Some accessories are a little extra touch for your first camping holiday. But others, although they might not seem important, actually make the difference between a great stay and moments of great solitude, which, as you know, sometimes lead to disaster…
Electricity adaptor
After hours in the car in the heat, the traffic jams and the kids saying “Are we there yet?”, at last, you’ve arrived at your campsite pitch. The tent is up, the caravan is parked and the awning is in place. It’s then you realise that you’ve forgotten something essential… the adaptor you use to plug into an electric terminal and access electricity during your stay. You have even less of an excuse since the price shouldn’t cut into your holiday budget too much – the one sold by Schuko costs less than €12.
MacGyver's knife
Another moment of great solitude faced by all campers at least once is realising that when the time comes to make a meal and lay the table that you haven’t got a tin-opener or - even worse - a corkscrew. Keen Couteau knives are a good solution. They can be folded up, include a tin-opener, a corkscrew, a bottle-opener, a fork, knife and spoon. They come in two parts, one with a knife and spoon, and the other with the fork, bottle-opener and corkscrew. They cost €10.80.
Multifunction lamp
From a distance, it looks like an old mining lamp. Close up, it does turn out to be a lamp, but a technological jewel, too. It’s called Lovebay. It includes a battery that can be plugged in and recharged or with a little solar panel, and has room for three regular batteries. It has over 24 hours of autonomy. It can also be used as an emergency charger for a mobile phone using a USB port. And last of all, do you know what? A highly original feature for a lamp - it produces light. And a powerful light at that, thanks to the LED. After use, or to turn it off, you fold it up, and it takes up very little room. The price is €10.
Hammock
If one object could sum up holidays, a long afternoon nap and the joys of laziness, it would be the hammock. Once you’ve arrived at the campsite, it’s unlikely there won’t be two trees where you can hang up this little technical marvel, the Wolfyok camping hammock. It is made of 210 T nylon canvas, high-resistance rope and stainless-steel snap hooks. It can bear over 250 kg, so two people can generally sleep in it. It can be set up in a few minutes and costs €19.99.
Music wherever you go
Once you’re settled in, you might want to listen to some music. We’ve unearthed the Bluetooth speaker by Ice Orb, an object straight out of Star Wars. It won’t take up much room in your bags. It has two parts, a base that you can connect to your Bluetooth equipment (MP 3 player, etc.) and the speaker, which “floats” a few inches above the base and moves in time to the music. And if you turn down the light for a cosier atmosphere, it lights up. It costs €130.