Looking to gradually upgrade my camping equipment (tent, pads, chairs, table, shower)

[ebg18t]

My 2cents.

Larger tent with oversized vestibule and a nice thick air mattress. My wife enjoys camping much more now that she has sheets and a blanket like home. Also having a vestibule big enough we can sit it if the weather turns has been helpful.

 

[Richietherocket]

This is a great thread. Now that my boys are old enough to take out for a week at a time we seem to have lots of stuff that was old but worked. We decided this year that we would upgrade the cooking kit. We invested in the GSI Outdoors Bugaboo kit, some FrontRunner storage boxes, and other kitchen things.

We already had a Coleman family dome tent but I also wanted something a bit smaller for heading out with by myself or with the my oldest. There are plenty of great 2-3 person tents but I wanted something that was "cooler" than that. I ended up with this It really is that easy to put away. Cant wait to test it out next weekend over in Fruita, CO while out on a 3 day mtb trip.

We also upgraded some things on my FJ: ARB 1250 Rear awning, table that folds down from the back door, LED flood lights for camp setup. Should be a great year.

 

[BigSwede]

1. Tent: Basic Coleman 4 person 2 pole tent. Biggest gripes: 3 season tent, no vestibule, and limited room for standing up. In my imagination I'd have like an REI base camp 4 or 6 (we're 2 adults, one kid and possibly one dog), maybe with a couple of lightweight cots inside but I also have limited room in my small SUV.

Take a look at the Eureka Copper Canyon. Amazing room inside. It's not a 3-season though.

 

[stioc]

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions guys, I'm glad it's helping others too.

For a tent I've been looking at the Coleman 4 or 6 person instant tent which sounds pretty decent (quick setup, higher ceiling etc and under $200) http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-2000010387-4-Person-Instant-Tent/dp/B004E4AVY8 - However, the Eureka Copper Canyon sounds pretty good too - though the setup seems a bit more involved than the Coleman?

As for the kitchen stuff, I've actually scaled down from a Coleman 2 burner to one of those Asian butane stoves. It takes so little room and very stable unlike the backpacking stoves...$15 to buy and cheap butane cans, it's definitely one of those things where I feel I got more than my money's worth. I also have a Weber camping grill I bought but I have yet to even take it out of its box (after almost a year) because we don't have the room to bring too much stuff and I'm always trying to travel as light as possible.

 

[RobRed]

Here's what we do for our adventure camping http://tlcfaq.com/main/2012/06/camping-gear-organization/

One major change... air mattress out. Exped Mega Mats IN!!!

We go big.

 

[RangeBrover]

I say keep what you've got till it breaks and then replace it with something better. I'm originally from a backpacking background so for me it's all about durable gear that's lightweight. I like to be able to use my gear for Overlanding and backpacking so for a tent we use an rei half dome 2, for sleeping its just sleeping bags and pads, and our kitchen kit is usually a MSR whisperlite and some backpacking pots and mugs.

We've been increasing size in some aspects though such as a partner stove and collapsible chairs for when we camp from the car. It's clear that you've already got a lot of gear so just keep running it and buy quality stuff the next time around. Believe it or not but I've got a Colman sleeping bag that's at least 15 years old that still works fine so it's my loaner. If anything get yourself a fridge, it's on my short list and is a deflate upgrade from a cooler.

 

[nwoods]

Here's what we do for our adventure camping http://tlcfaq.com/main/2012/06/camping-gear-organization/

One major change... air mattress out. Exped Mega Mats IN!!!

We go big.

Great write up!

 

[RobRed]

Thanks nwoods. I hope it inspires people to be organized