"I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them."Pablo Picasso
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5 Easy Steps to Giving the Perfect BackCountry Gift
Does the thought of buying a gift for a friend or relative make you smile or does it stress you out? Is there a hiker or camper on your gift giving list? What can you give to the someone who already has everything? The secret of gift giving is not always ...
Get The Most Out Of Your Hike
Hiking is one of life’s great joys. Fresh air, nature, exercise and good friends. It’s difficult to imagine anything better - if you’re prepared. When you’re not prepared properly, it’s difficult to imagine anything worse. If you hike a few hundred yards ...
Outdoor Navigation Tips
Hiking, and in particular hiking in remote areas, is a great experience if approached with due regard for fitness, safety and skill. One of the major skill categories, is the ability to navigate with or without compass and map. Ideally, no one should ...
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A good camping tent should keep you dry, comfortable, and provide protection.
Which camping tent... Dome, family, 4-season, backpacking or cabin is right for you? They don't repel rain, cold, snow, or biting bugs equally.
Camping tents are an important outdoor gear investment. This article will give you the information you need to make an informed decision about what kind is best for you.
First determine what type of camping you'll be doing? Do you only go out in the summer or are you into 4-season camping? Make sure to prepare yourself for the worst possible type of weather you'll encounter. Waking up to a foot of snow inside your summer camping tent because of a late fall blizzard isn't much fun. ;-)
After determining what seasons you'll need your tent for, estimate how many people you will usually camp with...
Sizing It Up
Camping tents are rated by the number of people they can accommodate. But these ratings are like getting twenty circus clowns into a Volkswagon Beetle...goofy. :-) When they say it's a 4-person tent, they mean 4 people and nothing else, no hiking gear, no room for boots, just 4 people that hopefully know each other pretty well. Seriously, if you're looking for backpacking tents or hiking tents and weight is a big concern, then get cozy and use the rating system, but otherwise I'd think bigger.
Consider going 1-2 sizes bigger than what you need for a smaller camping tent. Better yet divide the "person rating" by 2 so you'll have a decent amount of room if you have to stay inside due to nasty weather. If you thought cabin fever was bad wait until you're stuck in a downpour with 5 other people
in a small tent for a few days.
My 4 man tent with 2 vestibules is perfect for 2 people and plenty of gear. Dry equipment is a good thing. This is still true with kids because the smaller they are the more room they take up with "kid stuff". Something else to keep in mind is that more room makes extended trips easier.
Consider the length and width of the camping tents you're looking at. If you're 6 feet tall you'll want at least 7 feet to stretch out length-wise and 2-3 feet of width depending on how much you move in your sleep.
Another thing to consider is to make sure you have enough space for an inflatable air mattress. While it's not mandatory I'll have to say it makes camping much more comfortable than lying on a cold pad. When I wake up I feel 300% better than when I slept on a pad on the floor getting stiff and cold. No it's not a king-size pillow-top, but hey this is camping. ;-)
Since we're on the subject of size, make sure that you'll have enough height to kneel, partially-stand, or...
If you would like to learn more about how to pick a great camping tent, click here.
About the Author
Marc learned about quality gear just after his pup tent flooded forcing him to sleep in his tiny 2-seat Honda CRX. His hiking equipment & camping gear guides & reviews save you time & money. Subscribe to his camping & hiking newsletter & get the most usable info. FREE! © 2005. Reprint permission if author, copyright, links & this notice are intact.
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Outdoors calendar -- Published May 23, 2012Stockton RecordBy The Record Go Outdoors - Bass Pro Shops at 1356 Bass Pro Drive in Manteca is offering free classes for adults to enjoy the outdoors. At 6 pm, hiking basics; 7 pm, campfire cooking; 8 pm, kayaks and canoes. Information: (209) 825-8400 Festival ... |
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Celebrate the great outdoorsPayson RoundupPayson's third annual Arizona Mountain High Games is a celebration of the great outdoors in the Rim Country. It is also part of the state's official ongoing festivities marking the 100th anniversary of Arizona Statehood. The event has been sanctioned ...and more » |
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