EVERY new backpacker makes these mistakes BUYING A TENT

how to buy a tent for backpacking. what tent should I purchase for hiking and backpacking. UL tent. ultralight tents. best backpacking tent

[markbielawski]

I bought that Ozark Trails tent you grabbed off the shelf, and it's held up very well. All in, it weighs about 5lbs while some tents classified as backpacking tents can weigh 6-7 lbs. (I realize there are lighter ones). However, the one thing I did do with the tent after purchase was to hit it up with seam sealer and spray it down with a waterproofing spray. In the back of my mind there is always the thought that a $30 tent from Walmart must be garbage, and I should be spending $200+ for a good one, but the proof is in the backcountry, and this one has done well for what it is.

[IdealContracting]

A common mistake I see in car camping is people buy overly complicated tents that have tons a features. Then struggle to put it up/take it down everytime. Im partial to the two pole dome tent. Its easy and you can get a pretty large one. Can set it up in like 3 minutes. My friends tent takes him like 30min lol but it has an actual door and a closet haha

[adventureswiththecrazyvet]

I'm guilty of not taking a tent out of box. I bought a brand new 750 dollar Tarp Tent Aeon Li. It's a single wall single person DCF tent that weights under a pound. Anyway when I started the PNT last month at Glacier National Park I set the tent up for the first time. Now I used this same model tent on my hike across America last year so that's my excuse to why I didn't feel like I needed to set it up. So when I set it up for night number 1, in the pouring rain mind you. I discovered that the seam tape was completely off in numerous spots, I had multiple tears, and holes in the netting and the main body. So yeah a fun filled wet night screaming because 1 it was my fault for not checking it and 2 it was 750 bucks. So moral of this story I just typed... Always vet your gear!

[kendean]

I have 2 super light tarps and a heck of a nice staff. Local trees and sticks are always handy

[drdozer]

Just get a medium priced tent from some place like sportsman's. If it's got welded seems and a tarp tub bottom which means the tarp material comes up on the sides a few inches then its going to be a great all purpose tent as long as you take care of it. Clean it, take your shoes off when you enter, put the poles and stakes back in the bags they came in unless you want a nice hole in the tent. Have camped often for years in the midwest. Sun, rain, sleet, snow you'll be just fine with a tent like that for under $100.

[christopherrenaud]

Funny thing is i had just purchaced the tent just above the heavey one that You pulled off the shelf from walmart. it SUCKS it does not even have a vestabule. and i still can not understand why it was all done up with netting but it has a big hole in it for an electric cord! yep electric cord. i needed a tent fast for a last minute trip. there were ANTS in the tent in the morning! yep lined up coming threw the electric cable hole!!! i guess they expected me to plug the tv into the nearest oak tree???

[TheAdventuresofEli]

I had a Coleman tent from Walmart for years and years that i used for car camping.. Coleman is probably one of the best budget tent/camping system

[seanglasgow]

Me, who just went out in a walmart backpacking tent that weighed less than some of the REI backpacking tents for a quarter of the pric, held up in heavy rain, hail and wind in the colorado backcountry...

[petermorhead]

Granny Gatewood; an old green Army blanket, a pair of Keds, a shower curtain for a tarp and a canvas sea bag to carry it all in slung over her shoulder. She through hiked the AT 3 times with this kit.

[that_auntceleste]

just did my first backpacking trip with an Ozark trail tent, it held up in rain. sometimes it's best to start with what you already have 😊

[rleering]

Idk my Walmart tent has been quite the trooper on all of my cramping trips LOL & it came w 2 chairs and two sleeping bags for like 99$

[ExplorewithmeMarloC]

I made the mistake of getting a tent from Walmart because it was inexpensive. Never again. You get what you pay for. Crappy zippers, water “resistant” not proof… I’m in the market for a lighter, backpacking tent. Love this channel.. been binging some of your vids to learn the right gear/techniques. Thank you.

[elscruffomcscruffy]

I even had my Mother use a hose to pretend it was raining, do I could Practise setting up my tent in the rain. Putting the fly and footprint up first, then diving underneath to attach the inner tent. Geeky right?

[squirrellysquirrels]

My favorite was mosquito net hammock with drip line/plate. Small tarp and a bag if cold, yoga mat if hot... Didn't have a slack side under to keep the bugs from biting through. But it was around 30$ 60$ ish total.

[nickleung]

You should make a video on anything strange you’ve heard or encountered on your trips. Would be a fun video. There’s folktales about feral people in the Smokey’s etc

[DazDaz]

The comment that a car camping tent will not be resilient to weather and not very water resistant is nonsense. It all depends on the quality that you buy regardless of type of tent.

[mylesisenberger]

Definitely listen to the advice to check the tent after you buy it BEFORE you take it out camping. Sometimes you don't have all the tent poles learned 😑

[Bga]

I got one for 20 bucks at home depot a few years back. Held up great but I got tired of it. Now it's a small tarp at best, and whatever I am sleeping in. Honestly I enjoy being as minimalist as possible. If my great grandparents could rough it in the woods with a blanket so can I lol.

[ThomasGapinski]

I did all my youth backpacking in the 90s with heavy army surplus and Boy Scout gear. We didn’t care about weight, and we had a blast.

[mattyoder]

Great video Dan. Just ordered our first backpacking tent!