Outwell Camping Rally on Sletten in Denmark

Outwell Camping Club Denmark or Danish tent- and Outwell enthusiasts… It may sound fancy but the truth is that we are completely regular people who love camping in tents and have a passion for Outwell tents and products.

It all started in 2012 with a small Facebook-group which had around 700 members that turned into an association in spring, 2014.

We have not a quota, president or a board of directors. We are only an association because it makes it possible for us to rent different natural areas around Denmark...

September the 5th, 6th and 7th 2014, about 100 of us met to have a common tent-weekend.

We had rented the area ”Friluftscenter Sletten” located in Central Jutland. A huge natural area separated in many different smaller areas with huge grass areas, forests, lakes and lots of beautiful Danish nature. It is a fantastic camp site with new and nice bathrooms, running water and the option of electricity.

There was already a cosy sound coming from the camp site when we arrived Friday afternoon. Some of the members had arrived earlier than us and had already pitched their tents. Others were pitching tents and others decorating. More and more families arrived during the afternoon. People greeted, looked at tents and talked everywhere. 

The children ran around and had already found new friends before dinner was ready. A big common tent in the middle had almost capacity to everyone – at least we could almost get together. It naturally turned into a gathering spot for the night, and for the rest of the weekend. There was a fireplace next to the big tent. The smell of twist bread spread in the late hours of the evening, as the children went hungry once again. 
 

The adults satiated their hunger with conversations. 

There was arranged a couple of arrangements on Saturday for those who wanted to participate. A discussion on Facebook regarding how to pull up Tarzan pegs lead to a competition for the creative and innovative people were they had to create a peg extractor for the Tarzan pegs. A good amount of proposals were introduced and tested, and afterwards it was voting time. (The winner was revealed in the evening).

There was also a huge common cake table. All who wanted to bring cake was more than welcome to do so – luckily many people did, which resulted in a huge cake buffet.

A group of such passionate tent campers can quickly gather some tent equipment. Therefore there was arranged a small market day on Saturday. People bought and sold equipments with each other. Some used items changed ownership. 

There was also time to enjoy on your own. We were located near water which could be reached with 5 minutes of walk. There was a huge grass area as well where ball play and other plays were an option. The forest was also open for exploring on your own. Furthermore people talked and looked at equipment, tents and other things through the entire weekend. A communal eating in the big tent was arranged on Saturday evening. Each family brought their own food, tables, chairs etc. Multiple grills were set up, so the food could be prepared. 

An award with nice sponsor prizes and gifts from Outwell® were handed out by the inventor of the Facebook page and administrator Janice, afterwards. 

Massive rain unfortunately hit us through the evening. Quickly we pitched some makeshift tarp solutions to get us all in dry weather, which ended in a success, well almost – but it was at least a nice experience.

On Saturday evening it continued to be wet in more ways than one, and the cake buffet was also tested once again.

Sunday morning at 6:30 am a small group went kayaking. It was an amazing experience to kayak and see the nature and the whole area to wake up. A couple of hours later we were back and the rest of the camp had woken up.

At 11 O´clock we all met in the big common tent and a couple of easy cleaning tasks were done in a half an hour. Afterwards people packed their tents, and the cars were once again packed to the limit. As people packed their stuff, everybody said goodbye and soon we were driving home. 

It was our second time at the Outwell event. Our first time was in the Pentecost, which also was at Sletten. We would participate in a similar trip again, although we live north of Copenhagen. The good thing about these events is that you have time on your own, if you want to. But there is also time to be social and ask for advices on anything about tents. 

There is room for everyone – old and young, tall and short- even our four legged friends are more than welcome.

You do not have to be an Outwell geek, nor a tent freak. But you can assure yourself that if you have questions about “which floor fits to my tent” or “how do I fix this broken pole” – there will be a guarantee for a lot of answers and a good debate. It is also a good opportunity to look at some tents and equipments. There are great odds that someone else in the group has the tent you have considered buying or maybe a table or chair you wish to test. Everybody is incredibly helpful and everybody would love to show you around in their “summer houses”. 

Do you need inspiration for your next weekend trip or vacation? Do you have questions on how to pack the car? If so, there are a lot of helpful experiences to get. So bring it on and find us on Facebook – and if you want to, there has already been arranged a trip next Pentecost, and before that a winter camping (only for the brave...). Both arrangements are open for sign up.

//Daniel Reuber