If you’ve ever spent hours trying to pitch a tent or stumbled around in the dark looking for the loo (and who hasn’t?), here are some nifty gadgets to take the pain out of the camping.
1. Biolite camping stove, £139.99
firebox.com
Even if you have no intention of cooking, you’ll need caffeine, right? This cunning stove will not only heat up water for your coffee, it also charges your USB gadgets. And there are no batteries required: it’s fuelled entirely by biomass - just collect some twigs or sticks. It also weighs less than 1kg and comes in a small carry bag.
2. Heimplanet tent, £368.99
Surfdome.co.uk
If you’ve lost hours of your life to tent-pitching, and don’t plan for more, here’s a futuristic-looking home that’s ready in seconds. There are no poles or ropes, you just inflate – which takes seconds – and sleep. Or not.
3. Head torch, £18.74
ledlenser-store.co.uk
Endlessly stumbling around in the dark looking for the loo, or your tent, with a feeble pocket torch? Try one you aren’t going to end up dropping into a massive muddy puddle. This head torch also leaves your hands free to clutch that one last beer for the night.
4. Swiss Army Knife, from £15
millets.co.uk
From the classic Camper knife (all the essential stuff from your kitchen drawer in one knife, including – most crucially – a screwdriver) to the super hi-tech Midnite Manager with an LED torch, pen and memory drive, there is a Swiss Army knife for every need. Including, obviously, stones stuck in equine festival-goers’ hooves.
5. Osprey washbag roll, £19.99
ellis-brigham.com
Lots of storage space, ultra-light design, a hook for hanging up in the tent and, most importantly for forgetful contact-lens wearers (or fairy glitter-appliers), a small mirror.
6. Pebble Smartstick charger, £18.99
firebox.com
How will the world know you are having the best time ever if you can’t post those smug festival selfies? This portable device is the size of a tube of Polos, will give your smartphone a full charge, and has five different adapter cables covering all the major mobile devices.
7. Urban Escape Osaki tent, £99
halfords.com
You can get a tent from as little as £12, but woebetide you if it rains, or is even slightly breezy. This well-made, robust three-person tent is tall enough to stand up in, has a built-in groundsheet and is easy to assemble and disassemble.
8. Fujifilm Instax camera, £69
johnlewis.com (or any other major retailer)
Squinting at digital photos in sunlight (well, you can but hope)? Need instant print-out gratification? Go back to analogue. Load the film, play with the settings and print – voilà. Retro vintage-style pictures without a filter ...
9. EE Osprey 2, from £20
If the thought of going offline for a weekend fills you with horror, and you have nightmares about undergoing the trauma of mobile-reception black spots – try bringing a dongle with you. This tiny gadget is an EE Hot Spot, offering you 4G coverage – but all the major networks have their own.
10. Binatone walkie talkies, £21.31
You could, of course, just leave the phone at home and communicate instead by walkie talkie. These have a radius of two miles, and will be very useful when you get home again for relaying tea and coffee orders to the kitchen.
11. Eyefi Mobi card, from £33.33
This tiny but very clever square is an Eyefi card. Put it in your digital camera and it will send photographs wirelessly, in real time, to your iPhone, iPad or laptop. No need to upload for hours when you get home – and no risk of losing precious memories.
12. Lava Brightsounds Bluetooth speaker, £39.99
For bringing music right back to your tent. This will work from any smart device, and you can stream your own music or use Spotify or other apps. An outdoor-friendly robust design and a gentle night light setting so you don’t trip over it make it very camping-friendly. It runs on a rechargable battery - though at home you can also just power from the mains.
