Camping gear

[Vannis]

I'm looking to buy a decent tent and a good warm weather sleeping bag. Not doing any backpacking, just driving to camp sites and camping there, so weight isn't an issue. Was looking at some of the 2-3 person tents from hard wear since they were recomended from a friend but I'm curious as to what the campers of bg like. Price range isn't too bad nothing more than like 400 dollars for a tent.

[solanis]

I highly recommend Wiggy sleeping bags. I lived in the Utah mountains for a few months in winter, using their core/outer system really saved some lives in the -40F temps at night. I can only imagine their bags made for higher temps are just as good. The don't look pretty, but they're indestructible and light.

These bags are for hardcore outdoorsmen though, if you're car camping just go to a sports authority and buy something cheap.

[miokomioko]

I've had this bag for many years now and it has served me very well on top of one of these.

[Askari0]

From my experience in just about anything from

http://www.eurekatent.com/

Will do you really well for what you're doing. I've had a single man Eureka for almost 6-7 years and it's just now starting to fall apart. The tents are fairly easy to set up and really well built. No idea on their sleeping bags though, but I know Ozark Trail makes some fairly decent ones.

[Elesirdur]

Just be clear about what style and temperature you want for your bag. Mummy bags are generally warmer than barrel bags, so you can get a lighter mummy bag that can keep you comfortable in cooler weather than an equivalent barrel bag. However, some people find mummy bags claustrophobic, and being able to fully unzip a barrel bag into a big blanket thing is very nice. Temperature rating is a big thing too. If you know you're only going to be going in the summer and warm parts of spring and fall you can opt for a much lighter bag. Since you're from AZ I think a pretty light bag would work well, though you might want a desert bag or something that's good with the cold, dry nights. Here in the rainforest of the Pac NW it's always cool and moist at night, even in August.

Any decent camping store (ie. not a WalMart) will have numerous good brands. Find one that's in your price range, comfortable, and the demo model looks well stitched and constructed. Metal zippers are a bonus too. I always find plastic ones jamming up on me and metal zips can be greased with talc or tailor's chalk.

Here's a few things to always bring camping; knife, hatchet/axe, fire-starter, and rope. You would be amazed at how nice it is to have rope out in the bush; be it for hanging a tarp, a clothes line, hanging a food cache, a sling for carrying firewood, or just something to tie around your six-pack when you toss it in the lake so it's always at hand and the perfect temperature. Cheap nylon or poly cord from the hardware store works great since it's cheap and you won't mind cutting bits off.

[Slapper]

Get this sleeping bag:
http://26.media.tumblr.com/FP46RbWec...w4aho1_500.jpg