UKC

Hi Guys & Gals

I am new to climbing, i been going for about 3 years all of it sport climbing. First year was completely indoor climbing year 2 was 80/20 split between indoor and out door this year is 65/35 living in south wales whenever me and my climbing partner have time to go it seems to be raining.

i have kind of got an idea that i would like to load up the car drive somewhere and just go on a hike find a sport climb camp for a few days and just spend time climbing and being out doors.

But i have absolutely no idea where to begin with kit needed for the camping and hiking. every web site has a million different options between packing the kitchen sink or going ultra light. they all sell the latest and greatest. its a mine field.

i was just hoping to get some basic advice of what tent, sleeping bag and clothing is reliable and will do the job and not cost an arm and a leg.

Any advice would be amazing be great to get some pics of peoples kit as an idea of amount of things to take or any links that would help me out

thank you in advance Mike

In reply to mikegbpf:

For reasonable quality for a reasonableprice I suggest looking at Vango tents. If you can get last years colours at a discount then even better. I would avoid really cheap tents. Get some sort of mat to insulate you from the ground or you will freeze. Basic gas stoves are cheap and easy to use.

In reply to mikegbpf:

Duke of Edinburgh recommended kit might be a good starting point. As marsbar said Vang tents are pretty good for their money, the banshee 200 is pretty decent. As for a sleeping bag. Mat stove etc, where are you planning on going? What temperature range will you experience there? Alpkit are also good resource for reasonably priced kit, head torch, stoves utensils etc...

In reply to mikegbpf:

i am thinking of traveling up to snowdonia national park, to give you some kind of idea of the temps and weather i will be facing...

i am planning on some shorter hikes and camping trips to get my self ready and feel confident before traveling up there for 5-7 days

In reply to mikegbpf:

Snugpak softie 9 hawk is a good choice for a cheap, solid 3 season sleeping bag. They are a bit heavy but will last forever. They are usable in winter with a liner.

As for getting an idea about the weather, it can be all over the place in Snowdonia.

In reply to mikegbpf:

You might want to research your destination a little bit if you're planning on sport climbing in snowdonia. There are plenty of bolts in the slate quarries but its not all sport climbing and even those that are properly bolted might be a little bit different to what you're used to if you haven't done slate before. If you go north towards the coast there is limestone though and enough to keep you busy however a lot of the A55 crags aren't places you'd really want to camp.

In reply to mikegbpf:

Highly recommend Vango tents, I use them at work quite a bit and they are well made and not too heavy to transport about the hills.
Decent mat is worth it's weight in gold as you loose about 2/3rds of your heat into the ground.
You can pick up a gas stove for peanuts that will do the job just fine.
Alpkit stuff is good value and well priced.
Its worth having a look on ebay for bits and pieces as well as the facebook groups that sell second hand kit.

In reply to mikegbpf:

Are you planning on going winter or summer?

In reply to mikegbpf:

marsbar I am looking at going toward the end of march/early April. as i said i am an absolute novice and looking for tips and advice. i want to go there and enjoy my time not come home throw the gear in the garage and never look at it again

In reply to mikegbpf:

Thanks for all the messages so far guys its a great help

In reply to mikegbpf:

It could be quite cold then, so get a really warm sleeping bag.

Practise putting your tent up in the garden or a friends garden etc before you go away so you don't have to try to pitch it the first time in the dark after a long drive.

What I sometimes do is cook a curry or stew and take with me it to just heat up. Some people don't bother much with hot food, but I think it helps you keep warm and sleep better.

As for the gear, you don't want it too heavy if you are carrying it, but some people do get a bit obsessed with the extra lightweight stuff. The saying goes, cheap, light, durable, pick any 2.

In reply to mikegbpf:
I am indulging in a second childhood and camped this summer for the first time for over 30 years. What worked for me was:

- borrow a tent from a friend to see if it's the sort of thing you want
- go with someone who has done lots of camping, for starters
- buy inexpensive new kit for starters in case you don't get on with it
- practise cooking in the back garden. My first camping stove coffee, made among the plant pots, was a treat.

I have the impression that for starters camping-with-car is easiest. Camping with what you can carry on your back is a different and more advanced skilil.

Have a lovely time!

