Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
Big Agnes Tents
Before heading out with your family and friends, know how important it is to have the right gear that will make your camping trip a pleasurable one. The Big Agnes brand has been around for many years gearing up hikers and campers so that they can have the best outdoor experiences. Big Agnes tents are designed to give you the most comfortable rest out in the wilds. They are constructed using high-quality materials that can withstand the harshness of any outdoor environment. The poles and nylon fabric are strong, yet very light to carry.
As you head out camping, choose the right type of tent that fits your party. Big Agnes tents come in different sizes depending on the number of people who will occupy them. They also come in different types of usage. For example, four season tents are designed to cover all types of season in a year. While three season tents are for tropical hiking environments. The materials of the latter are thin and light with a bigger screen mesh to allow for more ventilation.
Summer RVing with The Family
This summer my family and I went on a RV trip around the country. My kids are starting to get older, and I figured that in a couple of years they would protest to spending an entire summer vacation with their parents. We hit all of the major tourist destinations, including: the State of Liberty, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore.
While we were on our stint in the South, the bugs were unbearable. We would often take a reprieve from the confines of the RV to eat and camp under the stars, but the large Bayou mosquitoes made this difficult. After a couple days of suffering, I decided to invest in a Eureka screen house. Not only did it keep the bugs away, but it also provided shade from the blazing summer sun.
Keeping the Bugs at Bay
If you’ve ever been camping, you can relate to this experience: you set up a beautiful spread for lunch and within seconds hundreds of flies descend upon it. The last thing you want to do after hiking for miles and struggling to prepare a meal in the wild is to try to fend off countless insects. Not only is this unappetizing, but it is also unsanitary.
One of the best ways to eliminate this problem is through the use of a Eureka screen tent. The structure is large enough to house an entire picnic table and has breathable mesh to prevent congestion. After using one on my last camping trip, I’m never going without it again.
Protection from Mammoth Midwestern Mosquitoes
Northern Michigan is a fantastic place to be in the summer. Now that it’s winter, my husband and I are taking our annual snowbirds trip down to a gated community in Arizona. Still, when summer rolls around we’ll be headed for home to indulge in some carefree living on the breezy shores of Lake Huron. My only complaint about the Midwest in summertime is that the mosquitoes run rampant.
No matter how many citronella candles we light and how much DEET-filled pest sprays we daub on our bodies, there just doesn’t seem to be any relief. It’s even worse after a refreshing summer rain, when the mosquitoes begin to swarm in the damp air. Last year we had finally reached our last straw. We didn’t want to surrender the outdoors experience to the winged pests, so we put up a few Paha Que tents with mosquito netting.
Organization Will Make You a Happy Camper
As a veteran of dozens of family camping trips, I’ve learned a few tricks over the years that make the process go more smoothly. Perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can share with newbie camping families is that privacy is underrated. Until you actually get out there in nature for a few days, you might not see a problem with four or more people sharing a single small living space. After a while, it pays to have a divider to section the kids off from the adults.
Bear in mind also that the floor space inside your Eureka tents will be at a premium. Think of all the hiking supplies, shoes, fishing gear and cosmetic items that might litter the floor of the tent. I like to travel with a camping organizer – a bag made of mesh netting that you can hang from the tent wall. This will keep your most important supplies such as a first-aid kit and a flashlight within easy reach.
Change Your Strategy for Winter Camping
Now that cold weather is a fact of life for the next few months, it’s time to start planning for winter camping excursions. Compared to summer hiking and camping, the winter variety takes a whole new level of commitment. On the positive side, you’ll see an entirely different side of familiar outdoor landscapes. Without the leaves on the trees obscuring your view, you’ll enjoy beautiful vistas for miles around.
The wildlife you encounter will also be somewhat unfamiliar. Make sure to camp on public land as you could potentially run into hunters elsewhere. Some of your provisions and equipment will remain unchanged – Stansport tents will stand you in good stead in all seasons – but this late in the year you’ll want to have a portable heater at the ready and a cozy down sleeping bag for the frigid nights.
In a Chaotic Tent, Organization Matters
For me, a camping trip provides an opportunity to reconnect with my family and clear my head of the stresses that come with a high-pressure job. For a few blissful days, I can live as Mother Nature intended, free and uninhibited by schedules, deadlines and – worst of all – mandatory meetings. My first few times camping, I figured out how to maximize my enjoyment.
First of all, I outfitted our Eureka Titan tent with a gear loft. This nondescript mesh device collects and stores all of our small essentials that would otherwise roll around loose on the floor of the tent. Any experienced camper knows that the tent floor is a chaotic space where sleeping bags and luggage are strewn about with little regard for order. Keeping the bug spray, first aid kit and other necessities in a handy “overhead container” is an invaluable timesaver.
Truth in Advertising
Experienced backpackers understand the value of being skeptical when shopping around for tents. In many cases, tents are advertised as having a “lightweight construction” when in fact they aren’t much lighter than a standard family tent. Misleading statements like these can mean extra back-breaking work along the trail. It’s therefore crucial for prospective buyers to look for trustworthy names that specialize in backpacking tents.
The hub pole design of a Big Agnes seedhouse tent sets it apart from the competition. Its mesh construction, sheathed in a protective canvas layer, makes it simple to set up and a snap to take apart in the morning. Tents such as this can be used comfortably three seasons out of the year. Perhaps most importantly, these tents are legitimately lightweight.
A Little Privacy in the Great Outdoors
Camping trips are often touted for their way of strengthening family bonds. Fathers can teach their sons and daughters how to fish – although actually catching something might be another story. The whole family can work on perfecting a new recipe over the roaring campfire. Still, by the end of an active day in the woods a little privacy is in order.
Family-size tents help to meet that requirement, and they feature more than just space in abundance. One of their more underrated attributes is deceptively simple: a removable barrier that turns one large, communal room into two smaller ones for sleeping. Tents such as the Eureka family tent make it easy to maintain peace and harmony during a relaxing camping trip.
Benefits of a Dome Tent
With so many different brands and types of tents available, it can feel overwhelming just trying to decide which one is right for you. And with so many of the high quality tents constituting a sizable investment, there’s a lot of pressure to make sure the tent is truly what you want. To that end, if you’ve been doing your research, you’ve likely come across the dome tent. This dome structure is one of the most common types of tents, and there’s a reason it has proved so popular.
For one, these dome tents offer a higher ceiling than many other types of tents. They are also extremely easy to set up. This means you can have your shelter up and running in a matter of minutes, which is a huge benefit when the rain is driving or you’re trying to escape some pesky mosquitoes. And if the tent utilizes multiple threaded or clipped poles, you’ll have a very sturdy structure that can withstand even strong winds.