Four Season Tents or Lightweight Tents

It is time to take your family camping? you have done your research and checked out the camp sites that are accredited by the ACA, American Camping Association, and KOA, Kampgrounds of America. The next thing that you need to decide is how much you and your family want to "rough it"? To luxurious for you? Want to experience camping at its finest? Well you must be the type of person who is going to take their family camping vacation the way it was meant to be, in a camping tent.

One of the first steps you must take before you kick off your family camping vacation is to choose the type or types of tents your will be taking with you. What type of weather conditions can you expect during your family camping vacation? Will you need a lightweight Northwest Territory tent or a 4 season Kelty tent? Be prepared, you may encounter all types of weather such as rain, wind and cold while on your camping trip. There are three season and four season tents available for you to purchase, such as Northwest Territory tents and Ozark Trail tents. Four season tents are typically heavier than three season tents and provide a lot more protection. Four season tents also usually have more poles than a typical 3 season tent, this is to help a heavier tent, such as a Kelty tent, withstand any wind and snow fall that you may encounter. Of course, when on a family camping vacation, most of us will be camping in fairer weather and lightweight tents such as Ozark Trail tents and Northwest Territory tents will more than suffice. So, now, what style of tent do you want?

Your choice in tents may depend on how you plan to spend your family camping vacation. If you are planning on doing some hiking and finding some hidden away camping destination then you will want to keep things as light as possible so you might want to consider a simple tarp tent or possibly something like the Ozark Trail 9'x8' Dome Tent which is very resilient and protects against the elements pretty well for a low-cost, lightweight tent.

If you're the type of camper who likes to "rough it" at a campground type environment then you will not be so worried about the weight of your tent. Instead you will most likely be more concerned with the size of the tent you choose, typically a two man tent will be too small for two adults and all of their camping gear, although a two man tent is typically perfect for kids who need or want their own tent. Those who are experienced with camping will tell you that you'll want to look for at least 30 square feet of floor space minimum, per person. It is suggested that you take the number of people a tent says is its capacity is and divide that number by 2. If you're traveling with young children you will definitely want to look into a larger model of tent such as the Wenzel Sycamore 3 Room Family Dome tent. You'll want to have a much larger area inside your tent when sharing a tent with your children, especially as you may experience some nasty weather that may leave you with the children stuck inside the tent for long periods of time. I would advise bringing along some board games or other things to keep the children occupied. Additionally a larger tent will give you plenty of room to store equipment if nasty weather strikes.
These simple tips are sure to make your next camping vacation a memory of a lifetime. Whether you prefer lightweight Northwest Territory tents or the heavier duty 4 season Kelty tents you know you can now make the right choice.