Tents are a basic and important part of the camping experience and the outdoor life.  Although they are not completely necessary they can make a camping experience much more comfortable and allow privacy in busy campsites.  On one backpacking trip I learned just how much I valued tents and the shelter they provide.  The group I was with decided we didn’t need a tent so that our backpacks could be lighter.  It is something we ended up regretting when we woke up with a bear standing over us!  I’ve also camped in wet and rainy weather and was happy to have something keeping the water out.

The number one concern for most campers is finding cheap tents or in, other words, a high quality tent at a low price.  … Continue reading

Being able to spend time outdoors with your family is a great way to build bonds that you can’t get in any other way.  Family cabin tents are great options for families wanting to share the outdoors together. They tend to be much larger than most tents and have bigger doorways, more windows and sometimes screened in porches.  The windows, doorways and porches make a huge difference in helping to create good ventilation within the tent walls.  The biggest benefit of cabin tents is that they are designed like a little cabin or home.  Think back to the 1800’s to the small houses families lived in.  They were no where near spacious compared to today’s standards but families managed to live in these small structures.  This is exactly… Continue reading

One of the best places to find affordable tents is at Target. Target sells camping tents that are usually one of three brands: Coleman, Kelty and Embark, although you can find more brands online. Depending on your location the selections will be different but here are some of the tents you can expect to find. All of these tents are 3 season tents and shouldn’t be used in winter conditions but they should serve you and your family well in milder weather in the Summer or other seasons.

Coleman Tents At Target

The Coleman Instant Tent is one of the quickest tents to set up and usually takes a couple of minutes to set up so you can get back to enjoying anything but setting up the tent… Continue reading

Wal-Mart is one of the best places to find camping tents cheap. They offer a limited selection in stores and a lot more online. They carry 5 different brands: Ozark Trail, Swiss Gear, Wenzel, Stansport and Coleman. Ozark Trail is pretty specific to Wal-Mart, we have talked about Ozark Trail Camping Cots before and you can only find them at Wal-Mart. Wenzel Tents are also very cheap but you can find them at quite a few retailers and almost every retailer has Coleman tents.

The current tents at Wal-Mart (at least my local Wal-Mart) are 2 Ozark Trail Tents the Ozark Trail 7×7 Sport Dome that sleeps 2 and another 4 man version… Continue reading

One of the most frustrating things when you get to a campsite is setting up your tent, especially large ones.   Coleman tents have made this much easier though with their Instant Tent line which they hope are the easiest and quickest tents to set up.  These tents take only about 1 minute to setup or take down which means no more worrying about complicated setups with elaborate tent poles. (It may take you as long as five minutes).  How can a large camping tent be set up so quickly?  They pre-attach the tent poles so that you do not have to… Continue reading

The Coleman Vacationer is a cabin tent that is an exclusive of Bass Pro Shops. It is a large 10 man tent that encompasses two different rooms or living areas. The best part about this tent is its use of new technology. It comes equipped with Coleman’s CPX Flexible Power System. What does this mean for you?
It means that you can walk into your tent, flick a switch and turn on the light just like you would at home or anywhere else. No worrying about a camping lantern or flashlight just turn on the switch and your tent will be just like home. This built in tent light system also has various settings of high and low and another nighttime setting that has a slightly dimmer light. You… Continue reading

Smoky Mountain National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited National Park in the United States with over 10 million visitors each year and one of our favorite destinations. It provides a wonderful backdrop for anyone looking for the perfect destination for camping in the mountains. The Smokies 521,000 acres in both Tennessee and North Carolina and contains many hiking trails, historic buildings, areas for fishing and spotting wildlife.
The Smokies derives its name from the fog that is created when it rains. The rain is common in this area and one of the most important things to be prepared for when you are camping in the Smokies is sudden storms. They are… Continue reading

Eureka is one of the leaders is tents.  Not only do they make some very durable camping tents they also make military tents and party tents so it’s safe to say they have established a quality product.  We’ve already talked about the Eureka Apex 2 Man tent but  here are some of their current series of tents in the Eureka tent line.

