If the camping community, which meets until Sunday evening at the camping fair in Wels, can agree on one thing, then it is probably the insight that camping is not a hobby, but a way of life. It has a lot to do with escaping everyday life. This is best illustrated by a quip from the scene that reads: “Others go to therapy, I just go camping.”
However, as in real life, it depends on how much you want to invest in therapy. The cheapest way to set up camp starts with the hammock. A quality-oriented basic purchase is a good 100 euros, although you will only be happy with it in summer – and you must not forget the mosquito net.
Intrepid autumn and winter campers take a special sleeping bag (quilt) that is attached to the outside of the hammock. If it snows, a weather protection (tarp) helps to stay dry. The three packages, which can be folded up small, fit in any medium-sized backpack and cost around 350 euros in total. Udo Feldmann, product tester at hammock manufacturer “Ticket To The Moon” claims that he could have survived a cold night at minus 15 degrees with this combination. For less hard people, the lower limit can probably be set at minus five degrees.
How rustic would you like it?
The next level of winter camping involves tents that have a wood or coal stove roaring. The small, mostly collapsible tent stoves cost between 180 and 500 euros. The tent should be made of impregnated, stable cotton and provide a way to put a stovepipe outside.
Things get less rustic at the next level of fall and winter camping. To do this, however, you have to go up – by ladder onto the roof of your car. Roof tents are becoming increasingly popular. You have to reckon with about 4000 euros for such constructions. The lightest have a skeleton of inflatable tubes that fills up in minutes using a pump on the cigarette lighter.
The trip continues in small caravans, which you can get from 10,000 euros, including the relaunched classic “Puscherl” from Gmunden.
A good mid-range caravan will soon cost 30,000 euros and the list of accessories is long. This also applies to mobile homes, which start at around 60,000 euros. There is no upper limit, 200,000 euros are due for a comfortable, four-wheel drive adventure vehicle for the demanding trip to Iceland.
Well, and for people who are not quite happy with the camping individualism, there are guided camping trips, for example from Kuga Tours. It even goes to the land of equals, to Cuba. After the outward flight, you can travel 26 days and 2,900 km in a rental mobile home from January 26 – for a slim 12,000 euros per vehicle (2 people).
- Caravan Salon Austria: Today and tomorrow in exhibition halls 19 and 21 in Wels. Reduced admission (11.50 euros) for OÖNcard holders. caravan-wels.at
Source: Nachrichten
