The Outdoor Chef's Camp Stove

Starting Your Camp Fire

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Campfire Fire Starter

Nothing beats the warm glow of a fire to keep you warm and lift your spirits when you are out on your adventure. However, building a good campfire can be quite a task, especially if you are inexperienced. This task is made almost effortless through the use of a good campfire fire starter.

Traditional Fire Staters

Traditionally, campers, backpackers, climbers have relied on matches or lighters to get a good blaze going. You can buy Waterproof matches which are great to have on hand even if you are in camping in the desert but matches are not Ideal,all it takes is one leaking water bottle to ruin your matches and your attempts at lighting your fire have gone.

The downside of using matches is that they tend to break or just plain not work. If you are not skilled at starting a campfire, you may find that you go through several matches to get one fire started. This may be a problem if you are on a long trip or need heat fast.

Lighters have a downside as well. They may break, run out of fuel or be affected by the weather, be it rain or just humidity. These disadvantages have led many campers and outdoors enthusiasts to find a more suitable campfire fire starter that will work in a variety of conditions while still being lightweight and portable.

Magnesium Campfire Fire Starter

Magnesium fire starters are a flint-and-steel fire starter tool. They are small enough to fit in your pocket so they are even a great option for ultralight backpacking enthusiasts. In addition, they are unaffected by wet conditions or high temperatures and they last a very long time.

The way they work is simple. Strike the flint on the magnesium to create white-hot metal shavings that will quickly ignite your fire starting materials. Because these shavings are far hotter than a match, they can even ignite tinder that is damp from rain or dew. This will allow you to get a fire going in any conditions so you can keep warm or enjoy some Dutch oven cooking.
Instead of magnesium fire starters you can also buy FireSteel(light My Fire Brand is the Best)This will get you fire going in all weathers. All you have to do is Strike the steel with a blade and that gives a SPARK with will then light you Maya dust or cotton wool etc.
You can buy these products at http://campingstoves-uk.com

Fire Starting Materials

It is always a good idea to carry some fire starting materials along on you camping trip as well as your fire starter. Sometimes it is difficult to easily locate tinder. Bring your own and save yourself some hassles. Here are a few examples of easily obtained fire starting materials.

Lint: You knew there had to be some use for the stuff, right? Save it in zipper bags to use as is to get your campfire going quickly. It can also be stuffed onto toilet paper tubes or mixed with melted wax and poured into egg cartons. This is a nice little craft project that can make your camping trip a little easier

Cotton balls: Just coat some cotton balls with petroleum jelly and store in a zipper bag. These are another easy way to get a fire started fast.
Wood shavings: You can easily make your own fire starters by melting some wax (this can be from old candles, crayons, etc.) and mixing in some wood shavings and lint. Now pour the mixture into some cupcake papers and allow it to harden. When you are ready for a fire, just place one in the center of your fire ring along with tinder and firewood and light the paper. It will burn long enough to get a good campfire going with little effort.

Happy Cooking and enjoy your Heat!

Running your self ragid

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:03:00 +0000

Water is an important issue if your a busy little bee!. Camping, Picnics, family days out hiking and school trips etc.
It's The young ones in the family you have to worry about getting dehydrated.
Sigg Bottle's have a brillaint range of childrens drinking bottles. Some designs are 'Sponge Bob and Patrick', Winnie the pooh, Spiderman and many more. With great designs on the bottles it should encorage the kids to drink more and keep there fluids up so the don't get dehydrated!.

Sweaty Betty in the Jungle!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Trekking through the Malaysian jungle of Borneo last month with one set of clothes to walk in and one to sleep in may have been a weight saving plan but by gosh did we stink.
Life venture all purpose soap was the only escape, if I didn’t have that stuff I think I would have gagged on my own stench.

Deet for all those nasty bugs was also a life saver, although I found the spray a lot more easier to use than the roll on which I originally bought, this was mainly due to the fact if you got a leech you couldn’t roll the thing, the spray on the other hand worked perfectly for this, Deet umm!.

By Jess Pike, member of Storm Outdoors

Bog of Death!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:08:00 +0000

As this was my first time taking my parents to Dartmoor, we were only walking around the edge and climbing tors near are campsite such as Yes Tor. Later on in the day we were having issues crossing the river.

