TheCampingGuy.com Blog | Camping Tips

What makes a tent right for your family and its camping needs? Let me show you how to pick the correct tent that fits your budget and how to take care of it so it will last for many happy camping seasons.

As a first-time camper you will rely on a tent for shelter for you and your family. Not only shelter from the wind, rain and morning dew, but also from pesky bugs. No, not your kids, those bugs that fly. There are a great variety of tents available for your camping adventure. For your purposes you will want a tent that is light and portable. Most of the tents in the market today have double-thick nylon or polyester walls, dual-zippered doors, screening, a rain fly and shock-cord poles that fold up neatly into a small package. The four most important factors to consider when choosing a tent are:

1. Season
2. Size
3. Strength
4. Shape

1. Season - there are typically three- and four-season tents available. Three-season tents are for spring, summer and fall. They typically have mosquito or “No-see-um” netting panels that zip-in and allow plenty of warm weather ventilation. The one I have has bug panels and a nylon panel. I can roll up the interior nylon panel out of the way giving the tent a screen door effect. When I roll up the panel in the rear of the tent I can get a nice cross breeze during summer camping and keep the bugs out. In the fall the panel stays zipped-up to break the wind.

Four-season tents are built for winter camping and may have extra poles for stability and thicker panels and outer shell. Since I don’t imagine any of you doing this right away, just tuck this information away for when you need it.

2. Size - tents are marked as 2-person, 3-person, etc. Regardless of how they are “rated” you need to pick a tent that suits your space requirements for all your campers and your gear. I have found that a 2-person tent will barely fit two campers and have no room for your gear. A 4-person tent gives two campers lots of elbowroom and space to stow your gear. As a “rule of thumb” add 2 to the number of campers you want in the tent and you will have enough room. So, for a family of 4, pick a 6-person tent.

If you can, borrow or rent different tents and take them on overnight campouts to see what they are like. I’ve also found that some sporting goods stores have tents set-up in their showrooms. Find one you think will fit your needs and crawl around in it. Check out the size, comfort, quality of construction and most importantly, the ease of setting up and taking down.

I can remember taking my kids with me to the local sporting goods store and having them get in the tents with me, zipping up the tent and laying down inside to see how it felt to them. I also wanted to see if they could work the zippers without any trouble.

I will cover the next two sections in my next post.

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Right here and now let me get rid of some of the myths and rumors that keep first-time campers from taking the plunge. This knowledge will prepare you for the camping time of your life!

Camping can be simple and inexpensive. Much of the clothing you will need for the outdoors is probably already in your closet. Some of your personal camping gear can be made from things around the house or purchased at surplus stores, garage sales, or sporting goods stores.

If you follow the rest of the instructions in my book you will be fully prepared for the camping adventure of a lifetime. So, let’s start with some of these myths!

Myth #1  I’m not an outdoor person
Sure, camping is about being outdoors and enjoying it, but you don’t have to be “Ranger Tom” or a card-carrying Sierra Club member to enjoy camping! It is natural for people to be outside, breathing fresh air, getting a little color on your cheeks. With the proper equipment such as a tent, warm sleep bag, and some good food you will have most of the amenities that you have at home, only be outside. Go on, give it a try and tell me what you think.

Myth #2  It’s too expensive
Yes, everything you do seems to cost money. But where can you stay overnight with a family of 4 or more for under $45? Once you make the initial investment in equipment that I talk about in my book you will have many seasons of enjoyable camping at a fraction of the cost of staying in a hotel.

Myth #3  I don’t know what to take
Hold on! Isn’t that why you are reading this? This is the simple, no-brainer, “Camping 101 course that will give you the facts about the necessary equipment to bring. It’s all boiled down for you in this easy to read format. Read on…or get the book.

Myth #4  Camping is boring. What will I do with the kids?
Your kids are probably like mine. They spend too much time watching TV, playing video games, and doing e-mail or IM (instant messaging). So, for me, when I can get them away from all this, I welcome it. When I’m going camping with the kids I pick some activities that they like to do or let them choose what they want to do, while we’re camping. I get them involved by having them help plan and cook the meals. We may go for a hike on a nearby trail. Next to the campsite may be a lake where they can fish or swim. I also bring pencils, paper, and crayons for them to draw what they see. Bring a football, soccer ball, baseball glove and any other sporting equipment that the kids are into. They also bring their favorite board game or favorite book(s) to keep them busy.