ALSO CONSIDER FOR WILD CAMPING

SLEEPING MAT

Sleeping mats make hard ground bearable, while the air space they create reduces heat loss. 6cm thick when inflated and bottle-sized when stowed, the 350g Thermarest NeoAir XLite (£145, www.thermarest.com), also traps radiant heat. More basic is the foam Multimat Discovery 10 XL (£20, www.multimat.uk. com), or opt for a self-inflating mat, like Vango's Trek 3 Standard (£30,www.v-ango.co.uk).

WATER PURIFICATION

You'll need to purify potentially microbe-riddled water before drinking it. Do this by boiling it, adding Chlorine Dioxide tablets (£11,www. lifesystems.co.uk) or using a compact filter like the Sawyer Mini (above, £30, www.sawyer. com), which removes nearly all bacteria and protozoa. Heavy-duty filters, like the Katadyn Vario Micro Filter (£ 115,www.ka-tadyn.com) are quicker and sift out chemical pollutants too.

BABIVVYBIVVYBAG BIVVY BAG

Camping minimalists forego a tent in favour of a light and compact bivvy bag, for a bona fide ‘under the stars’ experience. Big enough for you, your sleeping bag and an inflatable mat, the waterproof Alpkit Hunka XL (£65, www. alpkit.com) is a great bivvy for a good price. A lightweight tarp like Terra Nova's Competition Tarp 1 offers extra protection from the elements (£75, www.terra-nova.co.uk).