Although I know it’s VERY dangerous crossing a large river with no rope, buoyancy aids etc, we managed to find a semi safe place to cross. We managed to rock hop without anyone falling in which was a plus, but as we got to the other side we discovered a mega bog, which some how my boyfriend and father manage to run across without getting stuck. As we eyed up the bog of death we decided to run across, three… two…..one…shit! Quite literally probably, I was semi stuck and my mother up to her waist!

This was very amusing to my father and boyfriend who were standing on the side perfectly mud free until I got out - mawhahaha!.

Gaiters rule so always wear some to stop mega death bogs attacking you!.

Crazy wet summer

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:58:00 +0000

Who's got wet this summer being outdoors?
Soon I will be giving some tips to stay dry for wild camping to walking the Cotswold Way..

10 Products - Less than a Tenner Each!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:51:00 +0000

Everyone loves a bargain and thats why we regularly hold sales here at Storm Outdoors!

We've got the top ten products all under a tenner each! When these camping bits and pieces have gone thats it! So grab yourself a bargain over at Storm Outdoors camping equipment website.

10 Quick Tent Tips that work!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:45:00 +0000

One of our customers just came in and helped give out much of his wisdom on tents, putting them and keeping them up, here's just a few of them:

1) Pegs should go into the ground at a 45 degree angle away from the tent. Pretty obvious but the amount of tents we've seen come loose in windy gales has come down to just badly positioned tent pegs.

2) Limit your tent's exposure to Ultra Violet by camping as much as you can in the shade. UV is what kills a tent in time.

3) Keep the plastic lids off any Pringles. Sewn in ground sheets can get pierced and damaged by table and camping chair legs, place the lids underneath them to spread the weight. GREAT TIP!

4) New tent? Add coloured tape to code the tent poles to help working out what goes where next time you put it up.

5) Take your new tent and put it up in the garden (if space). Practise a few times taking it down and putting it up till you are confident, better learning at home than in a gale on a rainy campsite!

6) Try to purchase a tent that pitches outside first, nothing worse than a soaking wet inner.

7) In bad weather really make sure that none of your tent's inner or outer skins are touching, if it is try to find a better spot out of the wind. If thats not possible turn the side of the tent with the largest space gap between the outer and inner into the wind.

8)Remember that camping near a river is lovely but check you're not on a flood plain with a river that can quickly rise and burst its banks.

9)Clean your tent of mud (and other detriment) when you get home and put it out to dry. Storing a damp tent will quickly lead to its early demise.

10) Having the biggest/lightest/most technical tent does not make you a hardcore adventurer. Many tents are available at a great price, don't spend hundreds on a tent if you never intend to take it up a serious mountain, its not worth the price.

Camping Stoves continued...

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:19:00 +0000

Ok so in our last blog we discussed the types of fuels for camping stoves, which ones offer the best performance etc etc. Today we're going to list the types of camping stoves one might use whilst outdoors. Its not a huge list so it won't take long!

Camp stoves come in several shapes and sizes and can be somewhat categorised into three different types:

Mountain Stoves

Generally considered top of the line camp stoves they provide users with an extremely fast boil. They also have to be lightweight, reliable and strong. This type of camp stove comes at a price though.

You'll find many mountain stoves use liquid fuel as this gives the most efficiency in high altitude mountainous terrain and conditions. A true mountain stove makes use of a detachable fuel source that can be easily carried onwards to your next camp together with a burner that generally sits low to the ground.

You may find gas canister mountain stoves however in our experience they do not work well above 4000 feet (so you may get away with using one in the UK mountains).

Backpacking/Hikers Stoves

The generic of camping stoves, no really. Used for pretty much any outdoor activity they are simple to use and can be carried. They may not be the lightest in your rucksack but they'll be sturdy enough for most. Generally you'll see one of these types of stoves powered by a small gas canister or methlyated spirits. They're pretty good value and if looked after you'll get many years use out of them. Abuse and fail to look after them and you could find it being tossed within a couple of seasons (not very good at all).

Family Camping Stoves

Weight is not considered a major issue with family camping stoves as these types are generally kept back at "basecamp". You will want your stove to be easy to use and safe especially around kids (as much as humanly possible). Most types of this stove generally use gas canisters and come with a "domestic" looking hob and some even complete with a grill. It is not the sort of stove you would want to be carrying around, they can be bulky (which admittedly does give you more room to cook on).

