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How To Find A Family Camping Tent That Is Guaranteed For Life

Have you been searching for the perfect family camping tent?  I can say with confidence that if you walk into any quality outdoor store like REI and throw at dart at the nearest large tent and you will have a winner.  Modern Technology has made tents so incredible compared to the old canvass “Army” tents that I camped in when I was a kid.

What The Discount Stores Will Never Tell You About Family Camping Tents

Major discounters like Walmart sell tons of camping and outdoor equipment for family camping trips and some of it is actually good quality.  If you can get a Coleman or a Eureka tent from them, you are in good hands.  However, most of the time, all you will find are tents selling for under $50 that are the size of a Quonset hut.  The seams are rarely sealed.  The tents will fall down if a butterfly lands on it, and they are water proof only if it does not rain.  Does this sound familiar?  The other thing that I have noticed about inexpensive tents is that they are very hard to put up.  The tent poles usually not connected together with with elastic.  The tent stakes break easily.  We purchased a huge tent that had an odd shape that was not symmetrical.  It took about an hour to put up and tore during the process.  Thankfully the discounter gave us a full refund.

Before you hop into your car and drive to the nearest Bargain Mart, hear me out for 5 minutes as you read through this family camping tent primer.  Big box stores sell cheap tents.  They do not sell high quality tents for cheap.

6 Critical Things About A Tent That You Should Ask Yourself Before Making A Purchase

  1. How much does the tent weigh?
  2. Will the tent be comfortable to sleep in through out the night?
  3. Is the construction of the tent stable enough to handle a summer storm?
  4. Will the tent really fit your entire family?
  5. How long do you expect the tent to last?
  6. How To Buy A Tent That Is Guaranteed For Life

Both REI and L.L. Bean have the best warranty on the planet when it comes to camping gear.  If you are ever not satisfied with your family camping tent, simply return your purchase.  They will ask you what you did not like about your camping equipment.  Whether you purchase camp stoves, double sleeping  bags, battery LED flashlights, etc., you can return your products.

Both companies offer excellent choices on light weight sleeping bags, flashlights, air mattress, and camping stoves.

Never Purchase A Tent That Does Not Contain The Following Items:

A rain fly to keep you dry.  If you have a water proof tent without a rain fly, that is not good enough because a good quality tent needs to breath.  A rain fly is 100% water proof and provides a barrier that does not directly touch the tent to keep you dry and allow body moisture and condensation to escape.

Tent stakes to secure the tent.  If you get a tent that does not have stakes, you may have a free “blowing” tent that will be swept away by  the wind when you are not on the inside.

Take your time and read online reviews.  Buy the tent that will work for you, not the reviewers.  Make sure that the warranty is good.  Don’t ever settle for a “cheap” tent.

How a 2 Man Tent Will Save you Time, Money and Stress–Backpackers

Many 2 man tents are some of the smallest tents that you can buy.  They are designed  for ease and not usually comfort.  They are great tents for backpacking and backwoods hiking.  Engineers today have made some amazing advances in tents and have literally made many tents smaller and lighter that a lot of gear that a typical backpacker would carry.  If you are a backpacker or backwoods hiker, we will discuss why these tents will save you time, money, and stress.

I recently backpacked down the Grand Canyon.  On our way down we pick up a solo day hiker from China.  He wanted some company on his hike and we were friendly so we invited him to hike with us.  While getting to know him we found out that our new friend was planning to hike in and out of the Grand Canyon in 1 day.  Many people think this is crazy but it really isn’t too hard if you are in decent shape.  This doesn’t take into account that many people per month get stuck in the Grand Canyon without water and shelter because they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

Here is where a 2 man tent will come into play.  Our friend had been hiking downhill into the canyon for 2 hours, we were halfway down and it was only 2:00pm.  He was at the canyon only for a day and really wanted to make it to the bottom but, by this time he was getting nervous that he would get stuck in the canyon without any shelter or lights.  He asked the ranger and the ranger advised against it.  Our friend decided against the ranger advice.  If our friend would have prepared and bought a 2 man tent (they can make them as little as 2 lbs.) he would not have that much more weight and he would not have the problem of getting stuck in the canyon.

The good news is that our friend made it out of the canyon safe and sound.  However, it was dark by the time he got back and he had no flashlights.  Many times this situation can end up very bad and does for many hikers all the time.  A little preparation for backcountry hiking can go a long way.

If you find a high quality, lightweight 2 man tent it will save you time, money, and stress while backpacking.  If you are ever in our Chinese friends position you will not stress that you will be stuck on your hike.  This will also save you time by not having to find help when you are stranded in the backwoods and you can wait until morning to plan your next move.  Lastly, a good quality tent will last years and maybe decades.  A cheaper made tent will start to show stress within a few camping trips.  In the long-run a better quality tent will save you money.