Timberline Series-
The timberline has two particular models the timberline outfitter which offers a 2 man tent, 4 man tent and a 6 man tent or the Timberline SQ which has a 2 man and a 4 man tent available. 
Both models are A Frame tents and very lightweight making them an ideal tent for backpacking.  They come with a rain fly that covers the… Continue reading

It’s no surprise to anyone that has walked down the aisle of outdoor gear at the local superstore that Coleman is one of the foremost leaders in outdoor gear.  Coleman air mattresses, camping chairs, camping tents, stoves, tent fans and all sorts of other gear displaying their name line the shelves, even in stores with a small selection.  Their experience and quality products have made the Coleman Tent Brand one that can be trusted as you search for your next tent.  Here is the current selection of Coleman tents.
Montana- The Coleman Montana is a larger tent that comes equipped with your very own tent light (just remember to get the D batteries as they aren’t included).  Numerous features of this tent are patented or pending… Continue reading

The Eureka Solo Solitaire Bivy is a lightweight (2 lbs 15 oz packed) 1 man tent (which feels a little more like a bivy sack than a tent) that is just the right fit to take with you on the trail. Not only is it lightweight but it is the lightest of the Eureka Tents you will find. The tent is made of Nylon and is a hoop style tent and also comes with a full rain fly to keep you dry during any storms you might encounter. Since the rain fly comes attached there is no need to worry about finding it to put on or off, so if conditions are dry and you want to increase air flow in your tent you can simply roll the… Continue reading

Looking for a new camping tent or camping gear but not sure what to get? Sometimes the best way to find new gear is by checking out what others have to say about it and by getting the “bestsellers.” Cheap Tents Site has compiled a list of some of the bestselling camping tents, air mattresses and tent accessories on Amazon to help you get even more info on the best tents and camping gear available from Amazon.

Family Camping Tents-

When camping with your family getting a cabin tent is one of the best ways to get a little more space and feel comfortable while camping, which… Continue reading

Many camping products are not just useful for camping. You might be surprised to know that having the right camping gear isn’t just helpful to be prepared for your next camping adventure, but  it can also help you be prepared if you face an emergency.  In fact, many of the supplies you have for camping like propane stoves and camping lanterns and even camping tents, are helpful if you are at home and facing some sort of emergency.  Hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, tornadoes, power outages and numerous other things can happen at any time and having the right camping gear on hand can help you be better prepared if you ever have to face a disaster.  So if you are wondering if you should splurge on buying camping equipment like camping… Continue reading

Having only catched the end of the 1st episode of Oprah’s Big Camping Adventure in Yosemite National Park, which featured Oprah’s Pop Up Camper, I had to catch the second episode, which aired today. Watching the start of the episode was a little comical as Oprah tried to cook Sea Bass and Rosemary Potatoes over the campfire, they didn’t know that the most common foods to cook over a campfire was “pancakes and baked beans.” They also played a trivia game while camping called, “Hunting, Fishing and Camping Trivia,” which is a great way to learn some interesting facts about camping. This might be a great activity idea for those of you camping with kids. They were then visited by some of their “neighbors” who assured them that… Continue reading

In Oprah’s final year she is doing some big things and some things that she hasn’t done in over 20 years of having her show. She’s built schools, has given her audience her ultimate wish list and even given away cars to some deserving teachers. But for a couple of recent episodes Oprah Winfrey got a little bit out of her comfort zone and decided to give American’s a glimpse of something more, she goes on a camping adventure with a camper in Yosemite with her best friend Gayle in hopes of motivating more people to go out an enjoy the outdoors.

