Freephone : The best camping tents
Looking out at all the products on the market, there are a huge number of options when you consider purchasing a tent. There are different sizes, different types, different quality – the list goes on.
The first decision is car versus backpacking. Weight is the big concern here, followed by size. The initial weight is a major factor, but if you are camping as a family you can spread the weight of the tent over multiple people – don’t burden one person with all of it.
So how do you find the best camping tents? Look for a site where you can do side-by-side comparisons, check out the features, then look for a reasonable price. Have some great times and enjoy your outdoor adventures.
Hauling a load
Often times an easy camping weekend winds up being more challenging than you think. When you add up all the bedding, mattress pads, clothes, food and water the weight becomes quite a problem.
An internal frame backpack is often the answer. They provide more room, great suspension, and lots of pockets and pouches. Many of them have a pocket for a water bladder, so you can easily drink and walk.
So next time you are out looking for camping equipment consider an internal frame backpack, and do your frame a favor.
Catching up with camping
Looks like the winter has moved on up here in the Northeast. We’re past the last frost date, and the forecast is looking good, except for the rain we’ve been having lately. While it’s put a damper on outdoor activities, the rain is replenishing the dams and reservoirs – we’re used to getting 4″ of rain every month, but we’re way below that this year.
Checking out our camping equipment we realized that we do enjoy our chinook tent and other products.
So now we’re planning a Memorial Day trip – a chance to get away from the city and take in the country air. We’ll be sure to take along all the new gear and enjoy sleeping under the stars.
The Adventures of Henry the Hiker, Part 22
Alice climbed up to the amphitheater and stopped, gazing around the perimeter. The grasses around the edge were flattened, forming a perfect circle. She spotted a shape in the center, impressed into the moss. Moving closer she recognized the pattern – it mirrored the pendant that hung between her breasts – the Flower of Life.
A noise, like a soft gasp, came from a ledge up by the rock wall. She clambered up, peering over the edge, seeing a body wedged into the base of the cliff. Alice ran over, dropping to her knees next to Henry. Her fingers found a pulse in his neck, beneath his jaw. His face was relaxed, serene, at peace.
Alice pulled out her thermal blanket, quickly unfolding it and enveloping Henry with it. She stood guard next to him, watching the sun’s light sink slowly down the rock curtain, down towards the ground.
The Adventures of Henry the Hiker, Part 21
Alice woke up again. Checking her phone, it was 4:30 in the morning. Quickly dressing, she pulled out all her gear, collapsed the tent and loaded her equipment into her external frame backpack. It was still dark, a brief crescent of light visible in the eastern sky. Her FC Stinger LED flashlight turned the night into day, and its heft reassuring in the dark. She headed up the trail.
The amphitheater was silent and empty – all the beings had left, their job was done. A feeling of serenity pervaded the glade. Their presence was needed no more.
Alice reached a fork in the trail. Silently she closed her eyes and grasped the pendant, reaching out to Henry. She stood patiently, waiting for a sign. A feeling washed over her, like heat passing down her body. She took the left trail and continued up the slope.
Cycling to Work
Whenever the weather is reasonable, and I’m motivated (which is sometimes the problem) I’ll cycle to work. It’s not too long – nearly 13 miles each way, although the local “mountain” lies inbetween.
Taking clothing is a must. I leave trousers and shoes in my locker (we have a fitness center with showers) but I have a daypack within which I pack shirt, socks and underwear, along with my breakfast (meusli) and other riding paraphernalia .
Going into to work is easier (it’s marginally down hill), and sometimes the prospect of suiting up (not literally) and getting on the bike, after a long days work, is a little discouraging. All that goes away when I leave the company lot and begin to cycle home.
Welcome Rain
After a long dry spell the northeast finally has some rain. While it’s great for the plants, trees and rivers, it puts a little damper on hanging around outdoors. That’s when you need a large and comfy tent.
Looking around something roomy, and good for car camping, is what’s required. After looking at lots of alternatives we found a chinook tent that fits the bill. 88 square feet in the body of the tent, and 119 in the vestibule – just the thing when you’re caught out in the rain.
Next time you’re contemplating a car camping trip consider one of these – a great investment and great value. Happy Camping.
PS: Henry will return
The Adventures of Henry the Hiker, Part 20
Henry discorporated. It began slowly, starting at his feet. There was no fear, just acceptance. His upper body didn’t sink down, his torso just disappeared, like the Cheshire Cat in Alice. His awareness increased as his physical being drifted away, becoming part of the air, rocks, earth and the assembled host. At the end all that was left was his smile. Then it too was gone.
Alice surfaced out her deep sleep, confused as to her whereabouts. She recognized the alps mountaineering chaos 2 tent, and memory came flooding back. She clutched the pendant to her chest, sensing her world and that of the one she loved had reached a turning point.
Henry was above the amphitheater, below it, surrounding it, was it. He perceived everything, experienced all life around him. A shape had been impressed into the moss, surrounded by the forms below him, describing a perfect circle. Within it was a pattern, comprised of smaller circles containing ovals joined at the center, like petals. He coalesced, as one with all the beings gathered around him. He knew peace.
The Adventures of Henry the Hiker, Part 19
Twilight was waning, the moon waxing – a slim crescent in the western sky. Henry added air to his mattress pad and un-stuffed his sleeping bag. Shear walls reached up at the back of his sleeping place, adjacent to a tall rock fall forming an L-shaped area, tucked well away from the amphitheater below.
By the time darkness fell Alice was five miles from her car. As the shadows deepened she pitched her tent, set up her sleeping gear and fell into a dreamless sleep, clutching the gift which hung around her neck.
Henry sat and waited. The pain that had been his constant companion for the last month had dissolved away, leaving a deep, soothing peace. He wondered if this was the end. What had been happening the last two days? What would this night bring? The sounds of a great gathering, from the clearing, undulated up to Henry. At peace, he smiled in anticipation of the call.
The Adventures of Henry the Hiker, Part 18
Henry pulled the brim of his cap down, shading his eyes. The sun was sinking towards the horizon and the trail offered little respite from the blinding shafts of light. Keeping a steady pace, he continued westward towards the glade where he intended to camp that night, nestled under one of the taller peaks an hour or more up the trail.
Alice arrived home, quickly unpacking the gear she’d taken to the beach. Pulling out her Alps Mountaineering external frame backpack she started selecting the equipment she’s need for a night out on the trail. Slipping the gift she’d bought for Henry into her pack, she headed out towards the trail-head.
Henry had adopted a steady pace, and gradually closed out the external distractions, leaving his body to the job of moving up the trail. He focused in on the circumstances that had instigated the trip. The news he’d heard on Friday had made no sense, and he still had not come to terms with it. Twenty six times around the sun, with the possibility of just one more?
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