16 Useful Tips For When You’re Camping In A Tent

In this article you will find my tops tips for camping in a tent. Because tent camping is by far my favorite trip to embark on, especially in the summer, where the sun glows on the beautiful lake and the weather is simply amazing.

You hear birds chirping and the kids shouting while they’re all having fun in the distance.

Oh it all seems surreal doesn’t it? Summer is my favorite time of the year and I have no doubts that it’s yours as well. One particular way to enjoy this season is to go on a trip in the outdoors so you can really take advantage of this wonderful weather while it’s there.

These tips are created for tent camping, which will make your next camping trip a lot easier so you can fully experience the great outdoors while having fun and staying safe.

 

Your Shelter Position

• When you get to the campsite don’t pitch your tent anywhere. Try and put your shelter far away from neighbors, but not too far. Just enough so they won’t keep you awake all night if they are loud ones.

• Pitch your tent under a healthy tree, this is not only good for keeping protected from the sun, but a slight drizzle will feel like nothing due to the tree catching all the water.

• Wind direction is important as well, get a good idea of what direction the wind is going and place your tent upwind so your campfires smoke won’t be covering your tent all night.

 

Critter Control

Your food is probably the only reason wildlife will wander into your campsite. Realize this and you’ll find yourself cleaning up food more often, ultimately getting better and eventually making it more easier.

• Cooking grease/oil, bones, peelings, should NOT be dumped on the ground, but rather burned in the fire.

• Keep ice coolers in your car overnight, under a blanket or towel, as bears know what they contain..food.

• Cookie crumbs and potato chips dropped onto the ground will attract ants. Clean these up asap.

• Teach your family and/or friends to also start these habits and safe practices.

A rule of thumb to follow: Clean up all spills, crumbs and rubbish that are lying around, and make it a habit to rinse the food out of empty cans and disposable cups/plates before throwing them out or burning them.

 

Safety

• Everyone in your campsite should have a handheld radio so you can communicate with each other. This is so much easier for getting help if someones in danger.

• When out exploring, ALWAYS have a buddy with you, and take a rope which I find to be useful when trying to get out of quick sand. One person can pull you out, or get them to tie it to a tree so you can pull yourself out.

• Bears are reasonably passive animals against humans. However they are still known to attack and kill people out in the wilderness. Here’s how to stay safe against bears.

I see a lot of people not wanting to go camping with their kids because they are scared the child might hop out of the tent at night time.

No worries, get yourself an inexpensive little padlock and lock it on the inside – where the 3 zippers meet at the bottom.

 

Other Useful Tips

• Use a tarp under your tent. This will protect the flooring. Remember to tuck the edges of the tarp under your tent to stop water from pooling under it just in case it starts raining.

• Pack ultralight by taking your fly, poles and footprint. It’s not the best protection against the elements but it is one way for ultimate ventilation and still going to keep you safe from rain.

• Be sure to dry out your tent before packing it away. This is mostly to prevent smelly odors from arising.

• DON’T fold your tent the same way every single time. I would rather you stuff it in more than anything. Folding it in the same place over a long period of time will eventually start creasing the tent and wear out its waterproof coatings.

• Wear yourself out! Sleeping in a tent is a lot better when you have no energy left, so you can simply climb into your sleeping bag for the night and fall asleep almost instantly. You should focus on going to bed exhausted. So go hiking all day, play activities with the family, swim in the lake, go kayaking or paddling.

 

Conclusion

Not all tents are good, just like not all tents are bad. So it is not a good idea just to buy any old tent and expect it to fit your current needs.

You will need to ask yourself what you want a tent for, a 3 day trip by yourself in the wilderness with your car? A 7 day backpacking excursion in the wilderness with a couple of friends?

How many people are you planning on sleeping in the tent? These are all important points you need to take into consideration when you get one.

My other article explains how to properly find a tent to fit your needs and what to look out for so you end up purchasing one that will actually be right for you.