Camping Stoves - Which fuel to use?

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:25:00 +0000

Types of Camp Stoves and Fuel Available

With such a bewildering array of different stoves you can use when camping the decision on which type of camping stove and its associated fuel suits you best just gets harder and harder.

So let us help you – down below is a detailed breakdown on the most suitable types of fuel and stoves for your needs, whether its high mountain walking or just chilling out with the family under canvas.

From experience we always ask customers what type of fuel they would prefer to use (i.e. to create a flame or generate heat) with their camp stove.

The most common fuel types are:

Gas Canister Stoves

Gas canisters are extremely easy to use providing a decent level of performance though they can perform poorly at high altitude or in very cold weather conditions (they affect the pressure inside the canister reducing performance). To light a gas camping stove is very simple, you switch on the stove, light it and that’s pretty much it.

Downsides to using this type of fuel are having to dispose of the empty canister (when it runs out) and they can be quite expensive to buy, particularly at campsites (in our experience).

Petroleum Liquid Fuel Stoves

Stoves like these need a method of pressurising the fuel commonly via the integral pump and then need priming to pre-heat the petroleum fuel and convert it to a gas state to burn efficiently. Liquid fuel stoves can take extra effort to light but once you are used to it you’ll never really look back.

Camping stoves using liquid fuel tend to cost less to run and perform better in a wider range of weather and atmospheric conditions, using fuel more economically so you can carry less (important if you are backpacking).

Methylated Spirits (“Meths”) Stoves

Generally considered safer, meths based camping stoves tend to not be as explosive when starting and burn at a lower temperature (which make cooking times longer). Traditionally these types of stoves rely on the methylated spirits to be poured into a small container that allows the meths to emit vapour which is then burnt to heat up your pots and pans.

A common type of stove that uses meths is the Trangia stove which is particularly popular amongst youth groups such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the Air Cadets.

Solid Fuel Stoves

These are usually very simple stoves which fold out allowing you to burn a tablet or gel to generate heat. Solid fuel is considered safe, lightweight and cheap but they have a serious downside in that they offer very poor adjustability in temperature.

Our next post will be about the types of stove best suited for your planned activity.

Family Camping Tents worth buying?

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:51:00 +0000

We're all having to review our holiday spending for the forseeable future, cutting back on those luxury hotels abroad with a/c rooms and tropical pools. Shame.

BUT we can take comfort that family campsites across the UK can give us enough to keep the kids entertained and us rested in reasonable and highly affordable comfort.

Because of this, camping with the family in large tents has become as the “In thing” to do.

Many families have opted to camp this year in the UK (tent sales at our shop seem to indicate this), and we do not see this trend of family camping on a budget ending anytime soon. According to the industry the sales of family tents have skyrocketed during the first few months of 2009.

Choosing a Good Size Family Tent

Give yourself ample room to move around, especially on a rainy day. Kids in the tent under your feet means you should have got a bigger tent.
There are also tents with privacy flaps to insure total privacy.
Get a tent that is light enough for you to manage and store safely in the car on your next trip.
Make sure you purchase a tent that you will be able to set-up and take down. Although most family camping tents are simple to set up, some are a little harder than others.
Know how to put your tent up, setting up a tent for the first time in bad weather is not fun!
For a variety of 4-persons, to 7+-persons tents, visit Storm Outdoors Family Tent Sales and find a Family Camping Tent for you and all the family.

Family Camping is a great way for you and your children to have a great holiday at a far lower cost than spending time in hotels.

A blog favourite of ours!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:59:00 +0000

http://www.summitandvalley.blogspot.com/

The above blog comes highly recommended for camping equipment reviews, we're certainly new fans of it!

10 Favourite National Parks

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:34:00 +0000

We love this link! Find out more on the Top 10 national parks (as voted by US National Park retired employees).

Chuffed to see Snowdon is mentioned!

A very sad loss in the climbing world

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:31:00 +0000

We were saddened to hear of the loss of one of the Uk's up and coming climbers and adventurers recently.

We followed Rob Gauntlett's progress from a distance and admired such talent, skill and tenacity at a relatively young age.

Rob sadly died in an ice climbing accident in the French Alps together with his climbing friend, James Atkinson, on the 10th January 2009.

