Santa is bringing my daughter a new sleeping bag.. Any suggestions? Im looking for somthing that can be used for play as well as an emergency. I also want to get a new tent to replace the China Mart condensation pit we had..

I'd choose a rectangular synthetic (like Polarguard) good down to the freezing point. I like the tents at mountain Equipment Coop from Vancouver BC.

How serious a bag do you want? Summer weight? Dead of winter camping weight?

Where will it be used in emergencies? The issue is the cold, of course. Depending on where you are in Texas, that could be mild to severe. It's easier to kick off a bag that's too warm than to make a light bag warm. (Space blankets work, though.)

Same with the new tent: what's your worst weather? How many people sleep in it? Do you need for it to hold gear, too? How often will you use it? Are you going to hike with it? Car camp? Use it as emergency shelter if your home is destroyed?

My general answer is that if it's not something you're going to use often, you need to decide between a cheap piece of crap that will get you by or a decent bag and tent that will stand up to severe use. If you buy cheap, buy a couple for back ups, and live with the results. Sounds like you've done the cheap route with tents, so post what your needs are and see what answers you get.

Also how old is your daughter, and how are you using it? Sleep overs? Camping?

I grew up in southern Cali; I found that my 20 degree bag was usually too warm in that state - Texas might be similar.

Mummy bags are warmer, but tighter. I'd suggest going to REI or someplace similar, where folks can help demonstrate specific brands.

Personally, I've had good luck with the REI brand. NorthFace is pretty good too. In fact, I think (based on personal observations only) that REI tends to "knock off" NorthFace, but at much better prices. Plus lifetime warranty.

Again, its situationally dependent on use. I will +1 a REI bag over a Big Box bag. Minimum 40* bag. You can also buy a liner to drop the bag rating down for colder outdoor nights.

Not enough info on the who/what for/where on the tent.

Yup, to to a place like REI and ask around. Or look thru a Campmor catalog, most of the stuff they handle is good. I have had good luck with REI, Mountain Hardware, Sierra Designs, and Eureka brands...

Location? Well we are presently in Florida, from Texas and planning on being back in Texas or somewhere out west in the near future. We had planned on going back to the Dallas area but this darn Great Depression #2 seems to be stopping a lot of highering. I have been camping in Florida and don't plan to do that again any time soon. Too hot and humid and not much to see in my opinion. We went camping in South Carolina in the mountains and had a great time but nearly froze our butts off. I want something a family of 5 can sleep in to use for an occasional camping trip as well as a disaster tent.

Be patient, get to know your local and online REI. Buy stuff on sale or clearance after you have visited the store and have a good idea what the gear is like. Be sure everyone climbs into whatever gear they think they want to check real world size.

An REI 4 season tent on sale. Push if necessary to get the tents you like set up so everybody can get inside. Buy a tent rated for AT LEAST one more person than will stay in it - and then strongly consider getting a tent rated for AT LEAST two more persons than will stay in it. Consider a separate tent for the kids.

REI-sourced, do-it-yourself layered sleep systems. Start with a Travel-Sack and later look warmer sleeping bags into which the Travel Sack can fit. Maybe consider a bivy into which the sleeping bag can fit. Maybe a liner that can fit into the Travel Sack. Buy the parts on sale.

REI-sourced best sleeping pads you can afford in the biggest sizes that collectively work with your tent. A self-inflating Term-A-Rest is worth its weight in whatever you hold dear. Try to get them on sale.

Include the kids and spouse in the process to the extent they are willing; listen to them. Have fun.

Second Dweste on the tents - a "2-person" tent is good for 2 midgets. One of my ex's and I (she's 5'1", I'm 5'8") had a snug night inside a 2-man tent before.

Having a tent sized 1 person larger helps with just general moving about (changing, setting up stuff, etc). Consider getting a tent with a awning/fly so you can keep your gear out of the elements at night. I'd suggest, however, that you keep food out of the packs while they're snug under.

Look for tents that have waterproof seams as well. This will save time from re-sealing all the bottom seams yourself. Some REI brand (and other, I think) will sell "footprints" for the tents - basically a ground sheet to keep the bottom drier. You can skip the extra and just buy a cheap tarp from Home Depot and cut it to size.

once you decide on a tent, practice putting it up a few times. An experienced user could probably figure it out quick enough, but it's never fun to have to do a trial-by-error on a cold, windy, rainy night, which always seems to happen.

Something I was always told when buying a tent was to divide the number stated on the product by two and that is actually how many people can fit comfortably.

And both sportsmansguide.com and cheaperthandirt.com offer brand names, or their knock off brands, for a savings, plus sportsmansguide has some cute kids' bags.

I agree on going up in 'persons per tent'. I use a REI two person as single person tent.

It doesn't sound like your going to use this on backpacking trips so it wouldn't be packed on your back. I believe Coleman makes a family type tent that holds 5-7 people. I went on a overnight to Mt. Lemmon in Tucson and five of my adult buddies slept in one. I slept in a Eagle Nest Hammock outdoors.

I may do an overnight in January climbing over the Superstitions. (Not a hard climb, or long, just a two day deal). Because it rarely rains in Phoenix my only concern is cold. Most likely to keep pack weight down I will carry a GI poncho (old school vinyl not the ripstop) as a ground cloth bivy and then sleep in my Big Anges Yampa (rated 40*). The poncho will get me a couple extra degrees as its wind/water proof and clothing options will get the rest. Figure I can get down to a 25* bag that way and save 2 pounds less tent weight.

Worst case, I can move into the tent the father/son team will carry.

If you want something for all round use.. get a sleep system.. they are nice becuase they can be used in all climates and the one I have (new militay style)has an outer shell that is Gortex, keeps you warm and dry even under the stars..or rain clouds

> I want something a family of 5 can sleep in to use for an occasional camping
> trip as well as a disaster tent.

I'd suggest considering the North Face Trailhead 6 (or 8):
http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/tnf-catalog-master/trailhead-6.html?parent_category_rn=

Louise and I camped in ours at Burning Man, and it withstood winds in the 20 to 30 mph range with no problems. It has standing headroom in the large center section, and two lower sections on either side for sleeping. The sleeping sections have drop down curtains for visual privacy.

It says it's a 3-season tent, but that depends on the weather. The fly has vents that will not close, and the tent has large mesh areas that don't close. There's no way to close the tent off for warmth if it's cold at night. Again, though, what's too cold is relative. Louise and I camp in Death Valley on Thanksgiving occasionally, and it's below 20 at night, so we don't use that tent. (We have an MSR Wind 4 that I don't think is made anymore; before that an Armadillo that isn't made anymore. Sigh.)

I think the Trailhead 6 will work for us as a disaster tent (that's my primary purpose for it), but we're two people. I don't know what it would do for you with three kids. Louise and I car camp, so when we buy a tent we go in the 6 to 8 person range (depending on the design of the tent) because we don't worry about weight, we do worry about having access to our stuff in the tent, we want standing headroom, and we assume it'll rain and that we'll be in the tent for extended periods. We haven't had it rain on the Trailhead 6 yet, but it meets our other requirements.

NOTE: Because of the vents, the Trailhead 6 is _not_ dustproof. If you are in a location that gets dust storms, don't get this tent. It was unusable after dust storms at Burning Man.