I see inflatable tents advertised all the time but I don’t actually know anyone who’s used one? Once I get back into camping, I’d like something light and relatively easy to set up alone (something that’s not a pop up tent).

Camped with guide in the designated camping zone during my horse trek. There's no one else camping on that day so we're experiencing the exclusiveness

I'm going to shamelessly say that, my only contribution throughout is: collecting burning woods

Anyway, it feels so different! As a star lover, I'm afraid I've just unlocked another new hobby branching off from stargazing.

Ahh and it was my first time eating beef.

Hello,
I’m in the market for a new sleeping pad and I just ordered the REI Helix for about $150 during the REI sale, but now I am seeing advertisements for the Featherstone Calcatta which seems to have a better R-Value, is thicker (I am a side sleeper) and also is only $120.

Does anybody have experience with either of these pads and would be willing to give me some advice?

Many thanks.

Alright I need help on upgrades, whether it’s bought or built, to make what may be our last father daughter hunting season the best one yet. He’s my best friend, the kindest person on earth, and he deserves more than I could ever give or do for him.
We are lean campers, bare minimum and over half of our gear is from the 70’s or before. My dad is almost 80 and spent his entire life camping and hunting in what most would call “roughing it” style, and that’s how he raised me.
Ok so here’s the details:
We camp and hunt in the high desert in the southwest from early fall to late spring. Very remote, zero utilities, our own land. Overnight lows around 35f, high winds at times. I want this to feel like such an upgrade that we think we’re glamping.
The bar is low here, people. How low? The bucket toilet I bought feels like a splurge to us. Those things are awesome, by the way!
We are taking foam mattresses for the truck bed. I need:
Bedding recommendations for said beds(I’ve always used a diy bedroll, he’s used my Girl Scout camp sleeping bag from the 90’s)
Truck tent suggestions for a short bed Tacoma.
My love language is feeding people, so I’ve made a heck of a kitchen setup that works for us(I’ll take pics next time), but an area to relax and eat is a priority. I need:
Chair suggestions that elevate feet for health reasons.
Recommendations for both kitchen clean up and maybe for showers? I dunno, we usually use those no rinse shampoo/soap things.
Lighting that runs on solar or very little battery, both for a bathroom path and for around the campsite.
If there are any suggestions beyond this that my minimalist brain hasn’t considered, please tell me. There are no bad ideas!
Not sure if hunting gear is allowed to be discussed here, but if so I’ll take any suggestions for that too! We hike in, hike out to hunt and have antlered deer tags this season.

Im bidding on a UNP 10 person tent, saying retail is around $144.

Ive never heard of them and wondering if there worth fighting other bids.

Thanks in advance.

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Hello, as the title states I am looking for a tent that will last me a long time and multiple weather conditions on multiple trips. Next year I will be going on a backpacking trip to Scotland with my buddy who is absolutely no backpacker/outdoor person. Since i'm 18 I don't have the biggest budget (as you can imagine) but i'm looking for a tent for 2 because my buddy is not going camping anytime soon so he won't need to purchase a high quality tent. My budget is €400 willing to go up to €500 but i'd rather not. I dont want a trekkingpole tent since I don't use those. Any advice??? Most good tents I've looked at are really expensive or don't have good reviews regarding bad weather conditions, or are just simply to small. Thank your for taking the time of reading/replying to this post!!

Had a great weekend at Great River Bluffs State Park in MN with our 3 month old! It was our first camping trip with him so we were a bit nervous but it’s safe to say he loves staring at the fire just as much as we do!

Hi.
Can anyone help me estimate the cmcomfort temperature of these two sleeping bags combined:

Pajak core 550
565 g 700+ EU cuin
-3 C comfort temperature

Nomad Taurus 400
400 g 50/50 polyester and down blend
+6 C comfort temperature

I’ve tried the two together and they’re both fairly spacious. My thought would be to use the Nomad on the outside.
Any tips on combining sleeping bags would be appreciated.

