One of the prepping activities this year will be to explore the remote areas of Snowdonia (Wales, UK), and to wild camp there. Leading up to this I want to produce several short blogs looking into the preparation for this including some of the equipment that I’ll be trying out.

As with any activity or project, its important to go back to basics and consider the basic principles of preparedness and to break these down into subgroups applicable, in this case, for a wild camping trip.

Food, Water, Shelter, Security, Health & Sanitation – So lets start with Shelter.

Shelter

I currently have a Hammock and Basha / tarp (Untested), Bivi bag and a two man tent. I would be very tempted to try the Hammock, however due to the location (possibly part way up a mountain) this wouldn’t be sensible. The two man tent is a Coleman Pictor x2, its a good tent but at almost 4kg is going to be a bit too heavy for this trip.

So I am currently looking for a one person tent. I don’t want to buy cheap and buy twice so there are some key factors to consider based upon the reviews that I have seen so far:

1. Tent poles – having read a great deal of reviews where people have been let down by fibreglass poles breaking during wind / storms, Alloy poles are a must.
2. Size – The adverts don’t emphasize where your sleeping position is in relation to the angle of the inner tent sides, also the length can be tight for people 6ft and above, and sitting up can be near on impossible. Tip: Google a few chosen tents and look for YouTube reviews.
3. Seasons – All weather or 4 season will usually be the best, at most you should be looking at 3 season, I have found the major difference is the
   Hydrostatic Head (HH) on the tent and ground sheet. This is the measurement of how waterproof a piece of fabric is, to test this the manufacturer will take a clear tube and clamp their material over the bottom end. They will then fill the tube slowly with water and watch to see how high the column of water can get before the material lets drips through. An HH rating of 2000mm means that the column of water was 2 metres (2000mm) tall before the material leaked. In real-world terms, where you have wind and gravity pushing rain into a tent fabric you will need a measurement of around 1000mm to resist light showers. Heavy rain and driving wind will create more pressure on the fabric and require a higher number of around 2000mm.

Using these as my main requirements I have considerrd the

• BERGHAUS Peak 3.1 Tent; and
• 

  BERGHAUS Peak 3.1. Pro Tent

These two tents appear to have the same inner tent, but the Pro has a HH specification of 5000mm as opposed to 3000mm, personally I prefer the green colour but at £129 compared to £69, the Peak 3.1 is my choice. It has Alloy poles and pegs for strength and lightweight.

The sleeping position is cleverly designed and has good head space for sitting up and preparing meals utilising the area inside the tent cover also ideal for storage of utensils and backpack.

So this is likely to be my choice for the trip certainly for the sleeping shelter. Next time we will consider clothing and other requirements.