What is the most wind resistant tent you can get for beach camping?

porkstar3

My wife and I are camping on the beach at Galveston Island State Park this spring/summer. We currently have a Coleman dome tent, but it tends to really bend and flex in the wind. We're looking for something a little more sturdy. We usually keep most of our gear and stuff outside the tent under a gazebo shelter, so storage, gear lofts, vestibules, etc. are not that big of an issue. We want to make this a longer stay than normal. A more sturdy tent that doesn't cave in and use up all the interior space will make all the difference.

We'd like plenty of room if possible. My wife and I are both....uh...."full figured" so the person capacity needs to be a bit "negotiable.".

Answer
You will need to spend a little more to get a stronger tent. You can stay with a Coleman but at the price range several other tent makers are better priced for a rigid tent. I like the Coleman Heka x tent for a rigid tent design and yet still affordable, their next level tent the helios x3 is an expedition class with expedition price to go with it.

Getting away from Coleman to REI brands they have a strong Multi season called the Mountain 2 with high ratings that is cheaper in price then the Coleman Helios.

Anyway the key to having your tent hold up in the wind is having it set properly to the wind, the low end facing the predominate wind direction and having some kind of wind break. a picnic table, tree, your car, a large pile of drift wood, whatever you can find.

Good luck!

So what is a good square footish for a two person tent?

Jill

So am looking for a tent that is a good squiar foot for 2 people but not crowrd and cheep it whould be for the beach in summer

Answer
7x7 would be as small as I would go you need the space for air to move and stow gear. I recommend a dome style for the beach as these are more resistant to wind and are free standing meaning you don't have to stake out the tent for it to work. Coleman tents make a good dome style tent that won't break the bank. Note that this is a car camping tent and too heavy for back packing.
http://www.coleman.com/product/sundomereg-3-tent/2000007828?contextCategory=DomeTents

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Question on Beach Tent/Shelter?

Woon

Hi, I am thinking of getting a beach tent for a day on the beach. Let me tell you what I need and then proceed with the question.

I want something that has a high sun protection rating and portable. They should be easy to setup and and can fit two adults. Preferably can shade the entire body when the adults lie down.

It is only for my wife and I to be sheltered for a couple of hours, we are not going to spend the night at the beach or anything.

I looked online and many of the models promises very easy setups. However, they looked light and flimsy.

Does beach tents get blown away easily? must I use tent pegs to anchor it down? If yes, how could that be easy to setup?

They are some models that have 'pockets' at the side and I am suppose to scoop sand and the weigh it down. Does this actually work? I know sand can heavy but the beach tent's shape acts like a 'catchment' for strong wind...

can someone share. I know this sound like a stupid question. But I grow up in a place without nice beaches so this is new to me.

Answer
You may want look up "Beach Cabana" on google. Here: http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&safe=off&q=beach%20cabana&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf

They are usually light since they expect people to be carrying beach chairs, towels, and coolers. Sitting in the shade will be 100% sun protection, but you still have to watch out for the rays reflecting off the sand. The only way to avoid that is to zip a tent shut and bake inside of it. If it provides shade, you`ll be good.

Yes it`ll blow away if its not weighed down one way or another. Its essentially a kite if you think about it or even a parachute. If you`re laying in it obviously it wont blow away but if you throw a small cooler in the back there shouldnt be any problems. the ones with the "sand pockets" are better than just the regular pegs. The pegs wont hold in the sand.

Good place in England to go camping with friends near a beach?

Jamie

Hey guys, me and some friends are planning to go camping for a few days in the summer holidays. We're looking for somewhere really nice with a beach but not somewhere too overpopulated, tacky or somewhere deserted.

Basically we want to chill on a beach at night with a fire, bbq and some alcohol just have a laugh.

We're located in the South but can drive or get the train any reasonable distance say 4 hours away.

Answer
Almost every bit of beach in UK fires are illegal. Far out places and proper smoke control maybe you'll get away with it but the fines can be very heavy. A couple of big portables stoves would be a better idea but the atmosphere isn't the same sat around a stove with a couple of guitars.
I've camped in every county along the south coast on beaches, the Purbeck Hills, South Downs, Dartmoor, Exmoor, all sorts, scrimmed up in a small green tent and with fires that are very well controlled.
I was an outdoor instructor in the Army so I can do 'stealth' fires and stay hidden reasonably OK, but every fire sends a signal of sorts either on the wind or by eye. Keeping the signal low is the idea.
That's not the idea with a big fire to sit around happily boozing and singing or whatever.
The ...maybe best....OK, I'll spill it out....best beach I know for convenience versus scenery and places to hide a tent is at Studland Bay which you can get to over the ferry at Sandbanks.
The bus from Bournemouth to Swanage, No50, goes over on it too.
Details on here.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090725164851AA4Gb30 . . . . .
Twenty minutes from the middle of Bournemouth and after the five minute ferry ride get off the bus the other side (there's a stop for the Studland beach) and walk along the beach for a mile. The public footpath to Swanage goes along there too, and half a mile of the beach is a nudist beach (first in UK, many years old, and some of the punters look like originals too)
There is an alternative path inland, well marked, to bypass it for those who want to.
In the summer it's busy but further along past the heather and the National Trust centre and car park which is OK for meals and coffees and has a cold shower outside for the swimmers, and then past the scrub wood and then it gets fine.
The woods give loads of firemaking materials but care is needed anywhere you go in UK if you want a fire so my normal advice is...don't bother.
Without a lot of experience even for a simple thing like a fire, you could be paying out money to the courts quite easily.
See mine on here for camping wild and Eleanor knows the score too.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090401125151AASteKR . . . . .
Here's the gaff about fires...for the Peak District but applies all over UK.
The guy on top carries a washing machine tub eh? Hell of a backpack he's got.....
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090918025837AAt7Yz6 . . . . . .
Bournemouth is hot. Not the staid retirement place of old.
It's got hot dance clubs, good food, and a long busy blue flag beach for the non-camping days, with plenty of entertainment.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090514165834AA8uGw8 . . . . .

