Camping & Hiking Gear

How to choose a tent size

Tent capacity ratings are the most misleading figure in outdoor equipment. A 4-person tent means four adults lying side by side with no room for anything else.

• Take the rating and subtract one for comfort. A 4-person tent suits two adults and two small children, or three adults with kit.
• Check the peak height if you want to change standing up. Dome tents taper sharply, the quoted height applies only at the very centre.
• Look at the porch or vestibule. Somewhere to leave wet boots and bags outside the sleeping area is what makes a tent liveable in British weather.
• Check the packed size and weight if you're carrying it any distance. Family dome tents are for driving to a site, not for backpacking.

What the hydrostatic head rating means

Waterproofing is measured in millimetres of hydrostatic head, the water column a fabric resists before leaking.

• 1,500mm is the UK legal minimum to be called waterproof. Adequate for a dry weekend, marginal in sustained rain.
• 3,000mm handles typical British weather comfortably.
• 5,000mm+ copes with prolonged heavy rain and wind-driven water.

The groundsheet matters as much as the flysheet. It takes pressure from bodies and kit, which forces water through a low rating. Check both figures on the product page.

How to pitch and camp in British weather

• Practise pitching in the garden first. Working out a new tent in the rain, in the dark, at the end of a drive is genuinely miserable and a common reason people give up on camping.
• Pitch on the highest ground available, not in a hollow. Water collects where you'd expect it to.
• Peg out the guy lines properly, every time. A tent that isn't guyed out doesn't shed wind or rain and will flap all night.
• Don't touch the inner wall in rain: contact draws water through condensation on the inside.
• Ventilate. Condensation, not leakage, is what makes most tents damp inside. Keep vents open even when it's cold.
• Never dry or store a tent damp. Mould develops within days and permanently damages the waterproof coating.

How to hang a hammock safely

• Use trees at least 15-20cm in diameter and check they're healthy, dead branches above are the real hazard.
• Use wide webbing straps, not rope. Rope cuts into bark and damages the tree; straps spread the load. Many campsites and parks require straps.
• Hang at roughly a 30-degree angle from horizontal, with the seat about 45cm off the ground. Too tight and it's uncomfortable; too high and a fall matters.
• Check the weight limit on the product page and include anything you'll take in with you.
• Sit in the centre, not the end, and get in slowly. Most hammock injuries are people flipping out sideways.
• Bring it in when not in use. Canvas and parachute fabric rot if left out through wet weather.

Staying dry on a hike

• Waterproof beats warm. Wet clothes conduct heat away from the body rapidly, and being wet is what makes people cold.
• Ponchos over jackets for low-intensity walking: they cover a rucksack and ventilate better, so you sweat less. Jackets are better in wind.
• No cotton. It holds water and stays cold. Synthetic or wool base layers keep working when damp.
• Pack a spare layer in a dry bag, or a bin liner, inside your rucksack.
• Tell someone your route and expected return time if you're walking anywhere remote, and check the forecast before setting out, British hills change weather quickly.