We reached Sonmarg during chilly cold night at our camping site along side river Sind.
The river was barely meters away from our camps.However, we were on uphill. That is why, there was no danger of water taking over our camps.
THE COLD BREEZE
It was a cold windy night. A chilly cold breeze was flowing towards our camps from the side of the river. Probably, we were too close to the river. However, that is the dis-advantage of reaching Sonmarg during night as we could barely see in the pitch dark.
Our only source of light was camping lights and lights from our bikes. It was an open ground with some wet patches. So for us, it was the only option to put our camps on corners that is near the river top.
The river corner and top of the corner making it difficult for us to stand out for long and soon we decided to get in our tents to avoid the cold breeze.
WRONG TENT DIRECTION
We all were new to the world of camping, it was our first time ever and being said that, we made lots of mistakes and the first one in the series was the wrong direction of our tents. Instead of putting tents doors away from the river direction, we put the open side towards the river.
The weekest part of a tent is the door of the tent, that is the only place from where usually wind enters inside the tent.
We choose the wrong side for the purpose of getting a good morning view unaware that, this is going to be a dangerous decision.
OVER PROMISED CAMPING GEAR
We were soon to realise that we are under prepared for the cold windy night. We bought all our camping gears from a so called local vendor in Delhi after watching some videos on youtube. Which means we were all depending on the word of the vendor who sold us these gears.
Our tents were suppose to be -7 C ready, as promised by the vendor. Same is the case with our sleeping bags. At Sonmarg temperatures were near 5C, so it felt that we are all ready for the situation.
However, we soon realised that the gear given to us are not even winter ready forget about sub zero temperatures.
THE CONS of the TENT
The tent was very light and was not capable of handling the cold breeze, there were points from where air could enter inside. There was no way one could sleep on the corners, which is what one usually does with lugguage on one side and person itself on the other side.
This is the only option in a small tent. The corner of our tent was way to cold and unable to stop the air completely.
THE CONS OF THE SLEEPING BAG
The sleeping bag was not having any inner layer except a thin nylon layer just like most of the thin winter bobber jackets. There was no way one single layer could stop the cold specially with a poor quality tent.
We wear warm jackets on the top but, there was no solution for the legs and the feet. I decided to wear my warm jacket on the feet and wear as many layers I could on the top.
However, the sleeping bag was narrow and handling all the stuff inside it for full night was very uncomfortable experience.
THE UNFORGETFUL SLEEP
Freezing inside our sleeping bags and tents, we could barely sleep that night. We were cold from all side, be it cold breeze or the wet ground. We made big mistake for our first ever camping.
The camping site was a ground, and we could hear horses sounds during the night, that too adding a sense of fear among us, we could not sleep with cold and these sounds were making it even more difficult.
THE PLEASANT COLD MORNING
We were at the river side, so there was no respite from the cold wind however, the skies were clear and promising to be a sunny day. We all were eagarly waiting for the sun to be out in the valley which was showing it’s light on top of the mountains.
With such a nightmare with camping, we were all thinking of the upcoming days when weather would be even more colder and temperatures would reach to sub zero degrees. We cannot continue camping with such poor quality gear.
LESSONS LEARNED
The best thing about failure is that one always have something to learn from it. For us it was a complete practical camping experience gone wrong and we were all clear with what mistakes we made and not to repeat them in future.
When buying tents and sleeping bags one must make sure of at least following points
- Temperature Ratings– Tents and sleeping bags are graded based on temperature ratings, usually there are minimum and maximum temperature ratings and users buy just by looking at one of them which is usually the minimum rating. Always look for both min and max ratings.
- Vendor – It is very important to buy camping gears from a reputated vendor and not just go by any youtuber videos. Always look for reviews from actual customers. Ask as many questions related to stuff and warranty.
- Brands – We now prefer to go for brands like Decathalon as, they are masters in sporting equipments and even if one buys a wrong item that can be returned and replaced with correct one, which is usually not the case with local vendors. Specially they allow buyer to test the product then and there.
- Inner layers – Usually the temperature ratings given to any winter tent, jacket, or sleeping bag is including the inner layers, which a buyers always tend to ignore. Always give proper attention to the additional information and buy stuff accordingly.
- Cost – The cheaper the best or costilier the best can never be taken for granted. Always get to the details on why a product is cheaper or expensive. Look for the materials used. Never fall just by the price or reputation.
- Review and Feedbacks– Always look for other users reviews and feedbacks for the products you plan to buy. Only actual users can point out on actual real world scenarios of the product and that could help one avoid mistakes made by those users and also help in making a buy or not buy decision.
There are many more points to be considered while buying a camping gear, however, this blog is not meant for that very purpose. I will describe this in more detail in another blog. Till then, keep stay with us on this adventurous journey.
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