|Newquay is more used to beach parties and fires than most places in UK, but not huge Guy Fawkes fires. You can get some good times in the coves overnight with the 'hot' visitors who know of Newquay's reputation and want some of it for themselves ( be careful of underage jailbait dressed up as older) and beach sleeping is fairly common but not a great idea in blowy weather which can raise the tides higher than the normal mark and catch people out...I live on an island, seen it loads of times at home and in Newquay, which gets a good surf running ...hence the boarding championships held there....take care.
Out of town at Crantock is a great campsite with good facilities but no fires are allowed.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090522124647AAoBQ6m . . .
Brighton gets good beach parties with small fires overnight but it's all pebbles. I've had a few good nights sleeping under the pier, and not alone.......but it's awkward for a tent unless you have strong steel pegs and a hammer to ram them through the pebbles, and there is nowhere conveniently close enough to put one up anywhere else
Good beaches in UK from personal experience
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090629131554AAanTzY . . . . .
There are hundreds of places reachable by public transport. Have fun, take care, and be brave.
Fortune favours the brave, but not the just plain daft,haha. Have a think about any place you get to, how to look 'non-camping' if necessary, and how to get out again.
First thing, anywhere you go...nightclub, town, valley, county, country...can I get out?I've traveled on five continents. That's the important bit. No getting out...no going home.
Mind those late buses that don't run, haha
Have fun.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Good place in England to go camping with friends near a beach?

beach tents wind image

Jamie

Hey guys, me and some friends are planning to go camping for a few days in the summer holidays. We're looking for somewhere really nice with a beach but not somewhere too overpopulated, tacky or somewhere deserted.

Basically we want to chill on a beach at night with a fire, bbq and some alcohol just have a laugh.

We're located in the South but can drive or get the train any reasonable distance say 4 hours away.

Answer
Almost every bit of beach in UK fires are illegal. Far out places and proper smoke control maybe you'll get away with it but the fines can be very heavy. A couple of big portables stoves would be a better idea but the atmosphere isn't the same sat around a stove with a couple of guitars.
I've camped in every county along the south coast on beaches, the Purbeck Hills, South Downs, Dartmoor, Exmoor, all sorts, scrimmed up in a small green tent and with fires that are very well controlled.
I was an outdoor instructor in the Army so I can do 'stealth' fires and stay hidden reasonably OK, but every fire sends a signal of sorts either on the wind or by eye. Keeping the signal low is the idea.
That's not the idea with a big fire to sit around happily boozing and singing or whatever.
The ...maybe best....OK, I'll spill it out....best beach I know for convenience versus scenery and places to hide a tent is at Studland Bay which you can get to over the ferry at Sandbanks.
The bus from Bournemouth to Swanage, No50, goes over on it too.
Details on here.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090725164851AA4Gb30 . . . . .
Twenty minutes from the middle of Bournemouth and after the five minute ferry ride get off the bus the other side (there's a stop for the Studland beach) and walk along the beach for a mile. The public footpath to Swanage goes along there too, and half a mile of the beach is a nudist beach (first in UK, many years old, and some of the punters look like originals too)
There is an alternative path inland, well marked, to bypass it for those who want to.
In the summer it's busy but further along past the heather and the National Trust centre and car park which is OK for meals and coffees and has a cold shower outside for the swimmers, and then past the scrub wood and then it gets fine.
The woods give loads of firemaking materials but care is needed anywhere you go in UK if you want a fire so my normal advice is...don't bother.
Without a lot of experience even for a simple thing like a fire, you could be paying out money to the courts quite easily.
See mine on here for camping wild and Eleanor knows the score too.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090401125151AASteKR . . . . .
Here's the gaff about fires...for the Peak District but applies all over UK.
The guy on top carries a washing machine tub eh? Hell of a backpack he's got.....
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090918025837AAt7Yz6 . . . . . .
Bournemouth is hot. Not the staid retirement place of old.
It's got hot dance clubs, good food, and a long busy blue flag beach for the non-camping days, with plenty of entertainment.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090514165834AA8uGw8 . . . . .

