Turn beginner camping into experienced glamping with these tips Pt.2

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 Part 2 - Tents

In part 2 of this #beginnercamping adventure we will move on to tent options, which once you fall into this rabbit hole will mean wanting several tents... So I will throw in a couple options for that reason as well as climate / location related reasons.

Now from my own experience of sleeping in a $10 garage sale tent I will say you can make things work with what you have if you have to, but ideally spending a few dollars on a tent will last you years. My camping partner and I got 5 years of #overlandcamping out of an #REI Camp Dome 4 which is now discontinued, but it is a standard dome style tent with a rain fly. Nothing fancy but it was a standard 4 person dome. Now for the most part when they say 2 people, 4 people etc you can fit 4 people if you are very friendly, but really it is more like 2 people comfortably including your gear so you will want to plan accordingly.

Option 1, Coleman Sundome 4-Person tent -

This is a modern version of our $10 tent from back in the day, very simple and easy to setup. Using it without the rainfly can make this a viable option for certain times in warmer climates or in the summer at night so you can fall asleep looking at the stars. Adding the rain fly does block a significant amount of wind and keep you dry.

Suggested tent accessories -

• Alpswolf 2 Pack Camping Lantern - Great hangable tent light & multi use

• 30 Pack Ball Bungees - Cheap, great for hanging stuff & for tie down applications

  
  

Option 1.5, Londtren 4 Person Easy Pop Up Tent

I bought this as sort of a joke a few years ago being lazy and wanting some sorta gimmicky tent that requires literally no setup for use as a storage tent beside the actual tent, or for short unplanned trips where you just grab a few things and go. Turns out, this thing is super awesome. One of my favorite buys ever on camping gear. It feels like you are unfolding a Harry Potter tent when you pull it out of the bag and just throw it into a clearing and watch it explode into a significant sized tent. I am able to lay fully stretched out in either direction and I say from experience that this tent fits 2 above average height humans and a pair of 50 pound dogs and all our gear. The only slight con is getting it folded back into the bag takes a few tries to understand the translated instructions are basically upside down and backwards

Option 2, The North Face Wawona 4P

This is the current use tent for any camping adventures outside of blizzard level trips (it would be more than enough for those too) and this solves one of the biggest ongoing issues... You can easily fully stand up inside this thing even at 6'3 which is really something. As simple as that sounds it makes a massive difference if you are spending multiple days getting dressed etc. This tent is warm, has great ventilation and an excellent rain fly that gives you a large covered area to enter the tent in rainy conditions and take your shoes off without making a mess. My final point on this tent is going by my earlier rule of 4 person tents not actually being that, this one could actually be considered a 4 person tent including a backpack each and still not be touching.

At the time of posting this is on sale for roughly $80 less than I paid but ymmv. All are excellent choices for varying budgets and interest levels.

Final note, get yourself at least one of these -> Amazon Basics Waterproof Tarp In my opinion buying expensive tent floor guards etc is kind of illogical with these being so cheap and multi use. I can't tell you how many times I have used one of my two floor tarps for something else on a trip.

Thanks for checking out this guide / review and I hope at least some of the info was useful to you. Much trial and error went into finding the things that have worked best for me so if that saves someone buying and returning things several times then I take it as a win.

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