it?
I started camping in 1976 in a Vango Force 10 mountain tent which belonged to my then very new boyfriend. Baptism by fire in many ways, both for the camping bug and our relationship. We had a paraffin stove that I was terrified of, I had to eat some disgusting mess that he created involving Smash and the sleeping bag he'd borrowed for me from a mate smelt of beer and sweaty feet. Still, we were young and resilient and I fancied him rotten so I smiled and put up with things while privately thinking there had to be a better way of doing most of this.
We got married eventually, it was our 21st wedding anniversary yesterday. We still have the Force10, it's still in use. The paraffin stove sulks in the attic, OH refuses to throw it out and I refuse to use it. Oh, and he bought me a down sleeping bag for my 21st birthday. I knew he was the one for me then.
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05/9/2013 at 1:46pm
Location: Northern Ireland
Outfit: Bell Tent Vango Coleman and Quechua
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Joined: 28/4/2013 Diamond Member
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I love mine but yours is a bit tidier looking than mine. My label is all messy. You might just about see that it's my avatar. I used my Lichfield for a four day stay at a site in Tralee, Ireland earlier this summer. There were three of us in it (me and two man sized teenagers) I thought it would be a squeeze, and it probably would have been in the rain. But we were lucky with the weather and pretty much only slept in it and we were fine.
Mine is on the verge of delamination, it's got faded bits on it and the inner has some marks on it. I call it character. The sign of a tent well loved.
No tent I have ever owned has got the 'camping smell' just like my Lichfield does. I do not have a clue why, it's not an unpleasant smell. It smells a bit like a newly cut lawn. Maybe it's because it's been on many newly cut bits of campsite.
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06/9/2013 at 10:51am
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Joined: 09/5/2007 Platinum Member 
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There's been some lovely stories, so thanks for sharing. All this talk of young love, I just wanted a mucky weekend!! 
I love the mattress, FOO, there was none of this posh equipment we get nowadays. (My parents took us away in a ridge tent during the 70's)
I haven't used it in years, Volk Scot. In fact, I didn't expect it to be in one piece. The cross bar needs fixing and it would be fine after that.
My tent has marks on the inside and it does have rather a unique smell, Campernic. After putting it up after so long, I had forgotten how you have to mess around getting it all straight, and the back of the fly sheet rides rather high. Oh, and knocking the poles all the time! Still, it was all great stuff.
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The true test of fairness is how fair you are to those who are not
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06/9/2013 at 9:07pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Too many!
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Joined: 15/4/2011 Platinum Member
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Up until 3 weeks ago I had one of these but it was chocolate and lime green....not sure if the picture is still in my gallery but it's been posted on here under a different challenger thread. I gifted it to my children's friend's.....they'd borrowed it loads, looked after it well so I let them keep it. I got it through the free ads on here after seeing Victoria1's pictures!
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I am who I am
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06/9/2013 at 11:21pm
Location: North Herts
Outfit: Monterey4 Cabanon E
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Aw, it was this tent (borrowed from my big sis) that got me back into camping 7 years ago.
We took it to Dorset, Durdle Dor campsite, but the ground and weather was so wet we ended up in a B&B, put off by the manager's "don't go there, we've been pulling em out with the tractor".
So we came home, and I put it up in the garden (foolishly I'd not even tried before and about 18 years since I'd pitched a tent) but it was a cinch to pitch solo.
We had dinner in it, cooked on my sister's suitcase stove: bacon sarnies and a nice cuppa.
Since then, I've been buying and selling tents like a Lloyds trader. Oh, and using them too on occasion 
FoO and Val - I loved your tales of young love, canvas style.
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Do campers 'peg it'?
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06/9/2013 at 11:57pm
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Joined: 05/7/2006 Diamond Member
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My son and his girlfriend joined our crowd at Hoddom Castle a couple of weeks ago, and used my old Lichfield Challenger 5.
The tent had not been used for about 14 years but it was still in perfect condition.
I doubt whether any of my current tents will last that long.
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Bernie
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07/9/2013 at 9:04pm
Location: Medway Kent
Outfit: Base Sec 4.2 Base Sec 2 Sec+III
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My first tent, bought specifically for a 7 night stay in Cornwall with my girlfriend at the time back in the mid 90's.
Great little tent.
Unfortunately, not with the girlfriend anymore but we do have a fantastic son who has just turned 16 and we are very proud of. He has a very kind, loving heart.
So it still worked out well in the end. :)
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(Quechua popup addict!)
Planned for next year, hopefully!
Summer Solstice wild camp.
Chilled in a Field, July.
Crantock, August. Fouth year with the fantastic Quechua Base Seconds 4.2!
..... and the odd night wild camping in my Argos 1 man tent...
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08/9/2013 at 9:41am
Location: Oxford
Outfit: helsport Kongsvold
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Not sure where mine came from but was my festival tent all through the 90's until some bastard slashed it open at Glastonbury inside were three pairs of muddy trousers, a few other bits of dirty clothing, wash bags and 3 cheapo sleeping bags. Always left the doors open at festivals after that as we never took anything worth stealing with us anyway.
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09/9/2013 at 1:52pm
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Glad that it did, Finnboy.
A very dramatic picture, Bernie47
Some bastard indeed, chappers.
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The true test of fairness is how fair you are to those who are not
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