Camping is a simple activity – all you really need is a tent and a sleeping bag and you're good to go. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a bit of comfort and convenience when you head out into the wilderness.

Going camping used to mean hiking across muddy fields, shivering through the night and eating cold beans out of a can.

But we've come along way since the early days of camping when a tent was basically a couple of wooden poles hammered into the ground, with a canvas flysheet draped over the top. These days we've got inflatable tents, tents with built-in lights and camping gadgets that operate with solar power. You name it, if you can use it at home, there's probably a camping version of it available now.

However that doesn't mean there isn't still room for new ways to improve the camping experience. We've come up with some ideas for future camping inventions designed to make life under canvas even more enjoyable.

1. SILENT ZIPPERS

Several times every night the peace and tranquility of the campsite is shattered by that familiar ziiiiiip sound as another camper ventures out of their tent to the loo. And as soon as dawn breaks we are wakened with the unmistakeable sound of the zipper symphony. Surely it can't be too hard for the great minds who design tents to come up with a silent zipper?

2. HEATED SLEEPING BAGS

Keeping warm at night is one of the the most important factors in ensuring an enjoyable camping trip. Now we all know there are super-expensive down-filled "mummy" sleeping bags that you can take to the South Pole and still stay cosy, but we'd rather not have to take out a second mortgage to enjoy a bit of late season camping. And we'd prefer to be able to move around at night rather than feeling like an embalmed pharaoh. So how about a modern equivalent of the electric blanket? There must be a safe, modern technology that would allow you to control the temperature in your sleeping bag.

3. SOUNDPROOF TENT WALLS

Tents are not soundproof. Some people snore very loudly and babies cry. And some people do other things under canvas that we'd really prefer not to hear… I'm sure you know what we mean. These facts combined can make sleeping on the campsite difficult. The solution is some sort of lining/coating for the tent walls that muffles the sound coming from within, and blocks out unwanted noice from outside.

4. SOLAR POWERED TENTS

Glastonbury is the spiritual home of all things alternative, so it’s fitting that a few years ago mobile phone company Orange chose the festival to show off a prototype for a solar tent. Its cutting edge technology would allow campers to keep in touch and power all their essential camping gadgets using energy from the sun. A few tents have been launched since that allow you to fit solar panels, but we want a full-on, all singing and dancing solar model that means you can remain fully connected without plugging into the grid.

5. RETRACTABLE GUYLINES

Inflatable tents are great, right? They can be put up in minutes – and even quicker if you use an electric pump. But you still have to peg out all those guylines and that can be a real pain in the neck. Imagine there was some way that they could shoot out of the side of the tent into the ground at the flick of a button. Or guylines that =automatically wind back up and don’t get tangled when you put the tent away. Come on tent designers, get your thinking caps on!

WHAT BECAME OF THESE FUTURISTIC CAMPING INVENTIONS BACK IN THE 1950s?