Tent Camping

[Neil Jones]

I enjoy walking the National Trails of the UK during my holidays. This summer I walked The Yorkshire Wolds Way and The Cleveland Way camping all the way. I usually stay in campsites as it’s handy to have a shower and a shave, plus I can replenish my hydration bladder but I do wild camp if there are no facilities at the end of the day. I try to keep my pack reasonably lightweight but I always prefer something that is durable and cost effective.

Here is my trusty Hilleberg Akto on one of my wild camps by a river on The Cleveland Way last summer.

 

[Ad Astra]

Great stuff here. With the cooler weather, hope to get out soon!


AA

 

[ctr]

I enjoy walking the National Trails of the UK during my holidays. This summer I walked The Yorkshire Wolds Way and The Cleveland Way camping all the way. I usually stay in campsites as it’s handy to have a shower and a shave, plus I can replenish my hydration bladder but I do wild camp if there are no facilities at the end of the day. I try to keep my pack reasonably lightweight but I always prefer something that is durable and cost effective.

Here is my trusty Hilleberg Akto on one of my wild camps by a river on The Cleveland Way last summer.

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Excellent tent!

 

[BigFoot]

Where have you been recently? Would you recommend it? What gear do you use?

Work and overall life have kept me from camping as much as I'd like over the past 5-6 years. Hopefully we'll be able to start doing some more camping now that the kids are a little older. The oldest 2 I hope to introduce to backpacking (with them wearing regular backpacks) in the next 2-3 years. We spent 3 days at Shades SP in Indiana 2 weeks ago. The weather turned cold the day we arrived but we still had a good time. No electricity at the park so there aren't a lot of RVs there. If you have an RV (NOT camping as far as I'm concerned) nearby Turkey Run SP has full hookups. The park was pretty deserted while we were there which was great. Overall it's a nice park that we'll definitely return to. The area around the park is well known for its covered bridges so we spent a day just driving around through the countryside checking them out. We spent a day just hiking and the trails in the park are great.

We have an older REI Hobitat 6 with the attachable tech Garage. It's been a great tent over the last 8 years (when we could get out) and has withstood some pretty nasty weather. Our stove and lantern are both old school Coleman gas powered, no propane. Sleeping bags are a mix of REI and Northface. The temps dropped into the mid 20's at night and we all slept warm.



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If you look in the far right picture beyond your wife, and child? (I don't want to presume) you can see Bigfoot. He is very hard to see but is definitely there.

 

[Whisky]

I’m pretty sure my eldest son saw Bigfoot, or a raccoon, he wasn’t sure.

 

[BigFoot]

There were a couple of mentions of canvas tents. That takes me way, way back. There is nothing like the smell of a canvas tent when you get it out for the 1st time.

This is a great thread, Adam!

 

[Whisky]

There were a couple of mentions of canvas tents. That takes me way, way back. There is nothing like the smell of a canvas tent when you get it out for the 1st time

The smell of old canvas is something I’m not sure todays generation will ever truly know. I’ve mentioned it before but I remember when Academy was a true Army & Navy Surplus store. You’d walk in and there was the smell of moldy canvas, grease, OD green in every direction, flickering fluorescent lights, and to a 9-10yr old, the coolest guy ever behind the counter smoking a cigarette. A lot of our original camping supplies were purchased as Army surplus.

 

[Toothpick]

I’ve got 2 tents and only set them up once in my back yard a couple years ago. There are plenty of state parks and camping around here. Closest one is about $11-13 bucks a night for tent. I love camping but I’m a social creature. I’d get bored alone

 

[Ckmaui]

Lot of cold winter campers using hot tents that are canvas these days still

also some expedition folks into them as we have some insane good Canvas tents from South Africa and Australia and some like the springbar from USA so they are still around and better than ever actually just a niche crowd

 

[MrSpeedy]

I've got a Tarptent Protrail for when I don't (or can't) use my hammock. It's incredibly lightweight. A bit finicky to set up, as it is a non-freestanding tent. It will be in my pack when I head to the Grand Canyon in December for a rim-to-rim-to-rim trip.

 

[McBlade]

Mountain Laurel Designs have some great tents.

The MLD Supermid might be big enough for three little ones plus mom & dad.

If you need more space, and a 2nd tent, the Trailstar is an excellent backpacking tent. Lightweight (esp with carbon fibre poles). Lots of room for two. Possibly the strongest tent I've ever used in high winds - and that includes four-pole geodesics like the Terra Nova Quasar. This makes it a much better option than a simple tarp. And the Trailstar can also be used as a hammock tarp. Will cover an 11ft / 3.3m hammock.

