AboutTom Newman Expertise Scoutmaster with Boy Scout Troop 43 in Fort Wayne, IN. We have an outing every month. Most months involve tent camping, usually in State Parks. We have made 4 trips where we have hiked 50+ miles on the Appalachian Trail. We expect to continue this until we have hiked the whole trail... (40+ years).
I am going for my first ever camping trip next weekend to Shenandoah Valley, VA and am a bit confused on the right tent size.
Including me, we are a family of 4. Husband, wife and 2 kids (aged 7 and 4).
I wans't sure -
1) What tent size I should purchase. BTW, I and my wife are both 6 foot tall :). I see 4 sleeper and 6 sleeper options.
2) What kind of material/quality should I buy
3) Also, what kind fo sleeping material should we buy (sleeping bags etc?)
Truly appreciate your help and advise.
Thanks so very much.
Kobo
ANSWER: Hi Kobo,
1) What tent size I should purchase. BTW, I and my wife are both 6 foot tall :). I see 4 sleeper and 6 sleeper options.
The way that tent makers size their tents is with only people inside and all gear outside. Therefore a 4 person tent, can be very small. To me floor space is less important than height. I like to be able to stand up inside when I dress. I look for a tent that is at least 6 feet tall inside. You would probably want one even taller. That much height will mean that you will have a large floor foot print. As far as floor space you will want to have a length of at least a foot longer than the tallest person. If you are sleeping in the rain and you touch the sides of the tent with either your feet or head water will tend to come through it. If you use a cot that might be a foot or so off the ground and you have a dome tent with slanted side you will have to add more floor space to compensate for that as well.
That being said the most important thing is will you be camping in a campground or in the back country. If you are going to have to carry the tent you will want a smaller and lighter tent. I also own a small lightweight backpacking tent. It weights about 1/4 of the larger tent. Keep this in mind when you purchase.
2) What kind of material/quality should I buy
This is also dependent on the type of camping that you do. The most important thing for a larger tent, is whether to get a bathtub bottom or a plain bottom. A bathtub bottom takes the place of a ground cloth, it is not fabric, but instead made out of plastic. This takes less maintenance, you can usually just set it up. If your tent has a fabric bottom, it is suggested that you pick up any stones, pine cones and anything else that could cut through the fabric. You should also place a ground cloth under a fabric bottom tent.
3) Also, what kind of sleeping material should we buy (sleeping bags etc?)
For summer, you can get a light sleeping bags, for fall, winter, and spring you should probably get a mummy bag. You might also get some kind of a sleeping pad or a cot. Adults usually sleep much better when not on the ground.
You might also want to get a bear bag if you are going into bear country. This is a bag with a long rope on it to be pulled into a tree which will store anything with a smell to it. Also you should never put food or a smellable into your tent. The smell can be in there from a past campout and still draw a bear (or even a raccoon) even if there are currently no food in the tent at the time.
A final item is to get wool socks, if they get wet they will still keep your feet warm, also good waterproof hiking boots are great even if you are not hiking. If your feet get wet and cold, your camping will be miserable.
I hope this answers your question, if you need a more specific answer, let me know and I will be glad to answer.
Tom Newman,
scout043@aol.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Dear Tom,
Thanks for the very detailed response. After somereading, I decided to spend around $200 for my first tent and shortlisted 2 of them -
I am not sure if I made the right decision. Reason why I liked is because the dome in the hobitat is more spacious and is good for both of us (I'm 6'3" and my wife is 5'9"). I think in the Kelty theonly place where the height is good is at the center.
Please let me know what your comments are. If you think the Hobitat was a mistake, then I can return it for something else or maybe the Kelty yellowstone.
Truly appreciate your help again.
Thanks so much.
Kobo
Answer Hi Kobo,
I think that the tents are pretty much the same, I am sure that you will find some advantages with either over the other. I would think that height is more important for you than anything else. I would not second guess myself and just enjoy the tent. I read through the reviews and two things seem to stand out, one is that it tends to collect water at the top, because of the relative flat top. The other is that the tent is not good in the wind. It looks like the first might be valid, but any tall tent is going to perform poorly in high wind.
Remember that when critics rate things it is very subjective. Two people can like something to the same degree and 1 will rate it a 10 while another rates it a 5. If you get a couple of these later people rating anything, the total will suffer.
Further, how many of the last 10 Academy Award winners did you see before they won the award. I know that I have not seen very many of them. I seldom trust a critic, usually if I see great praise for a movie, I know that I am not going to see it.
