Sleeping in the backcountry is one of my favorite aspects of family backpacking. There is nothing quite like falling asleep with the setting sun and waking up to beautiful sunrises and the sounds of birds to get you in a healthy rhythm. With the right gear, it also can be comfortable and cozy sleeping outdoors, no matter what mother nature throws at you. Many options are available for backpacking tents, and if you are just starting out purchasing gear, a visit to your local REI would be helpful to better understand what’s out there, you also have the option to research into some of the biggest tents that could comfortably sleep a family, for example, see at allcampingstuff.com. The people that work there are passionate about outdoor adventures and they genuinely like helping you make the right purchases for your own travels. If there isn’t an REI near you, their website has great information to help you choose how best to spend your hard earned cash. They even have rental equipment, including tents and backpacks, available in many of their stores so that you can try out backpacking without investing a large amount of money. I’ve also purchased much loved gear on both Amazon and Sierra Trading Post. So no matter where you live, family backpacking tents and gear is easily accessible.
Family Backpacking Tents:
Camping and backpacking gear can be extremely pricey, so you want to be content with the purchases you make. Your family backpacking tents will probably be your most expensive gear purchase, at least it was for us. When purchasing tents, you must decide what is most important to you- cost, comfort or weight. Weight is usually the biggest factor when it comes to choosing a tent because you’ll be carrying in on your shoulders, and generally the less weight a tent has, the more you can expect to pay for it. Since we are always looking to make budget-friendly purchases, we chose as one of the two tents we carry the Big Agnes Lynx Pass 4, a large backpacking tent that falls somewhere in the middle of price and weight, while at the same time being quite comfortable. At almost 8 pounds, it isn’t light, but since three to four people share the large space, it’s per person weight is more than adequate. I cannot say enough about this tent- we absolutely LOVE it. Three people sleep with lots of room for gear, and the vestibule keeps boots left out dry out of the weather. It has kept us warm and dry in torrential downpours and stayed upright in harsh winds. It is roomy and comfortable and all the extra storage pockets keeps the night time fumbling for gear to a minimum. I will always buy tents from Big Agnes in the future because this one is awesome. Sadly, they no longer make this model. But while this exact tent is no longer available in stores, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 4 Person Tent
As I said before, we are budget conscious about our gear purchases, and have only purchased one high quality backpacking tent. It is not always feasible to spend upwards of five hundred dollars on a tent. Our other tent (we actually have two of these) is a cheap two person tent we picked up online- the Embark Red 2 Person Dome Tent
There are countless choices for family backpacking tents available, so no matter what your priorities are- weight, cost or comfort, you should be able to find a tent right for you to have many wonderful backpacking adventures!