Tent Ideas

[ScottC]

My wife, admittedly, is not a 'roughing-it-in-the-woods' kind of gal. She is from NYC who spent 15 years in Chicago before we moved here, so she hasn't spent a lot of outdoor time. My son has expressed interest in camping this summer. We probably will head to a state park close to home for obvious reasons. Problem: we do not have a tent. I am open to suggestions for a good three season family tent (4-5 person). I would appreciate it if you could keep in mind I plan on using the tent for deer camp as late as mid-October (in Michigan).

Thanks in advance.

[michihunter]

It boils down to how much do you want to spend Scott. You can get a Coleman rather cheap. But that's a low end tent in my opinion. I've got a few different tents and they all seem to have their pros and cons. If you aren't planning to use it that often, I would stay away from the expensive brands and stick with Coleman. Summit or Eureka. You can pretty much do a search on Tent reviews and find what people are recommending and go from there.

[ScottC]

I forgot about money, Ted. I have eyeballed a Kelty in the Cabela's catalog which is about $300. I haven't done a close head-to-head comparison of features to see if less expensive models have the same features. I guess some major considerations is to keep dry (some rain flys look like they don't cover a lot of the tent), no bugs, and decent ventilation.

[michihunter]

Here's some different tents at great prices. www.sportsmansguide.com/browse/browse.asp?s=&b=&z=&mj=&mn=&c=80&a=&p=&bt=&pg=1

Here's another that comes highly recommended www.orgear.com/home/category/exped_or/exped_tents

[ScottC]

Thanks Ted.

I like the SUV/Hatchback tent...only problem is I would have to buy an SUV. ;D

[michihunter]

Sometimes we have to sacrifice for the greater good Scott!! ;D

[bowslap]

Hey Scott....I have a 3-room Coleman tent that my familly uses when we go camping, and it works very well. Piece of advice: spray it down with water repellant before you use it in the outdoors...it has a rain canopy, but it never hurts to go the extra measure....I think I picked mine upat Wal-Mart for around $120-$130 a couple of years ago.....they may not be "top of the line", but they get the job done nicely....'slap...

[ScottC]

Thanks for the suggestion bowslap. Certainly can't hurt to spray down the rain fly. I had a rough, WET, camping/canoeing experience in Maine, so keeping dry is a #1 priority....then keeping out flying critters.

[bowslap]

It's a good tent Scott.....the water repellant usually lasts one season.....plenty of room inside, and I have 3 kids(15,7 and 4)...does an excellent job of keeping the "critters" out....we have 3 air matresses for sleeping comfort......nice set-up, I like it a lot.....will do until I can afford a camper, even then, I'll still use the tent a lot.....just doesn't seem like camping without one to me anyways....'slap...

[wiffleballbatboy]

I wind up doing a lot of camping in the rain, and a good fly is important. I almost always set up an extra large tarp over my tent as extra insurance. It is usually pretty easy to find some trees and sticks to set up the tarp, just be sure to bring alot of extra cord to use as guy lines to keep everything tight and upright.
If you can afford to get a vestibule they are very nice also. really helps to keep your shoes dry when you take them off at night and leave them outside the door. I also always have a towel to wipe off my feet after I get in the tent, as they seem to get sandy no matter where I camp and I dont want sand in my sleeping bag.
Another worthwhile investment is a little broom and mini dustpan for sweeping out the tent when its over.
thats my $.02

[ScottC]

Thanks for the suggestions wiffleballbatboy . Good ideas. Lots of sand around here & where I will be camping.