kukulemon

We are going to camp for a first time in US. (We are from Moscow). Desperatly need advice on camping tent. We have 2 boys (5 and 9), we are not looking for something very big, but it has to be waterproof (no leakage from anywhere) and heatproof, and time and wearproof, and easy to set up. Please, help. Any other advice on books, other gear are highly desirable. In exchange are happy to give any advice on travel and camping in Russia. Olga

travellyn

REI and Campmor are companies that have good deals and a good selection of tents. Most tents they sell will be of good enough quality to serve your purposes. I assume that they both have web sites.

You will need at least a 4 person tent. If you get a 3-4 person tent, it won't be large enough. You'll want a dome or square tent (as opposed to an aerodynamic tube thing), so you have room to sit up.

If you plan to buy the tent in the USA, it would be good to go to an REI store if at all possible; one of the REI flagship stores would be even better in terms of selection. REI will likely have everything else you need in terms of equipment, and they have knowledgeable salespeople who won't try to get you to buy something you don't need. You can expect to pay $150 to $400 for a tent, depending on specifications, size, and quality. You might also be able to rent one.

BayArea

many REI stores and some other camping stores such as those operated by Marmot rent their camping gear.

You should be able to rent a camping tent without too much trouble, and it will be considerably cheaper than buying a tent.

Momof3boys

If you purchase a tent - no matter how good it is - purchase some "seam sealer" also. We like the kind that rolls on like deodorant. Put that over all the seams that could leak - rainfly, and floor. Also, tents usually only sleep 1/2 as many people comfortably as they state the size is so a 4 man tent sleeps 2 and a 6 man tent sleeps 3. Of course, you can always squeeze in! Also, be aware of the weight of the tent. If you are backpacking, you don't want a heavy tent so then 2 tents are better than 1. I suspect you will be carrying it in the car so look at the size. Most tents collapse into small carrying bags, but some of the popups are large round circles which might not be convenient to transport either on the plane or car. I don't know of any tent that is heatproof, but some do have better ventilation than others. I would suggest you get a 3 season tent if you are buying one, but the poster is right that they are available to rent. I even believe some campgrounds might have them or at least a source for them so if you know where you are staying you might ask. If you have a sporting goods store nearby, go chat and get some info so you will know what to look for. They might even have a tent set up that you and your family could get in and try to decide on size. You might find a good deal there or look on the Campmor website and Sierratradingpost.com. Good luck.

BarbaraS

You don't say where in the US you will be camping. My suggestion would be instead of buying a tent and camping equipment, consider renting a pop-up tent trailer, which will have a sink, stove and cooler. The rental company general rents all the cooking equpment, etc. that you will need.