Necessary camping equipment - Part 1 : Shelter
- Filed under: Camping, Uncategorized
- Date: Sep 27,2008
I love camping. It’s a great way to reconnect with nature and to let go of some “city stress”. When I go camping with my girlfriend, we really pack the car full of stuff that makes camping more cozy. In this series of posts, I will cover the most important things that you should bring, as well as a few luxury items. I will also put a link for each item to some Amazon products that I’ve been researching. I’m aiming to get the best quality product to price ratio. (Click on the images to get more details on the specific product) Amazon has surprisingly good prices for camping and survival gear. We’re going to start with one of the most basic and important parts. SHELTER.
Tent Camping Shelter :
This depends a lot on how many people will be camping, what kind of terrain you will have, and the weather in the area.
Most people bring tents. Usually tents are classified as being 3 season tents or 4 season tents. Most are 3 season tents. This is what you want unless you’re planning on doing lots of winter camping. If keeping warm is a priority, you want your tent to be as small as possible. The tent on the right is an 8 person tent made by coleman and is perfect for a camping trip with the kids. You can put up seperator walls (to make it a 3 room tent) and it’s a steal at under $90 !! (Click on the tent for details) I would not recommend this tent however if you need to walk long distances with it. For a hikers tent, check out this Kelty brand 2 person tent! Kelty is usually the backpackers choice!
Some factors to consider when buying a tent :
The weight of the tent. (Will you be driving to your camping site, or will you need to carry the tent around for a while?)
How many people will be sleeping in it ? (If a tent says it’s for 4 people, it usually means it’ll fit 2 people comfortably and you will probably regret it if you actually try and sleep 4 in it. If you’re a couple that’s sleeping together, you could probably get away with a 2 person tent but won’t have much storage room left) With that being said, the smaller the tent is, the easier it will be to keep warm.
Hammock Camping :
Another popular camping and hiking shelter is a hammock. Hammock’s are light weight, pack up very small, and can be put up anywhere that has some tree’s so you don’t need to find even ground. (Great for in the mountains) Lots of people say that sleeping in a hammock is GREAT for the back because there are no pressure points. My only concern with hammock camping is the cold air from the bottom when it’s frigid outside. However, you can always combat that with a simple camping mat between you and the hammock. The hammock pictured on the right is a Hennesey Hammock. The ultimate campers / backpackers hammock. (Click image to purchase or for details) It comes complete with netting to keep bugs out and a roof tarp to keep you dry. I have never read any bad things about this hammock, and I WANT ONE ! This hammock may seem expensive, (About $170) but it’s worth every penny !
For a MUCH cheaper hammock that is suitable for camping / hiking that’s under $30, click here ! It’s no hennesey, there’s no bug net or roof tarp, but you can add that yourself ; can’t you?
This is the end of the Shelter section of my necessary camping equipment series. Stay tuned at TechieNATION tomorrow for PART 2 which will cover sleeping bags, mats, and air mattresses that will accompany your shelter.
2 Responses for "Necessary camping equipment - Part 1 : Shelter"
Wow. when you send you were going hammock camping, I had no idea that the deluxe model existed. that thing is amazing. do they have two person models? some of meghan and my favorite times were sitting in a hammock watching the sun go down.
I believe they do make 2 person Hennesey Hammocks, although I’m pretty sure the comfort level probably drops when there are 2 people there for a good night’s sleep. (Although i’ve read about people going hiking together and sharing 2 person hammocks to sleep in.
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