Great thread on Camping...I can't wait to start camping again once I get my "Madrid legs."

One question..my hubby and I are wondering whether or not to ship our camping gear, which is in good shape, or sell it here and re-buy it there. I don't know if it's more expensive or if it even matters. (For example we will dump all of our electronics here rather than bring them over.) Any thoughts? Are there good outdoor stores and reasonable prices, or would it be better to ship our current gear?

TIA, 6 weeks and counting to our new life in Madrid.

Juliette

You might find that some of the little knick-knacks that you have accumulated are not available here, I can't really remember what, but I've seen people in camp sites with the most amazing gadgets, as for the big stuff, I think it's cool to buy it here, and then do what I do which is leave it on top of the wardrobe 'cause hostals are cheap

Juliette-
It depends on what kind of campers you are- or where you're going camping.

In Spain the norm is to pack light- even if you go somewhere by car- its not typical to camp where you drive to- you're going to end up hiking quite a ways... vs in the US although you could do that, its very common to drive up right to the lot park your car and camp right there- so the camping equipment tends to be more, and often akward.

The campsites where people go in Spain with the cars and trailers (trailers are called caravanas there)are very much made thinking for people with cars or staying in the trailer. I stayed at one of these sites- the largest in Spain and there was little shade and the ground was gravel- which made it very difficult to sleep (TOO hot, for siesta!) and uncomfortable. Oh well, live an learn. They're all different, but again, what you decide to get rid of depends on the kind of camping you do. We also use butane burners- there are big and mini ones (for one person - light to carry and works to warm up food!) so for cooking I'd just do that since its not expensive- as for other camping supplies- some things never change- and will be costly wherever you go so not much difference there, but I do buy some of the gadgets that handy items in the US as I've seen more variety in the States.

Does anyone have some camping gear I could borrow from mid July to early August?

I need a 2 person tent and a couple of those thin inflatable mattresses.

We will be bikepacking so we are looking for the lightest posible gear (that a 6 pack of mahou can buy )

Hi Fabrizio!
We have an extra 2-person tent that you are welcome to use, you would need to get stakes and rope for it however. We also have inflatable matresses... but probably not good for bikepacking.

How early is early August? We will be heading out in mid-August with our camping gear. If it is early early August (the first week or so) we have foam rubber mattresses that you could borrow as well.

Hey Becky,

Thanks for the offer.

We are actually going to bike-pack the camino de santiago, so we are trying to keep everything to a minimum as far as volume and weight. The foam mattresses might be too bulky wouldn't they? They have to fit in those small bike saddles...

As far as the tent, thanks. Is it light though? Stakes?? Sounds heavy also, can you go around sticking about 8 stakes on the ground on the camino? I am wondering about a few retiro cops coming over and telling us to move our tent at 3 am

Hi Fabrizio --

The foam mattresses are those thin ones that you see the backpackers carrying... typically rolled up and tied to their pack. I suppose if while biking you will also be using backpacks they would be feasible.

As far as the tent is concerned, it was given to us as a gift ... the first time we went to use it we were surprised that there weren't any cords or stakes. However, it does have one of those light weight fiberglass frames. It's not heavy heavy... it's nylon not canvas. You are more than welcome to come and check it out along with the foam mattresses.

OK fine, I will swing by to look at your tent. I hope you guys have beer...

As far as the mattresses, we are thinking of putting those saddles on the bikes, so I am not sure they'll fit in those. I'll have to further research the matter. I always see those roll-up ones sticking quite a bit on each side of regular backpacks...

hey Fab, inflatable mattresses eh? nothing like roughin it

ya big sissy.

quote:

OK fine, I will swing by to look at your tent.

judging by the number of offers you have here, i would change that to...

quote:

THANK YOU!!! THANKS YOU!!! YOU ARE A GODDESS AMONGST WOMEN CHICA AND I WILL COME AND GET THE TENT ASAP!!!

by the way, have you seen the new "flick" or instant tent at decathlon? the one on the tv ad where they throw it up in the air and it sets itself up before it hits the ground. it is called "2 seconds" and is branded "quetchua" (the decathlon brand). ena and i bought on for my bro and his family and brought it up to them in uk as they do quite a lot of camping and it is just about the sweetest 2 person tent i have seen in a loooong time.

it is very light and folded up it is a round pack that you can wear as a backpack or strap to one.

only disadvantage is that it is about 1.5 meters in diameter, you would have to see if you could move comfortably on the bike with it.

it only cost 50 euros at decathlon ( http://www.decathlon.es ).

there are also more compact tents that are pretty instand. check out the video at http://www.apachetents.com/video/apache_instant_tents.wmv

saludos,
jer...

p.d. something tells me Fab is gonna end up in 4-5 star hotels

Ok, finally something I have experience with. Those tents you are talking about Jer are designed rather like the instant childrens tunnels and play tents. Many of the families I've worked with have them. The one major disadvantage of them is they tend to go a bit lopsidded after a while. However they are super light and they are about the easiest things ever, except when you have to pack them away again. At least till you get the hang of them. A rather strange twisting action is involved. I've never tried it on a tent so big so if you decide to look into buying one Fab, I recommend having them show you how to fold it closed and then try it yourself to make sure you are comfortable. Sounds like it could be the perfect solution if you can deal with the size.

Ciao,
Bonnie

quote:

they are about the easiest things ever, except when you have to pack them away again.

hey Bonnie, actually, the one at decathlon is super easy to fold back up as well.

saludos,
jer...

quote:

Originally posted by jer:
hey Fab, inflatable mattresses eh? nothing like roughin it

Sheesh I am not talking about a queen sized "Aerobed", what I am talking about is a very thin self inflating mattress that basically does the same thing than the foam one, but one, its way smaller, and two, yes its ever so slightly more comfy

[QUOTE]
judging by the number of offers you have here, i would change that to...
[QUOTE]



again, one, based on the fact that thanks to your crafty web programming skills you have successfully lowered the number of posts on multimadrid by about half, I wouldn't be bringing the fact that not many people have replied to my post
two, I was being sarcastic!, out of all the people in this god forsaken peninsula, I never thought you would be the one that would misunderstand a bit of god ole sarcasm...

As far as those two second tents, I did look at them today actually, one good thing Barcelona has is they have a Decathlon right in the middle of the city (pretty much the only thing they have on madrid ) they do look really cool, but I think a bit to big to carry around on the bike, based on what you guys said, about 1.5 mts diameter.

I'll check out Chicas's see how heavy it is, otherwise, I have seen some pretty decent ones at the evil empire, and at decathlon just over 2kgs.

Although I didn't camp there, I would just like to recommend a location in Cantabria (on the north coast), just west of the town of Comillas. It's next to the beach of Oyambre. You are very close to a couple of hamlets up the hill (and Comillas is only a 30 minute walk) and you have access to a very long beach. Just down the road you have the port of San Vicente and beyond that Asturias to explore. There are I believe 2 camping sites serving Oyambre beach. The best part is there are loads of local b&b type accommodation in the local villages, so if you need a proper bed for a night or 2 you have that option. It's never unbearably hot on the north coast, but you have to be prepared for the possibility of rain. It's a really beautiful place and feels very safe. When I stayed in one of those hamlets the other year I noticed that everyone left their doors unlocked, so rare was it for crime to take place.

How come the only camper vans I've ever seen in Spain were heading south from Holland, Germany, and other northern climes? Do Spaniards not do the RV scene? Where would one buy a camper van in Spain? They are like baby pigeons: you never see one for sale anywhere.