Most people dream of getting a dream shopping spree in their favorite stores, and campers would love to get an opportunity to pick out all of… Continue reading

In today’s world it seems that “minimalizing” is what we should all be doing and in many cases this is probably true. With camping tents and backpackers this might be true; you don’t want to hike up a mountain with a 70lb cabin tent on your back!  However, a lot of campers just enjoy car camping. They can drive up to their campsite, pull out all of their gear without having to hike very far to their site. So the question is, are smaller or larger camping tents better when you don’t have to carry your tent very far?
My answer is that a larger tent, especially something like a cabin tent with multiple rooms like the Coleman Vacationer, can have a lot more benefits than the… Continue reading

The Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 2 man tent was picked as one of the 2010 Gear of The Year by Backpacker Magazine. (They also have the UL1 Model if you are looking for a 1 man tent). While it is made to sleep 2 people this tent weighs around two pounds making it an ideal backpacking tent that you will hardly notice while hiking along trails. In order to keep the weight down, Big Agnes chose to use as many ultra light products as they could by using lightweight tent poles, flooring, and a rain fly and yet, they made it very durable at the same time.

Another feature that they used to help keep the weight down… Continue reading

This lightweight (approximately 6 lbs) tent is a perfect 2 man tent for anyone looking for a small light tent to take with them camping.  While most 2 man tents seem to provide space for about 1 person only, this tent has quite a few happy campers who agree that this tent actually can sleep 2 people!  The actual space is about 36 and a half square feet with vestibules on each side of the tent so you have lots of space to stick any camping gear.
The tent comes with 2 shockcorded tent poles, has a bathtub style floor and lots of other features that make it stand out amongst other 3 season tents and cheap tents.

When you… Continue reading

 Canvas tents are heavy and expensive (not the best if you are looking for cheap tents) yet, there are still quite a few advantages and reasons to why you might want to own them.  Canvas is made of cotton and makes it a very strong and durable material and if it rips or tears you can sew it much easier than you can another type of tent. A sturdy canvas tent is also usually one of the number one choices for a base camp tent.

So where can you buy a canvas tent?

Canvas tents can be found almost anywhere but remember they will be a little pricier.  A good place to start looking is an outdoor store like Cabela’s or REI.  These stores will have a… Continue reading

When it comes to tent size you should almost always consider a tent that can sleep more people than you actually need since space is usually exaggerated by the different tent brands.  Thus, if you are looking for a 6 man tent you should probably go with an 8 man tent just to play it safe, especially if you are bringing an air mattress or a lot of camping gear. 

6 man tents can be perfect as a 4 man tent and will provide you some extra room to feel more comfortable in. 

Coleman Sundome 6 Tent-

This 2 room affordable tent by Coleman has a center height of six feet and comes with a  12×10 rainfly. This tent is… Continue reading

Coleman tents is a leader in outdoor gear whether it is for camping beds, camping stoves or camping tents you are sure to not go wrong when you choose this tent brand.  With their Coleman Sundome tent line they outdid themselves again delivering a tent that features different sizes including this 2 man tent. The sundome tents come equipped with many of Coleman’s best features like the WeatherTec system that guarantees to keep you dry.

This 2 person tent is ideal for 2 campers looking for a reliable tent without too much extra space or someone looking for a one person tent who doesn’t want to be confined in a small bivy tent. It is only 7 feet by 5 feet so it will be hard to… Continue reading

Whenever you go camping it is important to make sure you are as comfortable as possible and camping cots and air mattresses help you be able to do this. Any type of camping bed will help you sleep better and improve your overall comfort level in your tent, as well as, your camping experience.
Camping cots are a great alternative to an air mattress because they allow you to sleep up higher off of the ground and make less noise then the inflatable mattresses. You know what I am talking about. On an air mattress every time you roll over you have to hear it squeak.

Ozark Trails

Ozark Trail is one outdoor brand that makes a lot of… Continue reading

Camping really is a great way to spend time with the family and is a very affordable option for a family vacation. You don’t need to worry about getting a hotel room, or flying or driving very far because you can camp close to home. The problem with tent camping is that for people who aren’t big fans of the outdoors is that you have to sleep outside on the ground.

The thought of sleeping outside on the ground can make some people cringe. For those of you who feel that way I completely understand. I have woken up a few times in the middle of the night uncomfortable and with rocks poking me in the back.

But you don’t have to be uncomfortable; you can make your… Continue reading