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Pat Taylor
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Finding the right tent can make or break the campout
I confess, the Taylor family owns a pop-up camper, and it's great for those chilly early spring and late fall adventures. Strangely enough, we prefer a tent throughout summer for many reasons. I'd like to sway you towards some real camping that, perhaps, doesn't lead to a bath house.
As a teen and while in college, it wasn't uncommon to sleep in the open woods under the stars and forest canopy without a care for cover or a tent. With age and after a few narrow escapes from harm, I soon realized that cowboy camping made me fair game to raccoons, squirrels, snakes, spiders, and many undesirable creatures, including mosquitoes. My last night without a tent was at Alligator Alley near Fort Lauderdale Beach, Fla. at the age of 21.
The number one advantage of tents over campers is versatility.
Campgrounds fill up early on weekends and those shady spots go first. Most campgrounds have primitive areas that are spacious and still provide access to bath houses. We prefer a little more seclusion and often backpack a mile from parking areas. Abundant shade mixed with a swimmable stream and plenty of firewood is the magic combination for us.
Having a roof and walls of nylon or canvas provides peace of mind, though illusory is worth plenty after sunset. Providing a dry and bug-free environment is part of being comfortable along with a hiker's mattress that takes the lumps out of Mother Nature.
Camping at a state or national park campground is a second choice for us to backpacking across the Cumberland Gap or through the Great Smoky Mountains, but it's all great times with the right tent.
A family tent is a must for larger families and they come with one to three rooms. A six-pound backpackers tent is comfortable when covering 10 to 15 miles a day. Regardless, I recommend an easy to set up tent that can be assembled in less than five minutes and taken down in less than 10 minutes.
One of our tents is about eight feet across and pops up in less than one minute. You can find a variety of good tents for less than $150, but on the other hand a truly cheap tent can be a nightmare. If the price sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
A family size tent for around $30 is made for only perfect conditions, will not last long, and is not a good choice. A hiker's tent for $15 or less will leave you wet or worse.
If you decide to go tent shopping consider looking for something that will allow more than one person to stand up, something tough but lightweight, promotes itself as easy to assemble, is waterproof, will fit back into its own case, is ventilated, and can hold luggage while leaving room for occupants to sleep.
Remember that buying a good tent will turn your family into tent lovers, and buying a bad tent will get you into big trouble with your family. Compared to hotels or any other type of lodging, a tent is extremely affordable.
Most camp ground rates are in the $18 price range while a cheap hotel may charge $49 a night. Hotels are usually beside a major busy highway while camping provides privacy and quiet. Children can play in the campground playground or explore nature while hotels only offer parking lots.
Camping, it's worth trying. |
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