Coleman Sundome 4

“Go car camping first. Pick a weekend when it's not going to rain so you don't need to deal with tarps. Minimum needs are ... 1. A tent and a small mallet for putting in stakes 2. Camp pad or mattress. If you're camping someplace warm, it's easy. Just get something comfortable and transportable. If it's cold you need something insulated, as the cold ground will suck all of the heat out of your body with a generic air mattress. 3. Sleeping bags or a pile of blankets and pillows. Sleeping bags are temperature rated. Assume they really work down to about 10F above their rating. eg a 30F degree bag is good for 40F and higher 4. A two burner gas stove of some kind, plus pots and cookware you don't mind using on it. And fuel plus a lighter or matches 5. A cooler that you can fill with ice and the food items that would spoil 6. Lighting: headlamps, flashlights, lantern, a light for inside your tent 7. A small towel or doormat to put outside the door of your tent, and a small dust broom and dust pan for getting out dust and dirt that gets in despite your best intentions 6. Fun stuff that you can do when you are disconnected from the grid. 7. A good, can-do attitude Borrow what you can. Coleman and Ozark trail make some good quality equipment that's well suited to family car camping. A coleman sundome 4 person tent is $70, an ozark trail 2 burner stove is under $20, ozark trail 30 degree bags are under $40 each, non-insulated self-inflating Ozark trail camp pads are around $30 each. You probably already have most of the other things. Practice setting up your tent in your living room or yard before you go.”