Why don't you buy from Mountain Equipment Coop(MEC) in Canada? it will ship to US too. MEC makes its own tent. I buy alot of MEC gear. Their stuff are made from state of the art material and cheap too. I am also a coop member. You only pay a small $5.00 membership fee to join the Coop.

http://www.mec.ca

Horseflies are the bigger version of a deerfly. I hate those things with a passion, one tried to pierce my ear once.

I might suggest heading a little east for your first camping trip and come to Frederick (about 45-minutes to 1 hour from Bowie) and camp at Gambrill State Park off of Route 40, just outside the city limits. It is easy to get to and close enough to Frederick that if you forget anything Wal-Mart, Target and K-Mart are very close.

In addition, there is a great locally owned outdoor store “The Trail House” in downtown Frederick, which has most of what you need and a very knowledgeable and friendly staff who are more then willing to take the time and talk to first-time/novice campers on their needs.

Gambrill has some excellent well-marked trails ranging from very easy to moderate and some beautiful vistas. The campground allows you to keep your car at the site and offers pads for you to set up your tent.

Depending on when you might be able to camp at Gambrill, I might be able to stop by and say hello or join you on a hike.

Pete

Hi Mark,

There's been a lot of good advice so far. My advice is do not buy anything. Rent or borrow everything. It doesn't sound like you or your wife all that enthusiastic about camping (although I admire you for trying), so there's no point in buying anything if you're not going to use it. Reviews and opinions on different products probably aren't going to be very helpful for you, since your needs are different than everyone else's.

If you decide you do want buy your own gear, don't be seduced by all the fancy name brand equipment out there. Most likely you won't need it, in some cases, it might actually be worse for you. For example, there is some very lightweight high end backpacking gear, but for a car camper most of the stuff is harder to use, more delicate, and much more expensive than you need.

For a beginner camping family, I think you could probably outfit a family of 4 for about $200 with tents, sleeping bags, and stove. Costco sells family sized tents for approximately $100, sleeping bags can be as cheap as $20 (for mild weather), and there are decent single burner stoves for about $20 (double burner for about $40). None of this stuff is what you would consider top quality, but it's not junk either. It'll definitely last you long enough to decide whether or not you want to pursue camping as a family activity, and might last you a lot longer than you want (so you won't have an excuse to go buy new gear)

Also, I've taken a lot of beginners camping, the most important thing to remember is not to try too much too soon. You don't want to scare them off if this is their first time camping. Start them off in a nearby park, with full amenities. That means pay showers, toilets, maybe running water and other luxuries. Showers and toilets are a must for anyone not used to camping, the quickest way to turn off your wife to the outdoors is to hand them a roll of TP and tell them to dig a hole. Don't forget that they're not interested in practicing their survival skills, they're just there to have fun. If you know any friends or family that have been camping before, ask them if you can tag along. It will make life a lot easier for you if there's someone with a little bit of experience to show you the important things.

KenK,

Great camping gear advice!

Preparing meals, eating, and sitting around a campfire at night and on cold mornings are some of my fondest experiences with the Boy Scouts.

Committee Member
Webmaster
Troop 824

So much info -- thank you everyone. I've made a list of everyone's suggestions and I'm checking through them now. Should be through it all by about 2012... 8-)

With so many options I'm becoming acutely aware that I'm not sure exactly what I need. It's making it harder. -Gary

Like a lot of things on this forum the answer is 'look at dougs gear advice'. You'll spot one mistake straight away: You want a bug out bag but are thinking of a down one. Trail mag in the UK found just 6 months of being stored rolled can reduce a down bags effectiveness by over 50%. Whereas Wiggys for instance are so compaction resistance the Alaska National Guard actually use them in their survival kits vacuum sealed.

It's nice having these forums to kick ideas around in. But stick to the experts advice when it comes to survival.
Simon

How do you feed a Wiggy? Is is dangerous? Sorry, couldn't resist.

I just have to chime in with KenK on the Eureka tents. I used a Eureka Timberline as a scout in the mid 80's and it was great. Lasted for a long time (with proper care & storage), kept me dry in most seasons camping (Virginia area, plus some High Adventure in Maine). The fact that the Timberline model is made by them today and it is nearly the same as what I had is testimony for this tent.

I'd like to contradict Ken on the ground cloth. I like to make sure to get a ground cloth that is the same shape as the footprint of the tent, but a little _bigger_. Then, after the tent is set up, roll the cloth under so that it does not stick out from under the tent (or it will act like a big bathtub). The roll helps to keep runoff from coming up onto the ground cloth.

I have always preferred tents like the Timberline that have the rain fly that extends all the way down the side, as opposed to covering just the top vent.

When practicing setting up the tent prior to the trip (you are planning to practice, right :-) I tie some bits of construction marking tape or other ribbon to the lines that will be staked out. This helps keep them visible (during the day at least) to cut down on tripping.


Have fun!

One thing we did last spring (me, wife, 4 daughters) is a "Half Campout". We got a spot at Bull Run Campgrounds and packed the camping gear up and went down before lunch time. Set up the tent, the hammock, the chairs. Had lunch, hiked around, etc. Had a fire in the fire pit, cooked dinner & dessert. The kids got to get familiar with the tent & the whole atmosphere, but we packed it up after sitting around the fire for a while and and came back home around 10:00 (only about a 30 minute drive).

It was good as an introduction (oldest was 8, youngest were 3), without an actual overnight. Gave us a chance to try our gear, learn some safety lessons, & get a feel for camping.