|Newquay is more used to beach parties and fires than most places in UK, but not huge Guy Fawkes fires. You can get some good times in the coves overnight with the 'hot' visitors who know of Newquay's reputation and want some of it for themselves ( be careful of underage jailbait dressed up as older) and beach sleeping is fairly common but not a great idea in blowy weather which can raise the tides higher than the normal mark and catch people out...I live on an island, seen it loads of times at home and in Newquay, which gets a good surf running ...hence the boarding championships held there....take care.
Out of town at Crantock is a great campsite with good facilities but no fires are allowed.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090522124647AAoBQ6m . . .
Brighton gets good beach parties with small fires overnight but it's all pebbles. I've had a few good nights sleeping under the pier, and not alone.......but it's awkward for a tent unless you have strong steel pegs and a hammer to ram them through the pebbles, and there is nowhere conveniently close enough to put one up anywhere else
Good beaches in UK from personal experience
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090629131554AAanTzY . . . . .
There are hundreds of places reachable by public transport. Have fun, take care, and be brave.
Fortune favours the brave, but not the just plain daft,haha. Have a think about any place you get to, how to look 'non-camping' if necessary, and how to get out again.
First thing, anywhere you go...nightclub, town, valley, county, country...can I get out?I've traveled on five continents. That's the important bit. No getting out...no going home.
Mind those late buses that don't run, haha
Have fun.

What is the difference between a freestanding tent and one that is not?

buckethead

I am shopping for a backpacking tent and I need some help.

Answer
A freestanding tent doesn't need guy lines. Normally the base is pegged out at the corners and there may be another peg half way along each side.
OK for casual use, on beaches for example, in calm weather. Can work OK for low super-lightweight tents for mountain running overnighters, ( 2 or 3 day long distance events) saving the weight of a few pegs and some rope. When you're inside your own weight stops it blowing away.

Most tents have guy lines to help with stabilty. Get the guys tight enough to keep the fabric taut.
Loose flappy tents wear out quicker as the wind slams into them instead of flowing around and over them.
They are also noisy and uncomfortable to sleep in.
Taut tents run water off easily, wear better, are quieter, and are more pleasing to stay in.
Lay a waterproof sheet on the ground and pitch the tent over that. In tent talk it's called a footprint. Any sheet big enough will do. You don't have to buy a specific one if advertised for the tent. Those just make more money.
Tuck the edges under when the tent is up so that water runs off outside the sheet and then the underneath stays dry and clean.
Store tents dry or they'll go musty.
Large canvas ones stored wet can actually catch fire and it was a constant problem in the army finding the space to dry a couple of dozen 160lb tents after manouvres in bad weather, before packing them for storage.
Bugs multiply as in a compost heap getting hot and the beeswax proofing smoulders, then flares up.
Have fun shopping.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Is there a car camping tent that is thick enough to stay warm in wind and cold weather?

beach tents wind image

Daniel

I want a tent that doesn't have paper thin walls that has windows you can look out of or have zipped up so that you can stay warm. weight isn't really important. I have a Coleman tent now which is great for beach camping but I took it to around 6,000 feet in Yosemite last summer and we ended up having to go stay in a motel the next night because we were so cold. I don't need a three pound backpacking tent. I know I could just get a really nice sleeping bag or something but I wish they had a tent that you could actually hang out in or fall asleep next to your significant other without being mummified. any advice?

Answer
Tents aren't made to insulate, they're really just meant to keep the rain and wind off. What you need is a warmer sleeping bag. They make ones that will keep you warm in a blizzard on top of a mountain, but don't get one of those because you will be way too hot.

http://www.rei.com/category/4500001_Sleeping+Bags
See on the left where it has categories and near the middle you can choose by temperature ratings? You probably want one in the zone of 15-29 or 30-39.

But if weight is no problem, like if you're car camping, you can just take a few extra blankets. :) A foam sleeping pad also helps, because it will insulate you from the cold ground.

Is there a particular brand/type of camping tent that is more sturdy in high winds?

porkstar3

My wife and I go beach camping a lot during the summer. We have a very nice Coleman tent, but it doesn't handle wind very well. I usually sleep with the side of the tent whacking me in the face most of the night.

Answer
A "mountaineering" tent is designed for high mountains and high winds which works OK in freezing temperatures, but may be a bit too stuffy (and damp) in moderate climes. Mountain Hardware makes a few excellent models: http://www.rei.com/product/732212

Stephenson's Warmlite tents with optional stabilizers can survive in winds up to 160 MPH, according to them. http://www.warmlite.com/tents.htm

Here are some tips for setting up any tent in high winds: http://www.bicycletouring101.com/CampTentHighWinds.htm

Powered by Yahoo! Answers