From the Times Online:

Mr Gauntlett’s family spoke of their devastation at their son’s death, adding that their only consolation was that he died while “doing something that he loved”.

We at Storm hope both of you though lost whilst climbing are continuing your quest and passion for adventure in the next life. You'll be missed by many.

Vampire Camping? Bite me!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Whilst I was surfing the web I found this little gem of a camping website over in Bulgaria, it made me chuckle and I thought I would share it with you!

www.vampirecamping.com

If anyone does go and stay let us know at Storm Outdoors how you got on!

Impeding Life all the way to New York City

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:14:00 +0000

Food for thought:

America's Yellowstone National Park long known to be a volcanic caldera long overdue to violently explode has since the 26th December 2008 experienced 250 tremors, something that to some scientists is rather worrying.

If Yellowstone did erupt it is forcast that there would be enough sulphur dioxide to drastically affect the American Mid West where a lot of farming is done. Its reported it could destroy crops and impede life all the way to New York.

When you see the expected magnitude of this volcanic explosion it does leave one with a somewhat dry mouth and the feeling that this recession is nothing compared to the calamity and likely extremely severe losses Americans would face.

We as humans tend to easily forget the power of mother nature.

More here:

http://www.wariscrime.com/2009/01/11/news/yellowstone-volcano-a-threat-to-the-entire-usa/

Would be a damn shame to see Yellowstone go up in flames and ash too, its certainly a gorgeous part of the world.

Sometimes you gotta think out of the bra!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:54:00 +0000

Yup we like a good survival story and this is a great example of a young American lady who didn't think out of the box, more thought out of her bra!

Whilst hiking in the Bavarian Alps a solitary female hiker slipped and fell 18 feet in bad weather. Suffering injures sustained from the fall she managed to hang out her highly coloured bra on a cable used to send logs down to the valley below.

Luckily for her a logger spotted the bra, heard a woman was missing and contacted the emergency authorities. Within a few hours the young hiker had been rescued by helicopter under difficult circumstances. Its great to hear she is going to make a full recovery.

A couple of things we would recommend is don't hike in mountains alone if you are not experienced, instead go as a group so you have others around to help with your survival in the event of an accident.

If you are experienced enough to hike alone then leave a route map with someone and a time you expect to be back by and a time for them to contact emergency services if you have not made contact. Ensure you have enough food to last at least 24 hours (seems like this lady only had a small amount of biscuits and water).

The young lady mentioned above kept calm and used what she had available to attract attention but in 3 simple words:

She Was Lucky!

The REAL "Best Job in the World"

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Heh its great so many people have submitted their details for the "Best job in the world" - a 6 month post paying $100,000 (USD) to somebody to hang out on a tropical island and work a few hours a week.

Tasks involved are to blog about the island once a week, walk around the beach, snorkel the crystal blue sea waters and explore other islands along the same reef. Sounds strenuous!

But there is another Best Job in the World! And thats here working for Storm Outdoors giving customers the best advice on camping equipment. You don't think so? Well we like it and thats the main thing we guess. We've all got the potential to have the best job in the world as long as we have the right mindset and the passion. More on the best job in the world here

Winter Camping Guide

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:36:00 +0000

Ya know we just love winter camping and we were all prepared to bring you a detailed report but seeing as we found this one we thought we would share it with you, its well written and produced by someone who knows what they are doing.

Some great tips are included in this guide to winter camping so don't miss out, its a real eye opener!

Plans for Walking Holidays this year!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Welcome to 2009 Storm Outdoors fans!

I always look forward to this time of year, the clear blue skies, snow and fresh, crisp (but cold) air changes the view of our towns, villages and more importantly hills and countryside. The Storm Outdoors store is busy both offline and online, in fact we received online orders on Xmas Day (a first!) and Friday the 2nd January was an extremely busy in the shop keeping us all very busy.

What we're really excited about is planning our walking holidays for this year. We're always great fans of The Lake District and regularly visit to relax (and secretly I get to test new camping gear and equipment).

There's loads of places to stay in the Lakes, from campsites, to caravans through to wonderful cosy cottages in the villages and towns like Ambleside, Grasmere, Keswick or Windemere. To help you out here's our favourite websites for staying in the Lake District:

For Lake District Campsites we recommend the Great Langdale campsite found at the head of the majestic Great Langdale and the National Trust Wasdale Head campsite (great for access to Scafell Pike or Great Gable).

