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3 Easy Steps To Becoming A Backcountry Hero
Have you thought about helping to protect wildlife or wild flowers, but you don’t know how? Or maybe you want to protect your favorite camping site or that cool little stream nobody else knows about? Making a difference in the backcountry is easy...
Camping With Man's Best Friend
Man's Best Friend
Man's best friend your dog , and you, can go camping and have lots of fun. Look at it as a walk that doesn't end, during which he gets to spend all his time with you. For us campers, it can give us another means of...
Night Vision Devices -- The Ultimate in BackCountry Toys
Many nights in the backcountry are far from dark. A bright moon and a sky full of stars can throw off enough light to allow for reading a book, but add cloud cover, mountains or trees and it gets dark awfully fast. When you need to see in the...
Quick Guide to Taking Better Photos
In my business I see a lot of snapshots taken by ordinary people. They aren't professional photographers. The "Average Joe" is usually
just trying to record a moment or subject, not win a prize in a photo contest for technical excellence. However,...
Understanding White Balance
Understanding White Balance The Color of Light Everyone has taken at least one photograph that has been way off in color. You get it back from whoever processed it, or if it is from a digital camera you load it into your computer, and your...
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Camping Tents - What The Tent Ratings Mean
Been shopping for a new camping tent? Wonder what 3-season or 4-season means? Confused about what a family tent or convertible tent classification means? Let’s try to cut through all the marketing lingo and get down to what you should really look for when you see camping tent ratings or classifications.
When you get right down to it, you should think of a camping tent as either 3-season or 4-season. So what’s in a name?
Generally speaking your average 3-season tent is built to hold up well in light to moderate weather conditions. They are built to be comfortable in Spring, Summer and Fall in most any location, hence the name 3-season.
Three-season tents are generally more affordable than 4-season. You will find a vast range of 3-season tent quality from the cheap units found in big retail stores to expensive models found in specialty camping stores.
The downside of 3-season tents? These tents do not hold up well in high winds, torrential rain and heavy snowfall. 3-season tents are generally not the tent of choice for backcountry expeditions through Alaska in January.
The best 3-season tents generally come with a waterproof rain fly and a breathable canopy. Ideally you want to find a three season tent with a waterproof floor. The rugged "bathtub" floor is generally reserved for the more expensive four season tent (but not always).
Four season tents are great for just about any weather condition that you may encounter, assuming its winter. The 4-season rating really should be classified as 1-season. Why? Because a quality 4-season tent performs great in winter conditions but may suffer from over-insulation in the summer months.
Structurally 4-season tents generally have at least four aluminum poles for strength (the more the better) to withstand sleet and snow. They are aerodynamic in design and typically they are dark colored in order to absorb heat. And they are generally much lighter.
The roof lines on four season tents are fully defined and very strong so water and snow cannot collect on top of the tent. Most four season tents can be utilized free standing in the event there is no place to pound
stakes into the ground such as on the side of a mountain or in frozen terrain.
Four season tents have a fully encompassing rainfly to combat the elements. They also have excellent waterproof floors that are called "bathtubs" as they come up to about six inches on the side of the tent. Additionaly the seams are very hardy and strong throughout the tent.
The downside to the 4-season tent? Price. You can end up paying a hefty sum for the technology built in to keep you protected.
Also, as I alluded to above, if you are camping in the middle of summer you will want air movement through your tent to keep things cooler. 4-season tents are generally made to inhibit the elements from cutting through the camping tent, which is great in the winter and not so great in balmy summer.
So where does a family tent fit into these ratings? A family tent is simply a 3-season tent.
What’s going on with a convertible 3-4 season tent? This kind of tent generally has some sort of built in airflow ventilator. I would not take this type tent into the backcountry where survival was important. If the ventilator malfunctioned and it would not close, you could become an unhappy camper pretty fast.
Bottom line: The 3-season tent is the recommended choice for the majority of campers. It is the most cost effective tent and will allow the user to camp in a variety of conditions up to, but not including, severe winter weather conditions.
If you camp from Spring, Summer and Fall, a 3-season camping tent will fill your needs. If you camp where severe winter weather is possible then you should be getting a 4-season camping tent.
