New to tent camping, need ideas for possible Sun n fun

[Matthew]

Oh, yeah, be ready for this: you’re going to sleep poorly that first night. You’re going to do a lot of walking. You might sleep a little better the next night. Repeat for as many days as you are there. The flight home will be in a nice cool and low humidity environment with a lot of white noise. Bring coffee.

 

[Ed Haywood]

"Zero adult camping experience" My advice is buy a cheap tent and try it out. There's a good chance you might just want to toss it in a dumpster rather than pack it up and bring it back home again.

That's fair. Though my general advice is avoid cheap tents like the plague. So once you decide you do like camping and want to do it again, a quality backpacking or mountaineering tent will make a big difference in enjoyment. Low and tight, full fly, bathtub floor. A cheap screen room, canopy, or cabin-style tent can make a good secondary shelter for dressing and hanging out, but for sleeping you want something that will withstand thunderstorms and keep you dry.

 

[MajorTurbulence]

I wouldn't recommend the Claw, even though many people swear by them. I've seen them break.

I have the Claw but never used it. Most of the designs are very similar in principle although some may have their merits in certain conditions. What failure points did you actually witness on the Claw?

 

[Lowflynjack]

I have the Claw but never used it. Most of the designs are very similar in principle although some may have their merits in certain conditions. What failure points did you actually witness on the Claw?

From what I've seen, the Claw has a pivot point that breaks. That design is completely different than the angle iron style. They're pretty fail proof. A piece of angle with holes on both sides and long stakes that go into the ground.

I've been in some pretty rough storms at Oshkosh and had no issues, but to be fair, so have a lot of people with the Claw and I've only seen a few failures.

 

[baboss]

One failure when it comes to tie downs, which I believe Aviation Consumer pointed out in one of their tie-down shootout/reviews, is people don't RTFM for their tie-down system.
For instance, the Claw is to be used as a straight pull directly under the tiedown point, not off to the side or angled. Use them as they're designed.

My only gripe about the Claw system is the bag it comes in could be just a tiny bit bigger. But somehow I get it all stuffed back into the bag after Oshkosh every year.

I loudly 2nd the opinion to not cheap out on the tent. You'll be fine until one time you won't, and then life will suck. You see it every year at Oshkosh and we know SunNFun gets hit with bad storms too.

 

[SelahEnergyAdvisors82]

Hilton makes a great tent, so does Hyatt.
I was stationed at Eglin, back in the day. I don't sleep on the ground in Florida.
Everything else is like packing for a weekend away in Florida. Sunblock, bug spray, body spray, and some clothing. The amount depends on how long you stay, how bad you are willing to smell, and how much your plane can
carry.

Agreed... no ground camping in Florida...

 

[Brad W]

I suggest to pay attention to the port o john clean out trucks...and try to be the first to visit as they pull away. Smells better and it's a lot cleaner.

 

[4RNB]

I suggest to pay attention to the port o john clean out trucks...and try to be the first to visit as they pull away. Smells better and it's a lot cleaner.

Thanks, good tip. Or else find the cooler that belongs to the early bird showers guy.