SCA Camping 101

Introduction

Working with the SCA, especially as a Seneschal or Hospitaller, you will be asked many questions as people get situated and find their place within the group. One of the questions I get asked the most is: What do I need to bring camping? Veteran SCAdians will tell you it's not a straightforward question. What you bring entirely depends on what you do, who you are, and what you want to have with you at camp.

I know people who don't leave home without their keg and tap because their campsite is the site of many a late night party. There are others who bring only a hammock and a bag of clothes and toiletries. Neither person is wrong, they just have different needs. This is why the question is such a personal one. When I am asked this question I give a list of basic essentials that I have always found useful. I then tell them as they camp they will find things that they need which they should add to the kit, and things they don't need which they can leave at home. This article is both to address your basic needs and give newbies ideas on how to make their campsite have a little more period presence.

The Basics

This is the list of basic essentials that I tell people they should get together to make sure they don't have any nasty surprises on their first camping trip.

• Tent
• Garb (1-2 outfits for a weekend event)
• Toiletries
• Air Mattress or Cot
• Towel (Don't Forget Your Towel)
• Snacks
• A Small Cooler for your drinks
• Feast Gear
• Blankets and Bed Linens (amount and thickness depending on weather)
• First Aid Kit
• Change of clothes in a waterproof container

I also like to add a trenching tool and a hatchet to the basics, just in case. With these basics, you should be able to enjoy your even without worrying about minor inconveniences. From here, I suggest people add storage and minor furnishings to keep your tent organized and your possessions safe from leaks, and anything else that might happen. As a fighter you should add an extra change of clothes (that you fight in), your armour kit, and your basic repair kit. For more information about what I carry as my armour kit, check out my old blog post (https://ulfhedinnjourney.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-is-in-your-armour-bag.html). I went over some of the things you need for field repairs. For longer events like war you may want to take a more robust kit, because an armour malfunction can put you out for the week.

One of our first events, with Nikola and Augustine.

...And the Kitchen Sink

The next big question is: what is over preparation, or what is too much stuff? My rule of thumb is what you can comfortably carry and set up on your own. While the SCA is full of helpful people, I am a big fan of self reliance. What I mean by this is that your tent and your load should be something that you can handle on your own. This way, if you get help it’s a bonus and not a requirement.

The exception to this rule is if you are in a household or camping as a group and you  split the additional gear amongst the whole, or you are the camp cook or similar post. These things obviously will have you packing more than your needs, and your group should help you unpack.

Like your needs, ‘how much is too much’ is something that you will find organically, and it will vary wildly from person to person depending on their vehicle and capabilities.

My wife and I fill a full-size pickup truck up just for our things. It's a big part of why we have the truck in the first place. This is our comfort level, and truth be told if we could afford and store a trailer we would probably use one! I'll get more into our set up a little further down in the blog.

Home is where the heart rests

You'll notice the first thing on my list is the tent. While I know many people who only see the inside of their tent long enough to change into the next outfit and possibly catch a nap between activities, for most people the tent functions as your home away from home. In the Trimarian rain, there have been times we have spent a fair bit of time just wanting for a break. The wife and I tend to have a tent large enough that we can host company in the front area, making even the worst weather a chance to indulge in hanging out with friends. During Gulfnado a few years back, we actually ended up with a largeish group taking shelter in our tent while we waited for the worst to pass.

When picking the right tent there are three main factors to take into consideration: size, price, and weather. Size has to do with what you are comfortable setting up and what your space needs are. I always suggest that you pick a tent that you can stand up in or close to it. Getting dressed in a crouch, especially in some period clothing, is a pain in the butt. I am also going to remind you that the tent sizing guidelines (sleeps x people) are about maximum floor space, not necessarily actual space. We have had three different tents, the third was the same tent as the first bought again. In each case, we have bought a tent large enough where we can fit all of the furnishings we take as well as be able to split the space into various areas. In the case of our current tent, it's actually broken down into three 8x8 rooms. This is very convenient for us as far as comfort and how we set our things up. Essentially the first room is our main living area: armour, snacks, and seating all there. The second room is where we get dressed, and the third is our sleeping quarters. Set-up for modern tents tend to be easy enough that even larger ones can be set up by one or two people without much difficulty. This only really becomes a concern on large period tents.