About the Author: A father of two daughters, Chris loves the outdoors and counts camping, skiing and bicycling as his favorite pursuits. Chris is the owner of http://www.camping-tent-guide.com, a website for camping tent information, camping tips and outdoor adventure discussion.
Source: www.isnare.com
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Appalachian Mountain Club – Outdoor Recreation, Education ... |
Members from Maine to Virginia participate in hiking, paddling, skiing, and other outdoor activities. Includes links to lodging destinations, local chapters ... |
www.outdoors.org |
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Outdoors in the Yahoo! Directory |
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Adventure Travel and Outdoor Recreation - GORP.com |
Resource for outdoor sports, adventure, and travel. Includes destination, activity, and gear directories plus news, articles, and forums. |
gorp.away.com |
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Outdoors - UK Camping Equipment Supplier |
Shops operated by the Scout Association. Site includes catalogue, locations of stores and online shopping. |
www.outdoors.ltd.uk |
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ESPN Outdoors - Outdoors Home |
The latest in Outdoors news and information, all at ESPN.com. |
espn.go.com |
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Outdoors Network - Fishing, Fly Fishing, Hunting, Lefty Kreh, BASS |
Fishing , Fly Fishing, Hunting , Lefty Kreh, BASS and more, from Outdoors Network - Bringing the Outdoors Indoors. |
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Great Outdoors |
Experience the outdoors online -- hiking, skiing, camping, and mountain biking with gear reviews and adventure profiles. |
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Open Directory - Recreation: Outdoors |
Recreation: Travel: Specialty Travel: Adventure and Sports (237); Science: Environment (6754); Shopping: Recreation: Outdoors (2491); Society: Gay, Lesbian, ... |
dmoz.org |
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MaineToday.com | Outdoors |
OUTDOOR NEWS. Trail backers back to work raising money The 55-mile Eastern Trail pedestrian and bicycle ... Seen Outdoors Were you seen in Maine, today? ... |
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Outdoors |
Los Angeles Times Travel Guide - Tips, discounts and world destinations from the Los Angeles Times travel section. |
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SFGate: Sports: Outdoors |
Once mighty wool makes comeback in outdoor gear (11/23). MAIN EVENTS: Discover fabulous fungus, learn to hunt and hear stories of the great outdoors (11/30) ... |
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Detroit News Online | Outdoors |
Outdoors. Deer numbers are up. 17-point buck and numerous 200-pounders mark ... Outdoors. Deer hunt unites families. Old and young, as well as male and ... |
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Google Directory - Recreation > Outdoors |
Science > Environment (7762) Shopping > Recreation > Outdoors (2778) Society > Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual > Recreation > Outdoors (50) ... |
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St. Petersburg Times Online: Outdoors |
The weather is forecast to become more favorable for fishing and being outdoors in general. Go to article · Root for cleaner water to find kings ... |
www.sptimes.com |
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Sports : Outdoors -- Philadelphia Inquirer |
OUTDOORS LINKS. Outdoors Calendar Listing of clubs and activities in the area Resources How to get listed; whom to contact. RECENT STORIES ... |
www.philly.com |
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Welcome to Cotswold Outdoor Ltd - outdoor & travel clothing ... |
Find travel and active wear, camping and climbing equipment, rucksacks, accessories, and sleeping bags. |
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Outdoors: South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
South Florida's breaking news site, with news, sports and information updated constantly throughout the day. |
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Outdoor Clothing - Rock Climbing Equipment - Camping Gear - Hiking ... |
UK based outdoor clothing retailer. Stock includes rock climbing equipment, camping gear, stoves, tents hiking boots, waterproofs, fleeces, ht and gloves. |
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Outdoors T-Shirts and Gifts : CafePress.com : Shop Over 35 Million ... |
CafePress has over 9660 unique , outdoors designs on more than 98600 T-Shirts and Gifts. Narrow your search with topics like funny outdoors, or nature, ... |
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Great outdoors: Hunting, fishing, biking and running news ... |
Top Outdoors Stories. Strong mast crop affects hunters now, next year ... Bill Cochran's Outdoors. You are never more alive than when a predator ... |
www.roanoke.com |
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