I went camping for the 1st time and hated it. What did I do wrong?

[Lucid]

And what's so great about camping anyway?

I'm going to some music festivals for the first time this year so I have to get in the habit of camping and liking it. My friends all think it's great. I went for the first time in May and it was probably the most miserable time of my life. The full account is at the end of a blog I was motiviated to write about it here:

Tents, trains and the great outdoors | Lucid Magazine - Intelligent New Journalism

But in summary it was: cold, dirty, noisy and uncomfortable. Would love some support from camping enthusiats and reccomendations for good sleeping bags and equipment, or even some stories about how great camping is to make me feel better about going to V...

[Boris]

Being cold and uncomfortable is the worst. If you can get rid of that the everything else becomes bearable I find airbeds cold in cooler weather and prefer a self inflating mattress. Also don't skimp on sleeping bags. You can get cheapies for under a tenner but for all but the warmest weather get at least a 3 season bag. Good ones can be found for £30-£40. Apart from that you dont need to spend a fortune. Cheap dual skin tents from Tesco etc are fine for summer use and if you plan to cook bring the pots and cutlery from the house. A cheap gas stove can be bought for under a tenner.

And despite what the tent manufacturers say, two man tests are only designed for one normal person. Get a three or four man tent for two. You'll have much more room.

[Lucid]

Thanks

[DaveS]

This I think is a really common issue. Many people are turned off from camping because of being cold and uncomfortable.
I think as Boris has said the sleeping bag is vital a good 3 season with a silk liner can be used through all of the seasons. Get some thermal underwear as well from Aldi's or Lidl's who do them quite cheaply.
I have exactly this set-up and I always take my thermal underwear and the silk liner. We've just come back from camping in Cornwall at Trewince Farm and even then I found I needed my silk liner and 3 season sleeping bag. On most of the nights though the bag was unzipped half way and on a couple of occasions I was still too hot and used it as a duvet. I'd much rather be too hot than too cold though!
Next to comfort, my wife prefers a camp bed or lilo, I prefer my Therm-a-rest mat which adds to the warmth. Just don't get a standard mat.
I think you also need to get a decent tent or even borrow one to see the difference. The cheap tents really aren't worth the money, you do get what you pay for. I've lost count of the number of friends that have bought cheap and then replaced them with proper kit. False economy?
Ok so why camping? Well its good value, it get's you and whoever you are camping with back to basics. Generally no TV, so you have to speak to each other! I think it definitely brings you closer together. It's very communal. I love the fact that you can wake up to sun streaming through and the birds singing on some mornings, way out in the country with no road noise, totally isolated, subject to camp site of course!
How about waking up close to the sea and being able to hear the waves?? Some times it can be the best experience ever!
But some times it rains and it howls and in my experience this is when the better kit helps.

[jasonbc]

THIS ALWAY IS AN ISSUE. You have to select kit according to when and where you want to travel and from season to season. An example is my sleeping bag is a Vango (years old now ) but goes down to -30 degrees c good for the winter but no good for summer you'd be miles to hot. Biggest tip is always make sure theres a pub within walking distance of the campsite that way it's easy to get warm in the cold weather and you can have a decent hot meal in most pubs and vice vesa in the summer plenty of cold drinks available

[AndrewK]

I gave up camping many years ago because of the same reasons as the OP. But having been reintroduced to it in a comfortable form by a mate those reasons are no longer an issue.
It all comes down to kit, the better it is the more comfortable you are. Good quality tent that you can stand in with enough room for everyone plus extra space for stuff and living space. Camp bed / good airbed plus a warm enough sleeping bag with room to move. Table & chairs, 2 stoves, cook table, decent cooler, lantern. It sounds like a lot of stuff & it is but fits in the boot easilly enough, without it or bits of it you start to sacrifice comfort. Being 50 I'm not prepared to rough it anymore.
Expensive stuff if you have to buy it all at once but, it'll last for many years and pay for itself eventually by saving on hotels & B&Bs.

[ngovgroup]

Yeah, that's one thing that i hate during camping. I can't stand the cold weather.
So I always see to it that I bring my 2 jackets and my self inflating mattress to survive during those camping nights.