I do love my hammock Insanely comfortable after a long, hard day.

PS: you'll need the 9" Easton "nails" with a Trailstar, or the equivalent (eg MSR groundhogs). The Trailstar has to be firmly pegged down and ordinary pegs won't cut it.

 

[DEgeezer]

I used a tent when backpacking for years until I discovered camping hammocks. I've never slept on the ground since. A camping hammock is just way more comfortable.

 

[Climb14er]

Having spent literally over a thousand nights plus in tents while climbing, mountaineering and backpacking, a tent can be a heavenly place of refuge when the weather turns and the SHTF.

Here’s my Integral Designs’ Single Wall with Vestibule at 12,000 ft, in a remote part of Rocky Mountain National Park, beneath the South side of Mt Meeker. This particular area requires a good amount of bushwhacking through dense forest but the effort involved is simply beautifully remote. I’ve been here four times over the years, climbed the peak three times, and never saw another soul outside of whoever goes with me. Lots of bear scat around, mandatory bear vaults required.

The Integral Designs tent has saved my skin … many times.

 

[Ad Astra]

Having spent literally over a thousand nights plus in tents while climbing, mountaineering and backpacking, a tent can be a heavenly place of refuge when the weather turns and the SHTF.

Here’s my Integral Designs’ Single Wall with Vestibule at 12,000 ft, in a remote part of Rocky Mountain National Park, beneath the South side of Mt Meeker. This particular area requires a good amount of bushwhacking through dense forest but the effort involved is simply beautifully remote. I’ve been here four times over the years, climbed the peak three times, and never saw another soul outside of whoever goes with me. Lots of bear scat around, mandatory bear vaults required.

The Integral Designs tent has saved my skin … many times.

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Wow! That's not awesome, that's spectacular! Wallpaper-worthy pix.

Here we have the bears, but no such scenery!

Many thanks.


AA

 

[Altreac]

One of the best pieces of kit I ever got was a MSR Whisperlite International. It's an amazingly portable multi-fuel burning stove. I got mine in 2003 and it's still kicking strong.

The Coleman 425 is a a pretty eternal piece of kit. Not for backpacking, but an awesome piece of kit for sure.

Good lighting can never be overlooked. Headlamps are my favorite by far, but there's always a place for a decent lantern.

The better cookwear you can get will help make a big difference.

Hennessey Hammocks are pretty awesome.
I still use my MEC Tarn 2 from 2003 as well. And a generic 4 person dome for car camping.

Compression sacks for sleeping bags.

A stuff sack/pillow sack is a neat piece I've used. You store your clothes in it, and when you're camped you take your clothes out of it, invert it to reveal a fleece pad and then fold your clothes back into.

A Life Straw is a good backup water system.

A silnylon scout tarp is pretty luxury.

A good, properly adjusted compass is always worth it. If you only want to buy 1 compass ever, I'd recommend the Suunto MC-2G.

A great sleeping mat is the Thermarest Z-Lite Sol. It's held it's place on the market for a quite a while.

The Leatherman Wave.

A Gransfors Bruk Small Forest Axe or a Gerber style camp hatchet. (Or a saw I suppose...lol)

If you're looking for something a bit more obscure a Tera-Light piston fire starter is neat.

 

[Steelstorm]

Last september I went to Vancouver Island with a friend. I enjoyed it. The nature was beautiful, about as lush as it gets for Canada. Nice beaches and I went for a swim even though it was cold.

From the mainland we took the ferry to Nanaimo, explored the area around there and Parksville. Then took a bus to Tofino. A big storm came in and didn't stop all night. We had to set up the tent in the mud, rain and darkness. Wasn't easy but it was a fun adventure.

 

[Whisky]

A big storm came in and didn't stop all night. We had to set up the tent in the mud, rain and darkness. Wasn't easy but it was a fun adventure.

Sometimes those kind of trips make the best memories.

 

[Steelstorm]

Sometimes those kind of trips make the best memories.

Agreed. I'll never forget it.

 

[Buster]

I have a Kelty 6 person tent for car camping. I also have an REI quarter dome 2 for backpacking. I’m thinking about doing a 28 mile through hike this spring.

 

[ODJ]

Just got back from some car camping and hiking in the Lost Coast.

Will be be breaking out the lightweight backpacking gear next Spring and apply for a permit to hike the 25 mile Lost Coast Trail. Still deciding if I want to go really light ad just tarp it (did that for the Colorado Trail and it worked out really well) or bring a lightweight tent. After using a tarp for multi-day hikes it's hard to go back to a tent.