In reply to mikegbpf:

Hi Mike. Do you intend on carrying all the kit around with you or are you setting up the tent like a basecamp and hiking-climbing from there??. If you are carrying the tent etc then you really need to opt for a lightweight tent. One very important thing about the tent is get one with a little bit of extra room. If the weather is pish then its a real plus to be able to have that extra room to separate wet from dry etc. A good mat is also very important. Those thin foldy-rolly up things are really uncomfortable. A decent thermarest inflatable mat that gives a bit of protection from the cold and comfort is a real help on long nights. A warm bag is also a must. Don't hesitate..go explore

In reply to mikegbpf:

In N Wales there are often a lot of rocks under the thin layer of soil so as you are car camping where weight is less of a issue invest in steel pegs and take a hammer. The lightweight aluminium pegs usually supplied with new tents will just bend and are difficult to get in. This also applies if you are camping on frozen ground.

Get good quality insulation mat either a Thermarest or Karrimat and a 3/4 season sleeping bag rated to at least minus 10 degrees for that time of year. I'd rather be too hot than too cold. Beware of cheap sleeping bags which can be cold - you get what you pay for. Personally I prefer down fill to synthetic. A silk liner is a really worth while investment - keeps you warmer and stops the sleeping bag from getting smelly.

A pee bottle is very useful and saves you having to go out in the night or if it's raining.

For washing up tufts of grass work really well. The earth round the root acts as an abrasive and the grass is an excellent cleaner. (obviously if you have non stick pans be careful not to scratch them), for this reason I prefer steel. It's a bit heavier but not significantly. Don't take too many pots and pans. You won't use them. As someone has said practice cooking on your stove in the garden at home.

Take food that is quick and easy to heat up. You don't have to buy expensive off the shelf cook in the bag ready meals you can make the ingredients up yourself for a fraction of the price before you go. Make certain you keep your matches dry and take a cheap cigarette lighter as a back up. If cooking on gas take a spare cylinder, and if camping in cold weather remember that propane/butane doesn't burn as well as liquid fuels like paraffin or petrol, but for the latter is potentially more messy and take a cleaning rag and prickers to prevent carbon build up in the jets.

So far as clothing is concerned go for breathable waterproofs, and reasonable quality walking boots. (preferably Gortex or similar lined). Take spare socks - I've found the inexpensive JCB work socks are great for walking and hard wearing - you can get them on line or at Morrisons. Don't wear jeans, get quick drying walking trousers. Wear a base layer (ideally one that wicks), a mid layer of fleece or similar, and a fleece jacket.

Don't take too many clothes, you really only need changes of pants, spare socks, one spare base layer and one spare mid layer, so that they will keep you warm next to you skin at the end of the day, if the others get soaked

Good luck and enjoy

In reply to mikegbpf:

Hi Mike, if you are S Wales based there's a good independent outdoor shop in Cardiff called Up and Under. I used to work there and back then you could be sure to get sensible kit advice with no over selling. I'm sure it hasn't changed. Might be worth popping down there and looking at the gear they have. The guys and gals there are all really experienced and they test much of what they stock themselves.
http://www.upandunder.co.uk

In reply to mikegbpf:

there are some good bargains in secondhand tents as people sometimes try once and give up or find the tent is too big/too small and need to change.

with the money saved on a tent buy a really good (usually means really expensive) sleeping bag - its a false economy to buy cheap synthetic. I've only ever had down fill - camping in February, hanging on big walls, pissing down for days in Glenbrittle and its never let me down. You can get good bargains in down bags as well - last year I sold a friend's hardly used PHD bag which cost £600 new for £200. Make your pennies count and have fun!

In reply to mikegbpf:

Thank you all for the advice really helpful .... from the comments on here and talking to friends i think the best plan is to set up a tent at a camp site so i have a base camp and go exploring for the first day or 2 returning to the camp site at night. If on my adventures i find an area i want to climb and i can pitch a tent i will then relocate to that area.

i can then repeat the process go back to the car drive to another part of snowdonia park find a camp site explore relocate to a climb.

i will be giving all cooking and kit the garden test for sure find what is best for me before going out. i will also do a few 1-2 night camps up the local mountain to give me an idea of what carrying the kit is like, setting up at dark, getting organised the next morning ready to move again and having a place for everything so i know where it all lives.

once again the help is fantastic

In reply to mikegbpf:

Camp sites near good pubs are your friends, as sometimes after a long day saying "sod it. I'm eating at the pub!" is the correct decision.

Somehow it becomes the right choice more and more often as I get older.