Texsport Kendall Square Dome Tent

Large enough to accommodate five, this 10-foot-square domed tent protects campers during three seasons and features a half-length four-peak rainfly. A D-style door with zippered storm flap, windows, and large roof panels let in lots of light and air and are made of fine mesh to screen out insects as small as no-see-ums. Inside there's a mesh storage pocket. Measuring 78 inches high at its tallest point, the tent sets up on a two-pole pin-and-ring frame system with shock-corded fiberglass poles. Durable steel clips secure tent to frame. Polyurethane coats heavy-duty, flame-retardant taffeta walls and rainfly. The floor is rip-stop polyethylene. Stakes and a carry/storage bag come with the tent. Setup instructions are included.

Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.

Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.

For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.

Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.

Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.

Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

Customer Review: Beware! Old and Used Tent from Amazon!
To be honest, I was excited that I was going to get my first tent and I plan to use it really soon. However, after I received it today, I was surprised to find out that the condition of the tent was in. It was not new at all and as matter of fact, it was very used. The carrying bag has dirt/grass over it. The tent was folded nicely in a box to fool me to think that it was new but once I opened up the tent, I notice that the tent has probably been used many times. I guess it was a customer-returned item before. I am a regular customer of Amazon. It's not my first time that I received an used product from Amazon but this time the condition of this tent was just not acceptable (I would probably find a newer tent in a thrifty store). Needless to say, I am returning this but the shipping charge will be costly and straight coming out of my pocket. What a disappointing experience.

Use camping supply lists to make sure your camping trips have everything you need.

The great question of our time is 'how can the Internet make camping better?' Just kidding. Camping is all about getting away from home, crowds, traffic, civilization, and, yes, getting away from the Internet and the World-Wide-Web.

However, just because you're trying to get away from technology and crowds, doesn't mean you can't use the web to make your 2008 camping experience your best ever.

Just start by using the web to find a great camping supplies checklist to speed your camping packing and ensure enjoyment. Having a great camp packing checklist makes your preparation easy and ensures you don't forget essential items Type 'free printable camping supplies list' into your search engine. You'll find a number of excellent lists. Find the one that seems best to you, or copy and paste from them to create your own list in your word processor.

About a week before your trip go through the list carefully. Look for things that might be missing from the list - especially anything that might be unique to this particular camping trip. Add these items to the list.

Check off all the items in the camping list that you have. Be careful - this is where a mistake could mess up your trip. For those items that you *don't* have - I like to draw little square check boxes next to them, and then during the week I have plenty of time to go buy them, and 'check them off' the list.

Now it's time to go on your camping trip and enjoy yourself. But, bring the printed out list with you. During the weekend, I promise you, you'll inevitably find some things that weren't on the list but that you wish you'd brought with you. Note them down on the paper list. And, when you get home, edit your list and add these items. After a couple trips, you'll have a camping list that's 99.9% perfect for your own special style of camping!

That's all there is to it go find your camping supply list now, print it out, and enjoy the great outdoors!

My favorite list is this camping supply checklist. It's free and printable. For other trips I like this travel list and using a printable calendar.