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I had a neighbor that was looking to buy his small family a new camping tent to take on camping trips. He said he was just going to go and buy this 3-person, 3-season tent that he saw at the local mega outdoor store. I told him that he had the season right on the tent, but the person size is probably not correct. Why is that?
When you buy a camping tent you should generally buy the next size up if you are going to purchase a tent for general camping. The interior of a 3-person tent would not really be large enough and, in the example of this family, they would be happier if they got a 4-person tent. When you are camping and weight does not matter, the larger size tents are better for comfort.
For instance, if you are driving to the campsite and you expect to basically park your vehicle next to the camping pad then you are not really going to have to worry how big and heavy the tent it. It’s better to get a little extra room for your enjoyment.
However, for those hiking with a buddy, you definitely want to pack a 2-person camping tent because you want to conserve space and weight in your backpack. Generally backpackers will split up the load of carrying the camping gear they share, but they still want to pare down the weight and load as much as possible.
So if you are buying a camping tent for general purpose camping, don’t always expect the tent manufacturers to know what your needs are when purchasing that tent. A 3-person camping tent is for a maximum of three people. The room to maneuver and store gear is not really taken into account. That’s why it is better to go up a size when purchasing your tent. You will be a lot more comfortable in your camping tent.
| ©2005 Chris Morris. All rights reserved. |
Many nights in the backcountry are far from dark. A bright moon and a sky full of stars can throw off enough light to allow for reading a book, but add cloud cover, mountains or trees and it gets dark awfully fast. When you need to see in the dark, you have two choices - you either turn on a light, or use one of the many available night vision devices (NVD). The NVD could be the ultimate backcountry toy.
Like choosing many other types of technology, choosing the
correct NVD is all about how you are going to use it. When
most people think of night vision capabilities,
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Here are a few hints when choosing the tent just right for you or your family.
Tents that are advertised as one person are rarely big enough for one person.
Two person tents are usually comfortable for just one person, a three person tent is comfortable for two people and so on.
If you do not pick something large enough, you will find yourself cramped , claustrophobic and uncomfortable.
Pick something that will give you a little room to move and some space for some of your gear as well.
Each person needs about 3 by 7 feet to stretch out. You will
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Outdoor enthusiasts love to guess about all sorts of things. We guess how many stars are in the Milky Way, we guess how fast a deer runs or we might even guess about how long it will be until that big, dark cloud dumps rain us. But there are times when guessing in the backcountry just doesn't get the job done. Specialty gear is available to help us determine how far we've hiked - and in what direction - and other tools are available to help take the guesswork out of purifying water. But there is a another useful tool
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The following is a List that I have gathered through years of experience and research. They don't necessarily apply only to an Outdoor Adventurer. You pick and choose your priorities according to your destination and the length of your stay. Visit www.thecampingguide.com for more information and the necessary gear for your trip.
Gear Essentials
Been shopping for a new camping tent? Wonder what 3-season or 4-season means? Confused about what a family tent or convertible tent classification means? Let’s try to cut through all the marketing lingo and get down to what you should really look for when you see camping tent ratings or classifications.
When you get right down to it, you should think of a camping tent as either 3-season or 4-season. So what’s in a name?
Generally speaking your average 3-season tent is built to hold up well in light to moderate weather conditions. They are built to be comfortable in
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