I love to go camping whether in a trailer or a tent. Because of this and being a picky
person, I only try to buy quality stuff and sometimes make the mistake of buying something
cheap! Well, at the web page listed below you can purchase camping items but more importantly
you can view detailed reviews from avid campers to see what the product is really like before
you buy it. Along with the web page I have also included direct links to my specific reviews
of camping gear and items that I personally use!
Trailspace.com
Here are direct links to my specific reviews of some of the gear and items I personally use:
Tents:
Chinook Cyclone 3 {4 Season Tent}
Ozark Trail Family Dome Tent {Warm Weather Tent}
Sleeping Bags:
Texsport Big Bend {Canvas Sleeping Bag}
Camp Stoves:
Ozark Trail Propane Camping Stove {2 Burner}
Lanterns:
Coleman Compact Lantern {1 Mantle Perfectflow}
Coleman NorthStar Lantern {Dual Mantle Perfectflow Instastart}
Tips For Tent Camping:
1. Erect your tent on the flattest possible ground. Remember to remove any rocks
or sticks that may puncture your tents floor. If your tent came with a foot-
print, use it. Or, you can make your own out of a nice tarp. This basically
is another floor to help protect your tent. If you use a regular tarp, lie it
down first and erect the tent on top of it. When the tent is erected, push the
edges of the tarp just under the tent floor to stop rain and morning dew from
going over it and under the tent floor.
Since you're not in a camp trailer, it is also highly recommended that you
erect your tent on higher ground just in case it rains. This way the rain
goes around the tent. Erecting a tent in lower areas of the campground can
find it soaked or floating in water!
A great trick to help make sure rain water goes around your tent is after it's
erected, use a shovel and right on the edge of the tent, dig a small trench
all the way around the edge and at one of the lowest sloping coreners, dig it
out a few feet from your tent. This will act like a ditch and direct the rain
away from your tent to keep it dry.
2. There is simply no getting around the wind whether a slight breeze or a heavy
wind. Unless you're in the desert, always try and erect your tent inside the
tree line as far as possible. Trees make a natural wind break. It is also
recommended to face the most aerodynamic part of your tent facing the wind.
If your tent is a family dome shape this would not apply but if you have a
more expensive, 3 or 4 season tent made to withstand extreme conditions, this
is a must. When in doubt, always face your tents door towards the East for the
morning, rising sun!
3. There is no one stake that works in all terrains. The small diameter titanium
stake for use in hard dirt is not appropriate for sand or snow camping; just
as the bulky angle iron/aluminum stake you use when camping at the beach won't
work well in hard dirt.
Some stakes work in some terrains sometimes. Those bulky angle iron/aluminum
stakes that are used at the beach may pull up quite readily should it rain.
There are some terrains in which no stake works. Backpackers and mountain
climbers can attest to the problems that they face when confronted with rocky
terrain and stone outcroppings that resist all stakes. In cases like this, I
use some sand bags and fill them with dirt, sand or even heavy rocks and
either put these in each corner of your tent or you can put them outside and
run long guy lines to them.
The next time you're camping, observe the methods of others. Whose tent stays
put in the wind? Whose stays dry in the rain? Then follow the successful tech-
niques of your fellow campers.
4. How big should your tent be? The rule of thumb is get a tent that is 2 persons
larger than you will use. If 2 of you will be camping, get a tent for 4 people
or if there are 4 of you get a 6 person tent. This allows for extra room to
stretch out or to place your camping gear inside the tent. No one likes to be
cramped or crowded in a small space!
5. If you can pull the material on either side of a seam and see through the
stitches, this tent will leak. Be sure to use seam sealer on all seams. But,
you should look for a tent that has folded and double stitched seams.
6. Seal your tent and rainfly seams! Even in new tents, the seams are not sealed
so it is highly recommeneded that you buy a bottle of seam sealer and seal all
of the seams before you go camping. Do this as soon as you buy a new tent. Go
home, set up the tent and using the sealer, seal every seam on the inside and
outside on a nice, dry, sunny day. Let this dry for a few hours and then
repeat the process again and allow it to dry. Remember to seal the seams on
your rain fly as well. Rain flies are water-proof but the walls of your tent
are only water-resistant!
If you are an avid camper and go out a lot with your tent, I recommend sealing
your seams at least once a year; even twice a year. Sometimes my family goes
3 times a month for 2 to 5 days at a time!
7. Make sure your tent has adequate guy lines!!!!! Tent walls, and sometimes the
rainflies, have loops sown near the middle. These loops are used to attach guy
lines that pull out the walls so that they are taught. It is impossible to
sleep in a tent that's flapping in the wind.
8. A tent with a roof vent? Yes! Opening this at night will help create some air
circulation and eliminate condensation inside your tent. In some tents whether
they are cheap family tents baught from local department stores or the more
expensive 4 season tents, these may be a constantly open mesh sewn into the
roof. This is fine as adequate ventilation is important. If you do not have
freah air coming into the tent and circulating, you can die!
9. Get a tent with heavy-duty zippers. You'll be in and out of your tent a lot
so you want zippers that will hold up to frequent use.
10. Never store food in or around your tent, and never eat in your tent. The smell
of food alone will tempt critters to tear into your tent to get at it whether
it be ants, other insects or even skunks, racoons and bear!
A Few Extra Things For You To Read:
My Camping List
Winter Survival
