I began with a Saunders Backpacker II, bought in 1980 while still at school as I progressed from Youth Hostelling trips to genuine wild camping in the hills. In '83 I 'upgraded' to a Wild Country Quasar as by then I was camping up high in winter too. I've had several more lightweight tents over the years, mostly from Wild Country/Terra Nova and Hilleberg, but never anything larger than the Quasar... until the van in 2018!
I was taken camping every year by my parents from the time I was born. My earliest memory is of camping on Dartmoor in a tiny tent during a violent thunderstorm.
As our family grew, so did the size of our family tents. Abandoning an old wartime canvas ridge tent, we moved to different Quimper frame tents. And these family camping trips were the only holidays I knew.
After Mrs 5i1ver8ack and I were married, we bought a damaged trailer tent from a family friend. Used once, but put away damp and damaged. Stored for four years it cost us £500... including all contents and accessories. We used it (a lot!!) until just a few years ago when we sold it, without contents and accessories for £120 on eBay.
The first serious tent of my own was a Saunders Backpacker II. It’s still here somewhere, complete with a repaired 18 inch gash in the outer. I used to take it to Glenbrittle on Skye for forays onto the Cuillins. It was used by Mrs 5i1ver8ack and I for weekends away (not quite enough room for two). Eventually it was used by our son.
As more children came along, we stopped using the trailer tent for every holiday, and started using smaller tents again. We began using a Terra Nova Terra Firma and still use it now, although we can no longer all fit in it!
As the children grew bigger, we acquired a bulletproof Vango Force Ten which we used in conjunction with the Terra Firma. And as they grew even bigger, with the Saunders as well. The Force Ten now has patches on it where a mouse made himself at home in the storage cupboard.
Our son eventually bought his own Vango which he’s used all over Europe. One of our daughters married someone with five tents (Vango, Hilleberg and others).
A couple of years ago I saw a barely used Terra Nova Quasar on eBay and grabbed it. It’s now my favourite. But much admired by our youngest daughter who has used it even more than me!
The California and then an Eriba crept into our otherwise content camping lives as a concession to older age, a wheelchair user and year-round camping. It’s much easier to get away on a whim at any time of the year. And much easier for a wheelchair user to stay warm and comfortable.
But my first love was tent camping and (shock, horror) is still to this day. Pandemic lockdown restrictions permitting, my son, son in law and three of my grandsons have a tent camping trip booked for later this year.
Were it not for the pandemic, we’d be enjoying another trip to Dartmoor. But for that trip, the rules are different..... no tents allowed!
Our youngest daughter and I last October.
My first tent used to be regularly pitched under East Raven Crag in Langdale, it was an Itisa Mk2 single pole mountain tent and I lived in that in all weathers.