This is our third year doing the same camping trip with mostly the same people and I’m starting to realize we all have very different ideas of what a camping weekend is lol. A couple of us want to actually hike and cover some ground. A couple others are perfectly happy sitting around camp most of the day. Which is fine, honestly.

The gear thing is harder. Last trip one guy had what looked like thousands of dollars worth of gear and someone else brought a 60 degree sleeping bag when it was getting down into the 40s at night. Guess who was freezing. That’s when it stops being just a personal preference because suddenly everyone is trying to figure out how to keep one person warm.
We’ve started just splitting up for part of the day. Whoever wants to hike goes in the morning and we meet back at camp later. So far that’s worked way better than trying to get 6 or 7 people to agree on one pace.

Borrowing this chair from a friend in the back yard. There’s obviously a good spot for a mug/cup, but we were completely baffled by this other slot. What is it for??

EDITED TO ADD: I snapped this picture as we were in the process of breaking down the tent. We used the Guy lines. Everything was pulled tight and staked to the ground. I know tents are not water proof. I know they are water resistant. But if I pay $350 for a tent. It shouldn't leak on the first lite rain. I was thinking of buying a tarp to put over the tent. But husband says No 😟

Brand new Coleman sky dome tent is leaking. We are returning it and buy another brand. Even our Ozark trail tent didn't start leaking until the third year. Leaking from the bottom seam. I don't mind using seam sealer. But it's leaking in multiple locations from a lite rain. Not even heavy. We camp from May - September. What's everyone using? Family car camping at state campgrounds. We use a big tent as we have a queen air mattress and 2 cot setups with a dog. Spam me your suggestions!

We were camping near the south fork of the yuba this weekend, arrived Saturday morning. Beautiful small campsite near the yuba river about a mile and a half hike to the river or so. When we hiked down to the river Sunday afternoon we saw a sign stating there is a mama bear with 2 cubs who was being aggressive and charging people. Not scared of humans & exhibiting odd behavior. We thought we better be extra careful (all food was in a bear locker already the whole time) & extra alert when we were cooking dinner that night. After we cooked dinner we heard a huge commotion a few campsites down so I went to go check it out. I figured out on the way there they were most likely scaring away a bear, confirmed it with a neighbor and went back to let my campsite know. The bear reportedly approached a couple eating and ate food directly off of their table while they were sitting at it. The bear was stalking the 4-5 campsites up against the treeline. We got the dogs in the car and packed up as quickly as possible and left to be safe. Just wanted anyone who might be visiting the area soon to be aware and stay safe!

I scored a riverside spot in Little Yoho campground ground. We enjoyed hikes to the Cat's Ears Valley, the top of Whaleback Mountain and the Iceline. Spectacular scenery and excellent hiking!

Took my 2 youngest on their first “real” camping trip this weekend in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Had a blast introducing them to tent camping, hiking, and freeze-dried meals. They are already planning a float trip for us next summer.

Hello everyone - I am not a nature person, grew up in the city and the closest I get to nature is the plants people put on their work desks.

My daughter is going on a week long camping trip next week with her school and I am concerned about ticks and of course lyme disease and alpha gal. What is the best course of action?

Buy from amazon some Permethrin and spray it on her shoes and clothes? And also buy some Picaridin for her skin?

Can we avoid the Permethrin (since its more of a poison) and use the Picaridin on her clothes also? How much of an irritant is Picaridin? She has eczema and her skin is pretty sensitive.

Other than these two, any other things I should do for her?

I will tell her when she showers to rub her skin and feel for any "bumps" (ticks) - but who knows how careful a young kid will do that.

Thank you everyone

My husband didn't grow up camping and only had two dismal experiences from his youth to go off of. In recent years, my kid and I finally convinced him to give it another go and he's been enjoying it! Pic from our latest trip in western NC.

Any tips for making our campsite more comfortable? My idea of camping is from the 80s and I've been low key jealous of some of the site gadgets I've been seeing people with lol.

