Camping Style

There are tonnes of camping tent manufactures. For more of these rather interesting ideas check out: 30 Cool and Creative Camping Tent Designs (Tripwire Magazine)

If you want to drool check out OUTWELL TENTS England.

 

I don't know how good these tents would be - but perhaps for a weekend they might be okay. It's the novelty more than the practicability of the product. But like I said, I would probably buy one just to wow my camping neighbours. I tell ya, this guy is a real camping nut.

 

That would be true - but not unexpected. It leads me to another camp discussion - "trinket campers". These are people that purchase things that look good but are really ridiculous in terms of any kind of practicability. Yet I see it all the time - and perhaps I was a bit like that at one time. It seems to me that the more spendable money we have the more silly we become.


Glow in the dark toilet paper?




Bear paws?

Well...then again...maybe. I told you he's nuts.

 

When it is just me, I tent camp. A 4 person tent, cot, sleeping bag, chair, book, ukulele, walking stick, hand crank lights, cooler, and a pocket stove is usually all I need. If I am camping at a campground with paved roads or paved trails, I bring my kick scooter, otherwise I hike marked trails.

When I am with my husband, we use a small travel trailer. If the weather is mild, we can boondock for a short time. Usually we require electric to run an oxygen concentrator, bpap machine, and to use the heater or air conditioner as needed. We are big state park/national forest or mom and pop campground campers. We spend most of the day in the truck riding around looking at local sites as my husband can't hike or bike ride. Then, we head back to the trailer in the evening.

 

I'm the ultimate comfort driven camper. Arthritis in the neck, a bad knee and some long-term back issues pushed me to find ways to get off the ground. Before I got my cabin tent, this is how I did it.



Three half sheets of OSB, some 2x4s and 2x6s and I'm off the ground and level. No more worrying about floor damage by rocks and other sharps or rain or waking up rolled into the side of the tent

 

I can certainly identify with most of your first description and applaud you for the second. I'm going to assume that your State makes ample consideration like our Provincial Parks do in terms of needs. .

 

I just love the scene. Though I don't have any need for a tarp over my tent. I do have a kitchen shelter with net as well as a wash/private toilet stand. And I can see your electrical/solar system clearly. As you know I have three Alaknaks (different sizes) that I use for base camp. I also have two different kinds of t-pees as well as back pack tents.

You captured my attention when I saw the platform. It is my intention to have one this summer (GW). I'm out for longer periods of time than most and I really do want to get the tent off the ground. Like the picture MacGyver too.

 

I'll never go without a tarp if I can help it. I've got a 25-year-old Eureka dome that looks brand new because it doesn't get any tree sap on it, never gets rained on and the sun has never hit it directly. All that and I'll always have a place to sit outside the tent when it rains.



Here's a close up view of the other end of the solar setup



If you're considering a platform for your larger tents, I'll tell you to be prepared to take a lot of lumber with you. The platforms that I've made (about a dozen incarnations) have all had minimal support. Solid enough that I know they won't fall apart when I move around, but definitely not solid like the ground. I would imagine a large tent where you're walking around will need considerably more support.

 

You are right about the protection against the rays that is why I make attempts to stay in the partial shade. It's just amazing the damage that can be done. Ya...that has been one of the reasons why I haven't acted on the wood because I know I will need a fair bit. But...I think I might give it a crack. I always have a foot (ground sheet) but when you are sitting in the same place for four or five weeks I wanted something better. I did look at those RV mats but decided against it. I have a 10 x 10 that I often use when I'm by myself. I use solar as well as you already know. "You ain't no novice camper MacGyver." Ditto

 

As it happens, when my back is really killing me, I sometimes sleep on a carpeted floor and it seems to help. On the platform, I use the absolutely best pad I've ever owned - A Thermarest LuxuryMAP. Makes for a really nice bed.

As far as clearing an area to protect the floor of the tent, I don't know about you, but I almost always managed to find one little rock or piece of root that I missed - and it was always somewhere closer to the center of the tent. That would make my OCD kick in and I'd have to move the tent.

I've always said that my life is a series of contradictions. Camping with a platform is definitely one of 'em. I'm a comfort-driven, tools lovin' camper who tries to eliminate bulk in my truck. It would be SO much easier and a lot less bulkier to just bring a rake to clear an area and be done with it. But then I wouldn't be off the cold, lumpy ground and sleeping level.