The right kit can make or break a camping trip or festival. But what’s the secret to testing it? If Filter writers Sian Lewis and Linda Geddes are anything to go by, a love of the outdoors, willing helpers (including a friend with a field) – and some extremely creative testing scenarios.
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“You’ll never have to convince me that camping is the best night out ever,” writes Sian, who tested the best tents and camping chairs for the Filter (as well as stoves, which is coming up in the next couple of weeks). “But I’ve done my share of uncomfortable nights under canvas, from gale-force winds breaking tent poles in the Scottish Highlands to festivals in £5 pop-up shelters. And I’m sure my husband will love it if I mention the time he didn’t realise our brand-new camping stove had a removable plastic film around it. I can vividly remember the taste of plastic-infused penne to this day.
Sian’s daughter, Sylvie, was only too happy to help test camping chairs. Photograph: Sian Lewis/The Guardian
“I’ve learned a lot since those camping calamities, and now own an army of trusty tents and stoves. I’ve used some of my top recommendations for years, such as Boutique Camping’s Luna bell tent (great for weddings), MSR’s tough Hubba Hubba two-man tent, and Kelty’s cosy Loveseat, which has a permanent spot in my garden.
“I tested out new products in my friend’s field in Somerset. Firing up several stoves turned out to be a great way to end up with a mega barbecue feast once we’d finished. My assistant Sylvie (aged two) was keen to help me test tents and chairs, but was especially taken with the pint-sized Helinox Chair One Mini, and was pleased to get her own bedroom in the palatial Outwell Montana 4 Air.”
Princess and the Pea-style testing
Fairytale-inspired, scientific results. Photograph: Linda Geddes/The Guardian
Linda, who tested the best camping mattresses for us, has earned her stripes as a camping and festival aficionado. “Age has brought wisdom, aching hips and a deepening intolerance for sleeping on anything that isn’t cloud adjacent,” she writes. “Happily, over the past 15 years, a quiet revolution has swept the world of camping mats. Enter the ‘air pad’ – a pillowy hybrid of the traditional airbed and self-inflating mat, boasting technical fabrics, insulated cores and price tags that could make you choke on your rehydrated noodles.
“But how do you test comfort scientifically? I imagined the worst-case scenario: a rock-hard campsite with stray pebbles protruding in all the wrong places. To recreate this at home, I collected a selection of sharp stones from my garden and my neighbourhood’s finest pavements (you’re welcome, Bristol city council) and arranged them on our wooden dining room floor like some kind of domestic booby trap. I laid each mattress on top of them, and then, like the Princess and the Pea, rolled around in different positions to see if I could detect them.
“Another of my tests recreated a ‘clumsy camper’ scenario: the inevitable moment when someone stumbles into the tent at 1am, tramples across the bed, and collapses – possibly wine-fuelled – on to their sleeping mat. I walked up and down each mattress in my bare feet, gently bounced on them five times, and then dropped myself from standing height on to each pad to see which ones burst, flattened and held their dignity. Remarkably, most survived.
“While you can spend hundreds on a whisper-light camping mattress (like my top pick, the Therm-a-Rest NeoLoft), there are also great budget options if you’re willing to sacrifice a tiny bit of comfort: they still put old-school airbeds to shame. My top budget pick was Decathlon’s £44.99 Simond mattress.”
Linda also tested the best cool boxes. “These, too, have come a long way since the flimsy, hollow-chambered buckets of yore,” she writes. “Possibly inspired by the American-born Yeti brand, today’s high-end models promise rugged durability and ice retention that borders on witchcraft. Though the Yeti model I tested lacked the integrated ports to padlock it and make it fully bear-proof, it still felt like it could survive a nuclear winter (and endless summers). But at £400, it’s not for the faint of wallet.
“Happily, I discovered plenty of more budget-friendly heroes too. The £30 Campingaz Icetime Plus exceeded expectations with its insulation, while the £25 Quechua backpack cooler kept its contents chilled for almost a full weekend, despite a modest claim of seven-hour cooling. Both made our battered, 14-year-old bucket look like a bad joke.
“The ultimate winner? The Coleman Pro cooler box, which can be picked up for about £130. As for the mattresses, I doubt if even today’s high-end camping mattresses could survive a grizzly attack. Or a toddler brandishing a marshmallow stick.”
This week’s picks
Editor’s pick
One man went to mow, went to mow what was left by the builders. Photograph: Andy Shaw/The Guardian
Reviewer Andy Shaw may not have been thrilled when recent building work left his lawn a complete mess – but, with its patches of longer grass and bare earth, it made for the ideal lawnmower testing zone. His pick of the five best lawnmowers includes options for all budgets and garden sizes.
Monica Horridge
Deputy editor, the Filter
In case you missed it …
We eyed up the best creams and serums for this delicate skin area. Photograph: Jun/Getty Images
Whether it was Glastonbury, doomscrolling or the sweltering heat keeping you up at night, many of us have needed a little extra hydration under the eyes this week. Former beauty editor Sabine Wiesel put 25 of the best eye creams and serums to the test for the Filter, and was well qualified to do so – “with undereye bags and dark circles revealing themselves when I haven’t had enough sleep and fine lines that began to appear as I hit my 40s,” she wrote. Her budget pick, the Inkey List’s caffeine eye cream, has made it on to my festival packing list.
Get involved
It’s sea, sun and sandy toes season, and we want to hear your best holiday hacks. Photograph: Carol Yepes/Getty Images
Going on holiday soon? We want to know all your best tips. What saves your clothes from getting crumpled and bottles from leaking? What makes long journeys more bearable (particularly when you’re travelling with kids)? How do you stay sand-free on the beach? Share all your top buys, hacks and tricks by replying to this newsletter or emailing us at thefilter@theguardian.com.