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Back into camping

16 years ago

Hi all, looking for some advice.

Have been into camping most of my adult life. Started over 25 years ago in tents, went to a pop up, and finally a 27" TT. Have been out of it for about 3 years. Wife has informed me she would like to start going again maybe 3 or 4 times a sumer. For this amount, we agreed a tent would be fine.

There is the wife and myself, a 14 year old, and probably a friend of his that would be going along also. Oh yeah, a Choco Lab, and Australian Shepherd.

I have noticed there don't seem to be any canvas tents anymore, which is what I had in past. (10x10 Coleman) My Questions:

1- What materials should I look for, and what should I stay away from in tent construction?

2-What is the differences between the cabin tents that I am used to, and the newer more common dome tents? (ease of set up perhaps?)

Any and all pointers so far as tent camping you can give to this "veteran rookie" camper would be appreciated!

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Comments (10)

grammyp
16 years ago
We used to tent camp and still have our Coleman tent. We use it from time to time if we have too many people to sleep in the RV. I do wish we had gotten one with an attached screen room and if we were to go back to tent camping I would get one similar to this one.

beverly

Here is a link that might be useful: Coleman tent at Campmor
tim-camper
16 years ago
Hi Bixll,

Glad to see you're getting back into tent camping. That's my fav. The tents these days have polyster or double-thick nylon walls making them light and easy to maintain. Make sure you get one with a good sized, durable tub floor, especially for the dogs paws/nails. I use a large dome tent because it's easy to put up, I can stand up in it and I can turn it upside down to clean it out.

As far a size goes, a "rule of thumb" is to add 2 to the number of people you want the tent to hold and then find a tent that size. So, you have you, your wife, son and friend....go for a 6 person tent. Oh..the dogs..maybe go to 8. Just a thought - they make a lot of the dome tents with separate rooms now. So, you could get one small room for the dogs. If you need more info. please go to my site that has lots of free info.

Here is a link that might be useful: TheCampingGuy.com
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bixll
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the responses. Wife and I will be going tent shopping this weekend, and will let you know what we get. Nice looking site there Tim.
bixll
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, we ended up getting one from K-Mart. Got it for $49.00 off on sale, for $100.00. ($99.99)

Its a Northwest Territory Extreme 18x10 Dome tent. Model name is Catskill Peak. It has the tub floor, sealed seams, and material seemed heavier and of higher quality then what we saw at Wal Mart, and oth K Mart tents. We shall see, going to either Presquile, or Geneva on the Lake 7/17.
grammyp
16 years ago
Have a wonderful time. Be careful in the heat.

beverly
tim-camper
16 years ago
Looks like you got a pretty good deal!

One final tip....set it up in your back yard before you go camping so you become familiar with how it all goes together.....and put some seam sealer on the seams!

Enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: TheCampingGuy.com
wareaglecamper
16 years ago
hello bixil, I am a new member, and I have also just purchased a catskill peak tent from k-mart. I have only set it up once in the yard, but it seemed nice. I have found out that it is made by northpole, the same company that makes my columbia bugaboo tent that I absolutely love and have used many times. In fact, the catskill peak seems to be much like a larger version of the bugaboo. Do you have any real world camping experience with the catskill peak yet? If so, please share. Thanks!
tplife
16 years ago
If you must go cheap, go cheap on your tent and sleeping bags. Blow your dough on ThermaRest sleeping pads, around $ 75.00 each. They won't transfer cold like an air mattress, are adjustable and offer lifetime guarantees. Two of mine are 1988 model CampRest pads.
jbcamps
16 years ago
Welcome back to camping!! I think you got some good advice on the tents. For more basic camping tips and ideas, I have a website with a checklist and other relevant camping information that would be helpful.

The site is www.youcancamp.com

I hope you enjoy it.

Here is a link that might be useful: YouCanCamp
tplife
16 years ago
A website that recommends an AIR MATTRESS for camping? I'd sleep warmer on a blanket than one of those cold-magnets. Time to fire your editor!!!

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