Cheap camping gear for the UK meet!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Seeing as a lot of you coming to the meet aren't bushcrafters/campers I thought I'd have a bit of a route around for you

I've bought from these guys before, and infact have both these items, and can't recoment them enough, especially considering the price

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shop/camping-outdoor/cooking-eating/cooking/trangia-stove-mess-kit-330662.html

These are old war stocks, so will need a bit of a clean before you can use them, other than that there totally sound, and have quite a following in outdoors circles

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shop/army-surplus/bags-rucksacks/army-issue-35-ltr-rucksack-with-345426.html

Very hard wareing, and almost as comfortable as my Bergaus Munro

As for cheap tent's, well I'm still looking for one , I quite like the look of this one...
http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shopscr1163.html
...but I can't see everyone liking it

Hope this helps some of you guy's out

[Benner]

Cheers for the links.  I'll have a good look at them buddy. 

[Roadie]

As for cheap tent's, well I'm still looking for one , I quite like the look of this one...
http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shopscr1163.html
...but I can't see everyone liking it

Hope this helps some of you guy's out

Nice and light that tent I remember having to lug around the old Vango Force 10 tents when i worked at an outdoor centre.... that was fun (not!) Very nice tents though just a shame they are so heavy. I'd like to get myself a nice new tent but i have various other things to spend my money on first!

As for trangia's they are the bee's knees! That seems a good deal too for that one. And meths is always fun! (not that i advocate playing around with flammable liquids that would be irresponsible of me )

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Your preaching to the converted , I love meths, nicely flammable, and pretty enviromentally friendly too

[Benner]

I could spend a lot of cash on that site mate.  THANKS!!!  

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I could spend a lot of cash on that site mate.  THANKS!!!  

At least the gears cheap there, I could have given links to mega expensive site's

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Just tested my Trangia for the first time in 5-6 months, lit first time on old meths!, I love these things

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

So has anyone else got any recommendations for cheap, but effective outdoor/camping gear

[FredKJ]

Well guys(mates) I live in a suburb of Denver Colorado and we have outdoor shops all over the place and a good second hand market.  Don't know what you guys have living under the despotism of good king George.  I would look into as many second hand sources as you can.  I have gotten a lot of second hand gear from tents to packs and stoves.  The only thing I wouldn't consider getting second hand is a sleeping bag.  But if your weather is mild a cheap bag might work.  Here in the mountains the evening temp can drop below freezing at altitude even in summer so a good bag is necessary.

[FredKJ]

As for cheap tent's, well I'm still looking for one , I quite like the look of this one...
http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shopscr1163.html
...but I can't see everyone liking it

Hope this helps some of you guy's out

Nice and light that tent I remember having to lug around the old Vango Force 10 tents when i worked at an outdoor centre.... that was fun (not!) Very nice tents though just a shame they are so heavy. I'd like to get myself a nice new tent but i have various other things to spend my money on first!

As for trangia's they are the bee's knees! That seems a good deal too for that one. And meths is always fun! (not that i advocate playing around with flammable liquids that would be irresponsible of me )

Trangias are alcohol stoves.  Don't produce a great deal of heat but will work for mild weather.  If you want to go cheap you can make an alcohol stove out of a beer can and some jute string.  I've made several and if anyone is interested I will explain how.  Hobo stoves made out of coffee cans work as well.  I have a Sierra Zip stove.  It's a rather interesting woodburning contraption.  Has a small fan with forced air and works like a blow torch.  Fuel tab stoves like you mention aren't really good for cooking, can heat a hot drink or some soup but that's about it.  I've used them too.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I love my Trangia, It's is like you say a bit slow, but oh so reliable

As for making one, our very own Spork has a tutorial ...

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=35

[FredKJ]

I love my Trangia, It is like you say a bit slow, but oh so reliable

As for making one, our very own Spork has a tutorial ...

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=35

I'm familiar with that variant design.  It can be made even simpler.  You guys were wanting cheap camp equipment.   The homemade alcohol stove does fit the bill.  Only real cost is the alcohol for it.  If you want woodburning hobo stoves are pretty easy to make.  Google on it and you'll find plenty of designs. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

The thing is, I've got a lot of camping/bushcraft stuff, but it's mostly solo stuff , so it's the rest of the guys who need the stuff, and I don't really care if they freeze or go hungry

I might have to look up some of those hobo stove's, they look a lot of fun

[FredKJ]

The simplest concept of a hobo stove is a coffee can with holes punched in the bottom sides for air intake.  All kinds of variations have been devised over time. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo_stove

It's more efficient than a campfire as the heat is concentrated.

For a higher tech version check this out.

http://www.zzstove.com/sierra.html

I have had a couple of these.  They are neater than sliced bread.  They produce as much heat as a fuel stove.  As long as you are in an area that doesn't have a fire ban they are great.

[FredKJ]

If you want a good site on homemade stoves check this site out.

www.zenstoves.net

The tinker value alone building some of these with the multitools is worth it.  Many work suprisingly well. 

If you really want a "cheap" tent using painters plastic drop cloth works fine.  For tie offs ball up small rocks in the plastic and tie the cord around those.  They won't tear easily and you can make all kinds of shelters out of them. 

There is actually a great satisfaction to using homemade gear and it also feels good on the wallet.