For caravans we like the quiet peace of Langdale's Greenhowe Caravan Park - great value though a bit of a walk to the pub but its a pleasant enough stroll on a summer's evening.

But our favourite place to stay is in a Lake District cottage and really get a flavour of how life was years ago. Its also preferred especially when you return from a walk where the weather has been atrocious, its so great to sit in front of a wood fire and get warm.

We use the following websites and all have come highly recommended from our own personal experiences (though we won't admit to which cottages we regularly book unless you email us!)

www.cumbrian-cottages.co.uk

www.lakelovers.co.uk

www.heartofthelakes.co.uk

These 3 Lake District holiday cottage websites all have an extensive list of properties to view and book online. We've used them all in the past and would happily book again with any of them.

Let us know how your holiday goes this year, we'd love to hear where you're headed!

Storm Surge - Tuesday Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:38:00 +0000

Yes, yes I know its early but I thought it might be a great way to present to our camping blog readers a round up of all things camping over the past 7 days.

I intend to post this once a week on Tuesdays and its just a short post to show what is happening in the land of camping and hiking. Who knows but you're likely to find something of interest!

Ok here we go, hold on tight, there's a Storm Surge comin' at ya:

Superb shot of Annapurna Base Camp

Tents made by brain boffins... you don't have to be clever to go camping, but it helps! ;)

Berghaus release a great new ad.... you really must see it. Extreme Base jumping, check!

One of our recently found and already favourited sites! Live for the Outdoors (looks like its from the publishers of Trail magazine but heh we're not complaining)

Something local for the Bristol outdoor crowd: Avon Outdoor Activities Club, with over 400 members its the place to get into!

Other recent developments at Storm Outdoors:

We're starting the rev up for Xmas so get over to our Camping Supplies website for a BIG pre Xmas sale!

Our New Flickr Account - check out some great camping and outdoors photos from the Storm Outdoors team!

We're now listed on FreeIndex

We've become a member of 4networking online too

Find us on Microsoft Live Search Maps

So thats it for this week, we'll be posting Storm Surges regularly so stay tuned!

Brecon Beacons Online

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:38:00 +0000

We like the Brecon Beacons - its reasonably close to our camping equipment store so is easily affordable to get there quickly and get out on the hills. We surf the web (when we're not walking or sending our customer orders!) to find great informative sites on different areas which we like to share with our blog and website users. So here are the highly recommended Brecon Beacon websites we use to help us find our way round these great Welsh mountains!

Walks in the Brecons

Brecon Beacon Walks

Brecon Beacons Pubs - quench your thirst here after that almighty walk!

One of Britains BREATHING Spaces - official website to the Brecon Beacons

Did you know the Brecon Beacons "are named after the ancient practice of lighting signal fires on mountains to warn of attacks by the English" - taken from the Brecon Beacons page, Wikipedia

A little faster (well downhill anyway!) - Mountain Biking in the Brecon Beacons

If any of you have websites connected with the Brecon Beacons do let us know - we will happily post them here for you.

FREE Outdoor Landscape Desktop Backgrounds!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:54:00 +0000

A customer of ours has kindly donated quite a few images in a large resolution format as desktop backgrounds. If you like what you see then please send an email to info@stormoutdoors.co.uk and claim your FREE outdoor landscape desktop background! No strings attached!

Have a look below:

1)

2)

3)

4)

When you email just tell us which numbered image you would like and at what resolution and we will do the rest and send back a jpg for you.

Camping Disasters - tell us yours!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:41:00 +0000

We're going to share a few Camping Disasters that we've experienced with you in the hope you'll learn how to avoid making the same mistakes. Why not post yours and share with everyone else - we would love to hear from you!

Camping Disaster 1

Whilst wild camping on Dartmoor many years ago we camped on a flat river bank that was only covered in short grass rather than the heathery stuff above on the moor. It looked a great spot until a storm hit us at 2am in the morning and we awoke to find one tent floating downstream in the quickly rising water and the 3 other tents being battered into total submission, refusing to stay up in the screaming wind.

Ultimately we all moved into one large tent that we set up on higher ground in the dark and ferocious weather. After a mostly sleepless, cramped night we all awoke to find our tents below had (somehow) survived though the site looked like a bomb had hit it. Our kit was damp, soggy and strewn everywhere, this had to be one of our most miserable camping experiences.