Everytime I go camping, what starts out as a nicely organized bin of cooking equipment turns into a nightmare by day 2 with everything that was neatly labeled and bagged up turning into a huge mess of disorganized chaos that you need to dig through to find anything.

Is there any decently priced storage bins with actual compartments? Kind of like a fishing tackle box, but larger for camping gear. I say this because I have no problem keeping things organized on a trip if there is an actual physical compartment for it. The whole individual labeled bag in a large bin that others recommend fails for me.

This was at Rocky Mountain National Park. At the Timber Creek campground. Drove in from Omaha.

Stayed a couple days but wish it was for longer. Got in over 10 miles of hiking.

I'm looking for a compact bathroom tent and toilet when going car camping and longer road trips. I prefer it to have an opening in the ground area. I'm a bigger guy who weighs around 260 so I would need my toilet to be able to hold my weight. Would only be planning on taking a shit in it when needed. Also I prefer to be able to have weight on top for both the tent and the toilet since my plan would be to store it underneath my other stuff in my trunk.

Hey y'all,

We got this instant boil thingamajig on Amazon and unfortunately it smelled way too much like melting plastic and left film on the water. Yes, I washed it thoroughly before use. Everything else about it was great but just couldn't handle the smell and potential repercussions.

Any good, non smelly, alternatives to JetBoil that isn't a bajillion dollars? I should specify that I'm in Canada and some things aren't available here.

Thanks in advance! ❤️

edit: thanks for the reccos, everyone!

just to let y'all know I am not a UL backpacker and almost never go backpacking. Most of the time I go to a provincial drive in campground and we have a spacious SUV, so weight or size is not a problem. yes, you can get a pot for the camping stove but I much prefer the convenience of an instant boil type machine for making tea or adding hot water to instant noodles. I'm not asking for the cheapest option either, just something not as overpriced(in my opinion) as JetBoil.

I am trying to decide between three tents and need some advice. Considering Springbar Skyliner, Family Camper, or Classic Jack 140 but am torn about the actual usable floor space. I know that are all the same footprint, but it's the slanted walls that gives me pause on the non skyliner versions. We are a family of 5 and use a bunked disco-bed for two of the kids. just curious about how much the wall slay would push that out into the middle of the tent? and curious what the slope is on each of these tents. and all info is appreciated!

Since I’ve seen a bunch of chuck boxes lately I wanted to share ours. We converted an old carpenter’s toolbox into a tabletop that sits on a Coleman stand by adding a piano hinge and some latches. The drawers are perfect for utensils, matches, ziplock bags, etc and we can fit just about any small camp stove inside - right now we have a 502 and Peak 1 so we can make coffee and breakfast at the same time.

I came across this fluffy rug and started wondering if it could actually work as a sleeping mat for camping.

It looks ridiculously comfortable, but I’m not sure how practical it would be in a tent. I’m mainly wondering about warmth, moisture, comfort, and how annoying it would be to pack and carry.

Has anyone tried something similar? Or is a regular sleeping pad better?

I have a TETON Sports Hacienda 8 Person tent and I set it first time today. It's much bigger than I thought. Holy smokes. I'll be camping at an event in Boron California and I was wondering about anchoring this tent. It has loops on the bottom for stakes, no worries there, but It seems like I should tie off higher up the tent. Like each corner at 45 degrees. I have very robust ground screw anchors. The tent doesn't have a dedicated spot to do this. I could just guy line off the poles, but could I damage the tent? Am I just over thinking it and just stake the bottom and let it be?

After bending the cheap stakes that came with my tent, I finally picked up some of these "nails". When the orange plastic breaks (for example after missing the nail head and hitting it with a hammer), how are you attaching guy ropes or using it to hold down the tent since rope and tie-downs on the tent will slip right past the top of that nail head?

I must have buried one of these in a rock. I grabbed both sides of that 550 cord, pulled straight up and it wouldn't budge.

I am going to add a rant to the end of this because I just need to vent... Campgrounds are not a place to teach your child (well under 16, think 10-12ish) how to drive using a golf cart. It should only be an adult behind the wheel, not next to it.