The next two factors when it comes to tent are weather and price. Price is an easy enough one to understand. Buy a tent that you can afford, no need to go bankrupt. The only thing I will add to this is that if you are even moderately active in the SCA you will spend a lot of time every year in your tent. Before I opened my store and slowed down my activity, Bea and I were averaging about 30 nights a year in the tent. Keep that in mind when deciding your budget. I have a very good friend who went very cheap on her tent, and decided she hated the SCA because she tried camping in August in

One of my Dream projects is to make a tent like this one.

Central Florida in a tent that she couldn't stand up in and had no windows. Which brings me to weather: different areas have different needs when it comes to weather. Do you need a tent that will keep you warm? Something that will keep you cool? Is your area very windy? Keep all these in mind when you go to pick yours out, and don't be scared to ask questions, either of other local SCAdians or, hell, if nothing else shoot me a message on here. I’d much rather help out than you have a bad experience.

I am going to touch for a moment on period style tents vs modern tents. Period tents are prettier and they add to the Dream we are all working to build, but they are difficult to set up, difficult to store, and much more expensive. If given a choice, I will always pick the period tent, but that's because I have a pick up truck to transport the large poles and a partner and household willing to help set up. That being said, we spent $1300 on a period tent, and it served us amazingly well. No weather affected us, it wasn't hot, it wasn't even particularly bad to set up. It was, however, a huge headache to dry after events, and eventually because of storage issues during one of the rain storms here in Miami, water got into the tupper with the canvas and completely ruined it. We haven't had the money to buy a new canvas tent, but when we do, I am going to make an oilcloth bag for the canvas, even if it is in a tupper, in hopes of stopping this from happening again.

Where do we sit?

Drawings thought to be the original designs for the
Fields of Cloth of Gold Tent.

In period, especially the later periods, nobles camped essentially with an entire house worth of furniture and a wagon train of servants, the most over-the-top example being Henry VIII and his Fields of Cloth of Gold. In the SCA we don't quite go that far (although some campsites at war are amazing!), but we do expect a certain level of comfort from our homes away from home, which normally means at least some furniture. For some, this is as simple as some camp chairs and large tupper containers for their stuff. For others, it’s a chance to flex their woodworking skills and their research on what is accurate to their persona. The details are what really completes the picture, whether we are discussing garb or a campsite.

The SCA is a hobby where one builds upon their experience year to year, and it is no different when it comes to your camp. Figure out the things you need the most first and then work from there. Most of the time it will be seating first, and then storage. While it is easy to get a camp chair, and they can be comfortable, with just a little more effort you can get a chair that is period appropriate for you. A fauldstool for example is a quick build (or cheap option) that has existed throughout most of known history. This gives you an option that is easy to carry and adds to the overall look of the camp. Another option is to do things in the Viking way. A six-board box gives you storage space and doubles as a stool. This is easy enough that anyone can make it with a little bit of time. His Lordship Kelvin Alistair MacGowan in Trimaris often teaches his six-board class both in the Kingdom and at war. There are also a ton of good tutorials online, this one is based on an extant piece (http://www.angelfire.com/wy/svenskildbiter/Viking/vikchest.html). Six-board boxes also cover the next major piece of furniture most people need: storage. Simple chests work really well as a manner to carry your things to events and keep them organized when you are there, and they also have the added benefit of being stackable and as such easy to store!

Once you have gotten over these first two simple steps, the next one is completely based on your needs. I have seen amazing camp beds, closets, cabinets, and full camp kitchens. It's just a matter of what priorities are for you and what you have as a skill set.

Decorations

This is a topic that I am only going to touch on in brief detail because while the others have things that sort of stitch together many personas, decorations are as personal as it can get. A 10c Norseman and 16c courtesan would have very different ideas of what an appropriate camp decoration is. What I will suggest is some sort of heraldic display as appropriate to your persona to let people know whose camp it is. Not only will it give you a chance to display the heraldry you worked so hard on, but there is very little as inspiring in my mind as a campsite full of fluttering banners.

Conclusion

Hopefully this post gives you guys an idea of how to get started on your camping equipment, and how to expand it to enhance the Dream. When I get out to my next camping event, I will do a small follow-up on to show off Bea’s and my setup. While it isn't as period as I would like, I can make it about what I have now and the upgrades I am hoping to do in the future. Our campsite is particularly challenging because of the 600-year gap in our personas!

What does your campsite look like? What tricks do you have for camping events? Let me know in the comments below!