Camping Lesson learned?

Don't camp near rivers or on flood banks even if they look more appealing than the land thats more undulating, further above.

Camping Disaster 2

We travelled all the way to the Lake District to spend the weekend up on Swirral and Stirling Edge's in the Lake District with a jaunt onto Helvellyn. We camped in the campsite above Glenridding much to the concern of one of our group who said we were in a highly exposed position and wanted to camp farther down the valley in a more protected spot. He was bluntly shouted down and we spent the night trying to keep our tents up against 70mph winds and driving rain. The next day one of our tents had a huge puddle at the bottom and the occupants found they were camped next to a small stream that flooded their tent as the water table rose beneath them.

Camping Lesson learned?

If someone thinks where you are camping is in an exposed position then reconsider your options. Do not just take the flattest ground you can find regardless of location... if we had moved down 300 yards we could have camped behind a large wall that would have protected us.

Camping Disaster 3

Getting plastered whilst camping seems like fun but not when in you're in a tent on your own. We camped near Simonsbath and whilst in the pub that evening it snowed quite heavily. One of our group decided earlier he would have his own privacy and camp on his own in sub zero temperatures. The alcohol helped him to sleep however when he woke the next morning he was not only hungover but also extremely cold. Even with walking for 4 hours his body refused to warm up and he spent a miserable day out on Exmoor.

Camping Lesson learned?

Take it easy with the alcohol when out camping. Being hungover can cloud your judgement and ultimately ruin your day as well as the others around you.

Camping Disaster 4

Wearing jeans I set up my tent in the dark at a commercial campsite in the Brecon Beacons. I had managed to bring my tent and plastic survival bag with me from the van. I got thoroughly soaked and couldn't be bothered to go back to the van to collect my rucksack, sleeping bag and dry clothing. I dived into the survival bag keeping my cold wet jeans on and spent an uncomfortable night shivering and praying I could dry my jeans out.... amazingly they did but not before they seriously lowered my body temperature which put me at so much risk up on Pen-y-Fan I was brought down by the leaders running the show as they initially suspected the onset of hypothermia... I was only 14 at the time.

Camping Lesson learnt?

Real campers don't wear jeans. Leave them at home and get some fast drying walking trousers instead. I also learnt to make sure that I get changed from wet clothing into dry clothing before hitting the camping sack!

Tell us your camping disasters - we'd love to share to help others avoid the same mistakes!

Old fashioned Nav skills are NOT old fashioned!

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:16:00 +0000

We like GPS.

We really do. Its great for convenience.
But its a tool you should NOT come to rely on.

How many times have we met someone on the hill without a map or compass, usually in the wrong clothing relying on their new fangled GPS to help guide them round their route?

Quite a few.

All well and good until the batteries end up exhausted. Then what? Oh thats right they'll just leech off your skills to get them home safe and sound. Thanks!

Can you rely on the good old fashioned skill of navving by map and compass? From map to ground and back again? How about triangulation? Aiming off anyone?

No?

We suggest you get a lesson in "How to use a compass" so why not pop in to our shop and we'll happily show you how to use one effectively. We would rather have you back in our store safe in the knowledge that your skills in compass work kept you safe in a bad weather condition in the mountains...

For more information check out "How to use a compass like a Pro!" on the Storm Outdoors website.

If you have a compass tip you want to share feel free to post it here. We will give you full credit.

Technology is great and improves our lives but its no excuse for throwing away the traditional compass skills we've passed down the ages. Trust us on that one.

Our secret love affair with Lake Vyrnwy

noreply@blogger.com (The Camping Stove Store) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:36:00 +0000

Sshh don't tell our missus'

Well not yet anyway....

We admit we at Storm Outdoors have been having a somewhat secret affair and its not really with a mountain. Instead we've discovered a quiet lake away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

If you want somewhere REALLY peaceful to stay then check out the following accommodation around Lake Vyrnwy (actually its a man made resevoir), hidden away in rural Mid Wales....

Brook Mead Caravan and Camping
Lake Vyrnwy Hotel
Cyfie 5 star Farm

Sshhh for now... lets keep this just between us!

(There's some great walking to be had on the hills surrounding the lake too)