Topic: Camping with the family (Read 17443 times)

RDeckard · « **on:** June 11, 2015 »

I have 2 young children and have been getting them into camping the last few years, they really enjoy it as well so really pleased. An issue crept in last year where we kept on buying kit to make things easier and we have reached a point now where its almost like we are trying to replicate living in a home almost.

I'm at the stage now where we have so much stuff to take camping that i am starting to dread it to be honest, our car and roof rack is jam packed full of crap.

I'm thinking of scaling the whole thing back again and going back to basics, i think the kids might enjoy it more. Want to make the kids reasonably comfortable but also want to give them the real camping experience, back to nature etc...

Any other dads out there have the same experience?

Rich.H · « **Reply #1 on:** June 11, 2015 »

At this time of year you should be able to scale back quite a lot of stuff easily. With the longer days and better temperatures you can do away with much of the big heavy gear without any suffering. In addition you may find that you have far too much in the way of clothes, if you are only away for a day or two then you really do not need much in the way of clothes. Good waterproofs to begin with mean your main clothes do not get trashed, so all you need is spare underwear and socks, couple that with a warm top each and that should be plenty. No doubt the kids will revel in the chance to not have to fuss with new clothes everyday and getting to be good and dirty for a couple of days. I'm not sure you have on your own back but there is no reason why the kids can't carry at least some of their own gear too, it will both take a load off you and give them a sense of independence and responsibility while outdoors. Obviously nothing heavy but a small 10-15lt pack each means their snacks and waterproofs are not on your back.

Now you can also forgo lots of other things such as your luxury stuff, and to be honest you will find that often you won't notice it missing apart from the space/weight saving. Get creative with the things you do outdoors and you don't need to lug things to keep folks occupied in the evening etc. For me the best way I found to do this is getting out a much as you can and each time pick an item you are going to leave at home, if you find yourself not suffering because of this you know it falls into the luxury group and can be ditched.

Sadly though there will be a point you get to where it will come down to the dreaded cash, as you can get phenomenal kit that weighs less and takes less space but gives better performance, that always comes at a price though so it ends up as situation where you have to look at how often you use an item. Stuff like tents, sleeping mats/bags, packs are things you will use each and every time and so are worth spending big money on. When you break down the per trip cost of the item they easily pay for themselves, but the same could not be said for say a shiny top notch head torch. Again this is something that works by trial and error, but a notepad or note app on your phone helps as you can quickly make a note when your outdoors of things you think are worth spending cash on and others that you can easily make do with cheaper gear etc.

whoRya · « **Reply #2 on:** June 11, 2015 »

I'm probably well behind you on this. We don't have all the stuff we really need. What kind of excess stuff do you think you could live without?

LandyLiam · « **Reply #3 on:** June 11, 2015 »

Just get a caravan

RDeckard · « **Reply #4 on:** June 12, 2015 »

Quote from: whoRya on June 11, 2015

I'm probably well behind you on this. We don't have all the stuff we really need. What kind of excess stuff do you think you could live without?

Too many clothes, bedding, cooking utensils, food, even a dvd player. Basically we have been trying to replicate living at home probably without realising and have found that i'm not really enjoying it. Even the tent we have is too big and takes ages to put up. Trying to make it comfortable for the kids i suppose but i suspect they dont really care about all the stuff and just want a bit of an adventure instead.

Going to go back to basics as Rich suggests and hopefully capture that sense of getting back to nature that i started camping in the first place for.

Rich.H · « **Reply #5 on:** June 12, 2015 »

Quote

Trying to make it comfortable for the kids i suppose but i suspect they dont really care about all the stuff and just want a bit of an adventure instead.

I see this a fair amount with families and always find it ironic, a parent will spend all week lamenting a child for running around in their school uniform getting dirty etc and then think that same child now needs all the home comforts when camping. I can't speak from experience but I am willing to bet that if most parents just make sure the children have somewhere dry to sleep, and warm clothes with plenty of food then everything else will be fine in the kids minds. It always tends to be adults who do stuff like worry about rain, muck and having the perfect cook set. Kids just pile on in there and want to get on with the business of looking at animals and playing with fire/sharp things.

RDeckard · « **Reply #6 on:** June 12, 2015 »

Quote from: Rich.H on June 12, 2015

Quote
playing with fire/sharp things.

Their mother would love that!!

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Author Topic: Camping with the family (Read 17443 times)

RDeckard

Camping with the family

Rich.H

Re: Camping with the family

whoRya

Re: Camping with the family

LandyLiam

Re: Camping with the family

RDeckard

Re: Camping with the family

Rich.H

Re: Camping with the family

RDeckard

Re: Camping with the family

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