Campers Info Source

The single most important piece of camping equipment you bring with you on your next camping trip is your camping bed.  Don’t get me wrong; there are other important pieces of camping equipment too but if you don’t get a good night’s sleep and plenty of rest, your second day of camping can turn out to be a nightmare.  So find a camping bed that is comfortable for you.  It might be a soft, cushy sleeping bag, a cot, an air mattress or just a blanket on the floor.  If you went camping on memorial day weekend, it was probably hot in the tent which makes it tough to get to sleep and stay asleep.

I highly recommend you bring two things; an air bed and a battery operated fan.  Air beds are really comfortable and the closest thing to sleeping in your own bed.  And a battery operated fan will keep a gentle breeze flowing past you to keep you cool.  I highly recommend the Easy Riser Full Size High Rise Pillow Top Air Bed.  It has a build in pump that can be plugged into your car lighter and inflated in just a couple of minutes.  The pump can also be used to deflate the air bed in the morning.  The height of this air bed is it’s real draw.  It’s like sleeping in your own bed at home.  You won’t believe how high it sits off the ground.  It takes up a lot of space in a tent but it’s well worth it.  Add an air bed and fan to your camping equipment so you are ready for your next camping trip.

People seldom give much thought to the types of poles provided with their family camping tent but there are some differences you should be aware of.  For example, family tents usually come with fiberglass or aluminum poles.  Fiberglass poles are usually less expensive, very flexible, light and durable enough to withstand all that mother nature has to deliver.  Aluminum poles are typically a little stiffer, heavier,  stronger and therefore more durable but are also more expensive. 

There is a pole for family tents that achives a practical middle ground in benefits between the typical aluminum and fiberglass poles.  DA17 pre-bent poles are made of proprietary aluminum alloy designed by DAC specifically for family camping tents and expedition tents.   By using this alloy, a large diameter pole with high stiffness, strength and durability is provided at a cost only a little above inexpensive fiberglass poles.  This makes for a family camping tent that is less expensive than the Featherlite or Pressfit pole models, but still touts the durability, lighter weight and benefits of aluminum over fiberglass.  The Kelty Pallisade 6 tent uses DA17 pre-bent poles and is an excellent family camping tent that sleeps 6 and out duals mother nature all the time.   If you are shopping for family camping tents, check out the Kelty Pallisade tent.

One of the things I really look for in a tent is the ability to stand up when getting dressed in the morning.  Not all tents allow you to do this, especially truck tents.  However, CampRight makes a really nice Truck Tent as shown in the picture below.  This truck tent is designed so you can stand up while getting dressed inside – wow.  The zipper pulls are glow in the dark so that you can easily find them with the flash light in the middle of the night.  

Truck tents can sometimes be a little cramped inside but this truck tent has lots of room inside because it sets up out over tailgate for an extra 2 feet of length.   The floorless design allows for set up and tear down without removing gear from the bed of the truck. 

This is really nice; especially if you’ve got an air bed/mattress in the bed of the truck that you don’t want to have to remove.  The mesh windows allow you to gaze at the stars as you are going to sleep.  How cool is that.  If you have a truck and you haven’t tried camping with a truck tent, give it a shot.  And don’t forget to get an air bed for extra comfort.

When you start looking at family tents, it’s likely you will see features or specifications call out something called a “bath tub style floor”.   When I first read this I thought, “Why would anyone trying to sell a tent brag about having a bath tub style floor in their family tents”.  In fact, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to have anything to do with family tents that had something called a bath tub style floor.  But after I learned what it was, I decided I wouldn’t want family tents that didn’t have a bath tub style floor and here is why.

A bath tub style floor is one that doesn’t have any seams in it.  Typically, a floor that has seams has the potential to allow water into the tent through these seams.  This can include water from rain, dew or condensation.  A bath tub style floor means there are NO seams so no water can get into family tents through the floor.  Nothing is more frustrating than to wake up and find everything you left on the floor wet because water came in through the seams in the tent floor.  So next time you go shopping for family camping tents, look at the features and specifications for “bath tub style floor” and give some consideration to buy a family camping tent that has one.  Note:  If you find a tent you really like but it doesn’t have a bath tub style floor, consider buying a large tarp and laying it on the ground then pitching your tent on top of it.  This will help prevent water from seeping into your new tent.

There is no question that children have lots of fun in Play House Tents when indoors during the winter months.  But putting up a new play house tent outdoors can be even more fun for your child and they will be outside instead of inside playing video games or watching TV.  You’ll want to bring the play house tent indoors if its going to rain but they are so easy to set up and tear down that it won’t be a bother.   There are many different types of play house tents.

The Town Sheriff Play House Tent by Pacific Play Tents is a realistic fun time adventure.  Your child can pretend he/she is the new sheriff around town.  All police and prisoners are welcome to play cooperatively. 

The Fire Station Play House Tent is another tent that can be put up outside and your child can pretend he/she is the Fire Chief.  Children can also gather the play tools they got for Christmas or a previous birthday and put on their goggles…and get ready to enjoy their very own Construction Zone Play House Tent.  

Check out these play house tents and others today and you will soon be convinced they are excellent outdoor fun for your child and their friends.

When you look for a new camping tent, you normally focus on finding one whose size will accommodate the size of your family and that makes lots of sense.  However, what if you need a camping tent that sleeps a small number of people but you have a need for lots of storage space.   Kelty tents might be just what you need. 

