Message Forums

I really want to downsize all the stuff we take camping arghh, its like the krypton factor trying to get it all in the car!!

So if i buy self inflating beds does that eliminate the need for putting anything under them? as we do with the airbeds?

Thanks

Quote: Originally posted by pokerpal on 10/4/2010

---

So if i buy self inflating beds does that eliminate the need for putting anything under them? as we do with the airbeds?

---

That's how they were designed to be used, yup. Remember that self inflating mats were originally designed for climbers etc that were sleeping on frozen rocks...and few climbers carried picnic rugs in their backpacks to put under their airbeds.

Seriously though the closed cell construction of self inflating mats means that they're really excellent insulators, far more so than the picnic rug. You really don't need anything else under them. My kids have been sleeping on them for years, placed straight down on the groundsheet.

Good luck with the downsizing. It will be a constant battle and you need to be eternally vigilant not to backslide. But you'll be grateful every time you pack the car, belive me.

Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 10/4/2010

---

Quote: Originally posted by pokerpal on 10/4/2010

---

So if i buy self inflating beds does that eliminate the need for putting anything under them? as we do with the airbeds?

---

That's how they were designed to be used, yup. Remember that self inflating mats were originally designed for climbers etc that were sleeping on frozen rocks...and few climbers carried picnic rugs in their backpacks to put under their airbeds.

Seriously though the closed cell construction of self inflating mats means that they're really excellent insulators, far more so than the picnic rug. You really don't need anything else under them. My kids have been sleeping on them for years, placed straight down on the groundsheet.

Good luck with the downsizing. It will be a constant battle and you need to be eternally vigilant not to backslide. But you'll be grateful every time you pack the car, belive me.

---

Quote: Originally posted by teamdiabolo on 11/4/2010

---

I have to say, the mats we've got probably take up more space than air beds. When ours are rolled up they're huge. We got ours from Decathlon and they were the thickest ones available when we got the a couple of years ago.

---

Yup, you've got to think of either taking (a) the self inflating mat or (b) the airbed, pump, fleece blanket and sheet to go on airbed and possibly other insulation for underneath if you're so inclined.

The kids have fairly basic self inflating mats which roll up well into skinny bags. Hubby and I have a posh Thermorest and a thick but comfy Lidl one, and they take up one heck of a lot more space. Really thick cheap ones don't compress as well as the expensive skinny ones that climbers use.

Quote: Originally posted by pokerpal on 11/4/2010

---

Thanks if i could go back to natural basics i certainly would! i personally don't see the need for creature comforts per sa, or whats the point in camping...

---

I am going to have to disagree here, sorry! I go camping for quite extended periods of time (4-7 weeks) and I know for a fact that you can take plenty of creature comforts while still getting all your gear into the back of the car. I don't belive that minimalist=roughing it, not at all and I defend this point of view quite vigorously when debating in the sort of threads that insist you have to take trailers worth of gear to be comfortable. I'm middle aged with a disc problem and I'm not into feeling cold, uncomfortable or miserable on a campsite. I'm also bone idle and not into dragging around a ton of superfluous kit which I have to pack, unpack, set up, clean, pack, store...to say nothing of space constraints in the car, tent and storage area in the house.

The secret is to take good quality, multipurpose, lightweight gear suitable for your specific needs and resist all the cute little gizmos that you may only use once per fortnight, and all the "oh it might be useful" or "just in case" items. Don't dump comfort, dump the unnecessary or the inefficient. Now I admit I do own a lot of camping gear, such as multiple stoves and tents, etc but that means I can choose to take exactly what I need for that specific trip and not have to sacrifice comfort.

I must write this down once and for all on the blog but this is Val's Patent 10% rule. Write a list of everything...EVERYTHING...you are going to take on a trip. Don't just put down "cooking gear", write it out...three pots, kettle, three wooden spoons, six teaspoons etc. Then go through it and score out 10% BY Volume. Don't sweat over the sixth teaspoon but see if you can dump two of the six towels by taking hair turbitowels instead. Camping pillows instead of big ones. Take a griddle plate for the cooker rather than the gas BBQ. That sort of thing.

Once you've removed 10%, if it wasn't too difficult, do it again, Take out another 10%. Hardy souls or ones that habitually carry lots of useless stuff may try for another 10% even after that. But really, we don't want to be going into the sharing a toothbrush territory here, okay?

Then take your list on holiday with you, plus a notepad. Write down everything you wish you had taken plus make notes of the stuff you didn't. (Ignore emergency gear here...you don't want to use the first aid kit or tent repair kit, ever, but you still need to take it.) Have a family vote on the drive home as to Most Useless Object. Re-write the list on the way home too, if you're not driving that is! Keep this list as the basis for your next trip list.

Do this every single trip, forever. It does work, trust me. And you'll have the best of both worlds...comfort AND minimal kit.

Good post Val!

Although we now use a MH for the majority of our trips,we still use the tent from time to time and the "summing up" on the journey home (..what did we miss/what didn't we use,just tripped over etc)..is something that we find we still do,even when using the van...

And as you say..if you're roughing it,you're doing it wrong!...

On the subject of mats..well we've only got cheap ones(Hi-Gear,I think) and they've lasted pretty well,5-6 years,although they aren't very big and I do tend to roll off onto the groundsheet..

But I've never got on with airbeds at all(squeaky,sweaty unreliable bl**dy things! )

Chris

Thanks Val you summed up what i felt i don't want to compromise on comfort what i meant to say about minimalistic camping was not having to hike the duvets, sleeping bags, mats under the airbeds, fleece liners oh it goes on (and thats just what i take for me haha)

I am certainly going to do that list!!!!