5 Mistakes Every New Tent Camper Makes

Are you a tent camper who has made one of these mistakes? Tent camping or ground dwelling doesn't come with an instruction manual and often times you are up to figuring these things out on your own. Hopefully these ideas and tips can help you not make the same mistakes when going out on a backpacking trip.

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#backpacking #camping #outdoors #backpackinggear #campinggear #hiking

[mikethemechanic]

Been camping for 20 years. One thing I always advise new tent campers is purchasing a 10x10 canopy. You need one to put above your tent or picnic table with your food and stoves and supples on it. A tarp is needed to the table and food at night. Tarps under the tent are a plus. Nice video!

[_bustamove_]

Bonus tip: in the PNW, make camp where you see crows/ravens. There will be less ground critters around wanting to nibble through your tent and gear in the night! (critters here are “widow makers” too, we had a squirrel push a section of bark 3’x5’ off a tree and it came crashing down barely missing our tent! 🐿)

[truadventures]

I've camped before, took the boys, had all the gear....but its been 20 years...saw your video and said what the heck. Good stuff...even if to reinforce the memory...thanks alot...

[adam]

My favorite camping spot out in the middle of the woods had a widow maker over a great spot but I would never set up there. It was too high to try to take it down myself. I was squirrel hunting one day near the campsite and happen to glance around it to plan another camping trip and that widow maker was on the ground. At least I’ll live to finally set up in that great spot now lol.

[kevinklein]

1:00 I didn't know how to stake the guylines out properly either... you see many campers, even experiences ones, who have them staked out super tight. But what you're saying makes sense to me, as most tents are designed to have some space to maneuver - hence the poles of the tent are not fixated to the ground, but are stuck into the tent floor grommets. If the guylines are more loose, they would only hold the tent if it tilts too far to either side...
It's as you said, none of these brands seem to provide you with a proper manual on how to use their gear properly - I find that quite appalling given the price that you pay for many of these items. I had a similar experience when I purchased my first quality sleeping bag... I was just lucky enough to find a video online where it was advised not to store the bag in a compressed condition at home, but to hang it up somewhere - otherwise the down will lose all that fluffiness, and your sleeping bag will not bloat up and hold you as warm anymore.
Another thing is how to clean your gear. Apparently you must not put your tent in a washing machine using detergents, and you're not supposed to keep your tent in direct sun light for too long... I put mine in the machine using the hand wash program at 0°C and added regular hand wash soap, as that's virtually the same thing. Can't think of anything more frustrating than spending all this money on outdoor gear and then mess it up... and it's not even people's own fault, as most just don't know any better because many outdoor companies fail to provide you with a more detailed user and maintenance manual. I'm very happy that people like you go online and clear some of the misinformation up and set it straight...

[WasatchWill]

Good tips. The guyline was is interesting because with hammock tarps and the like, tight and taut is usually better. But with a tent, leaving a tad bit of slack makes some sense. I almost never use guylines either, but when I have, I've made them somewhat taut, but not super tight.

[ingeniousviralproducts]

Man I've been watching camping tents and camp grounds for months almost everyday to find the perfect tent and the perfect campsite. Then one day, we went to a spring and set our picnic area and beach seats under some shaded tree. I was there just sitting on the chair and enjoying the breeze when a huge snake just dropped from a tree a few meters from me. It was very angry and had that stance...and at that moment I knew, I'll never ever want to think about camping again. This was a sign from the upper echelon.

[TwistedPix]

Thanks mate. Great tips even for seasoned campers.

[jeffallinson]

As a newbie camper I appreciate the advice, thanks for this! I would appreciate advice on how to insert and remove Tent Poles (threaded through the material) as this seems to take an eternity to do, the material just keeps gathering and the poles keep coming apart!!

[Haphagurd]

Been there done that! Well on a couple at least. Good call on the widow maker mention. Thanks man!

[indigowulf]

Watch for the 5 W's. Good W's are water and wood nearby. Bad W's are widowmakers (anything that can fall on you), Wind, and Wigglers (bugs, snakes, rodents, etc)
It's never fun to discover you put your tent too close to an anthill, or right in a natural wind tunnel.

[jackg]

The size of the footprint, is the question I was having today cuz I was in the market for one. This explanation offered, came across my brain but I wondered about other things... last weekend I set up my tent in the backyard so I could try out my sleeping bag to see if it was warm enough. In doings so, as I was setting up the tent my knees were getting wet from the snowmelt in the grass so I thought if I was kneeling on a larger than tent footprint my pants would stay cleaner and drier but thanks for the answer of needing a smaller footprint. I just wish the Hubba Hubba NX came with a footprint with grommets to fit the poles. Also funny that the footprint offered is an inch smaller one one dimension but an inch to big the other way.

[alherm]

My opinion if one shovels a gutter around the tent to channel water away that drips on and down the tent is a good idea for directing water.. Also, packing dirt around tent to seal off any potential gaps.. Marine Corps training and very effective..

[johnjackson]

Howdy friend. I’m just starting backpacking, hiking, camping. I haven’t started yet but I’ve been buying my gear. Do you think I need two different tents.. one for camping and one for backpacking? I say this because I want my backpacking tent to be light weight and my camping tent to be larger and roomie. Thoughts?

[meganhadad]

This is slightly unrelated to tents but related to being a noob lol. I am planning a backpacking trip in Utah in the next couple weeks where I may be swimming in parts of the canyon, especially with all the rain we have gotten recently. I don’t want to spend more money on gear and get an actually dry bag backpack. Lots of my stuff sacks are already drybags and I do have a rain fly for my pack, so I can keep most of my stuff dry inside my backpack if it does end up getting slightly wet. But I was wondering if you have advice or DIY tips to help your bag stay dry when you are backpacking and encounter an area where you have to swim? Thanks!!

[terryrodbourn]

Your correct about Widow Makers because when ahi was young buck a local tourist was killed tent under one when a rain/wind storm broke that branch of the tree and killed him and his partner was in bad shape too! It was in top of the local news!

[northamericanproductions]

6. Buy a backpackers style air pad which will keep you off the ground and your back straight. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on those thick queen sized air mattresses, only to have them fail on me. They always lose air through the night leaving you on the ground. I’ve never had problems losing air from a backpackers air mattress and never end up with back pain in the morning. Those large style air mattresses also never last more than a few camping trips and take up way too much space inside your tent.

[tom_olofsson]

Isn't it easier to pitch the tent after you arrive at the campsite?

[glenystranter]

Another mistake - not checking the tent for damage, tears and missing or broken poles or missing ropes etc.

[jayceewedmak]

Mistake - not waterproofing your new tent or every spring *extra on the seams. Mistake - not taking a tarp for over the fly/tent *can help in wind or unexpected rain. Get outside and enjoy!