For example, the Kelty Shiro 4 Tent sleeps four and it has 3 rooms.  This three room camping complex features a middle unit for storing bikes and camping equipment, two removable sleeping compartments and an attachable carport, giving you a home away from home, wherever your adventures lead!   This Kelty tent also has internal storage pockets that keep everything right at arms reach when you need it, a tall handy organizer wall with a series of bookshelves and pockets that keep everything tidy, a dual entry common area  and a carport and car tarp attachments. 

So next time you are looking for camping tents with lots of storage, check out Kelty Tents and check out the Kelty Shiro 4 tent in particular.

In 1974 when my best friend Chip and I were in high school, we used to do a lot of hunting.  In particular we’d use a kayak his dad owned at the time to navigate streams and rivers hunting  for Mallard ducks and muskrat.  We planned a special trip down the Nokasippi river in northern Minnesota after school on a Friday night to hunt some big Mallards we heard were on that river.  We were 16 years old at the time and it was mid October so it was starting to freeze at night.  We didn’t tell our parents where we were going but we did tell some of our friends.  It was a big mistake not telling our parents.

Kayaks are really good for hunting because they are quiet and you can easily approach small game and waterfowl to get close enough for a shot.  We paddled our kayak about a mile down the Nokasippi and shot our limit of muskrat and Mallard ducks and it was starting to get dark so we decided to turn around and head home.  What we didn’t know at the time was that we had passed many forks in the river and some of these had frozen over during our downstream paddling.  Paddling upstream and hitting a frozen fork in the stream cause us to spend a lot more time than expected to return to our car.  As we got about a block away from our car, we heard our parents calling out.  It was after midnight and they had apparently asked some of our friends where we went hunting.  We both got chewed out pretty good by our parents when we finally reached shore.  Needless to say, it was quite a while before we got to take the Kayak anywhre or go hunting again by ouselves again.  I will never forget that night.  Paddling that Kayak, shooting all those ducks and spending time with my best friend Chip was awesome.  I did learn a valuable lesson that night which I taught to my own son.  Always tell me where you are going even if you think I may stop you.  Fortunately, my son Ryan does tell me where he is going.  He even calls me from the lake or river he is on when he is on it to tell me how many Mallards he has shot with his best friend John.  Next time you want to experience something really special, get a kayak and go hunting with your best friend.  Also remember to always wear a life jacket when Kayaking.  And remember, the Joy is in the Journey.

Most people seem to buy family tents, backpacking tents or dome tents and set up their tent at a camp site they’ve reserved at a campground.  But you really haven’t tried camping until you’ve tried truck tents or SUV tents.  Set up camp wherever your truck or SUV will take you.  Truck Tents allow you to sleep high and dry off the cold, dirty ground and in the bed of your truck.  They set up in just 10 minutes in the back of your open-bed pickup, creating a comfortable, restful sleeping area for two people.   

SUV tents transform your SUV, Minivan or Hatchback vehicle into a convenient home away from home.  These innovative camping tents wrap around the cargo area of your vehicle allowing you to access the interior of your vehicle for storage or additional sleeping area.  Sportz is one of the top manufacturers of truck tents and SUV tents.  SUV tents from Sportz have a patented removable vehicle sleeve on all models that can be completely removed to convert the tent into a stand-alone ground tent making it easy to drive away from your campsite.

While backpacking tents are intentionally designed to be lightweight so they can easily be carried by backpackers and hikers in the back country, they can also be used as a base camp for 1-2 people.  When I was younger, my best friend Chip and I would often go hunting for grouse, squirrels and ducks in northern Minnesota.  We’d pitch a small backpacking tent and set up a base camp.  Then we’d hunt ducks in the early morning at a select pond in the back woods.  After hunting in the morning, we’d come back to the base camp to get some breakfast, then head out in the afternoon to hunt squirrels and grouse.  After a few hours walking through the woods we would return to the tent, take a short nap, get a bite to eat then head out in the evening to sneak up on ducks in small ponds near the base camp. 

It was always lots of fun, good exercise and at the end of the day, we would clean the small game and waterfowl we shot, put some on ice in the cooler, cook the meat right over the fire and then eat the rest right their at the base camp.  If you enjoy camping wih a good friend and you don’t have lots of money to spend, try a backpacking tent this year.  You don’t need a big family tent and backpacking tents make an excellent base camp for a couple of hunters.  The Niesen Hiker Tent is a great backpacking tent and very similar to the one Chip and I used when we hunted in Northen Minnesota.  I suggest you check it out.

When you go shopping for a new camping grill or stove, you should know what the difference is between the two.  Camping grills and camping stoves both cook your food and they are both available in small, large and portable styles.  Both also can be fueled by charcoal, propane or gas.  These are obvious differences to the naked eye.  But what’s not always obvious is this.  A camping grill allows the flame of the fire to directly touch the food you are cooking.  While your food rests on a grill or grate as they are sometime called, the flame can sear the food or burn the grate marks into the meat you are cooking.  Your food will usually get cooked much faster on a grill but you have to be careful not to burn it.  Camping grills are best for cooking chicken, steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs and pork chops.  Many people like the charred taste of their food.

A camping stove transfers the heat from the fire to the food through a pot or pan.  Camping stoves normally don’t have a grate or grill but instead have a heating element to rest a pot or pan on.  Camping stoves are good for cooking things like eggs, bacon, hash browns, potatoes, beans, chili, hot dishes and other things you need to put in a pot or pan.  They are normally less messy and easier to clean.  I actually prefer Camping grills because they are easier to start , I like the charbroiled taste of the food and they are easier to keep clean; leaving more time for other camping activities.  I recommend you check out the Weber Gas-Go Anywhere Grill.