TENT CAMPING: A FEW ESSENTIALS

A TENT, A DOG COT, AND A STOVE

My family tent-camped at Interlochen State Park over Memorial Day weekend. It was everything you’d expect from one of Michigan’s many state parks – S’mores, bikes, beaches and hikes, we had a blast. For the past several years we’ve experimented with RV’s, trailers, pop-ups – and found each to have their merits. There’s something though, that brings us to love tent camping. Unlike the aforementioned digs on wheels, tents don’t require annual registration, there are no bearings to pack, tires to replace, retractable awnings to repair, or tanks to drain. Sure, you forego some of the comfortable amenities, but there are a handful of tent manufacturers making quality products to help narrow this comfort gap. They’re making it enjoyable to take the entire family camping – and for a few hundred dollars, rather than thousands. Here’s a short list of items we brought along.

Nemo Wagontop 8P. The largest of the wagon top series (4p & 6p also avail) this tent’s what some refer to as the “tajmahal”. Space abounds. Comfortable for our family of 4 & Golden Lab. Inside we had a queen size inflatable, a camp table, 2 kid-sized cots and a Cooleroo dog cot. Setup & teardown took about 20 minutes each.

Pros:

• Bathtub-style floor & fully taped seams (ours survived a 2 hour-long afternoon deluge without a drip.)

• Friendly design: Ample head space (I’m 6’2,and felt like the boys in the film Step Brothers – “So much room for activities!”)

• A cool screened-in garage feature.

• Convenient placement of storage pockets and ventilation.