Product Description
From Backpacker magazine: the lowdown on family car camping and tent camping—no experience necessary! • Easy-to-use guide for families and first-time campers: how to do it, what to buy, best places to go, and what to do when you get there • Visual, user-friendly design provides quick-access information • Tips on keeping kids happy, healthy, and motivated during the trip plus how to engage them in the natural world Buck Tilton has set up camp with his… More >>
Tent And Car Camper’s Handbook: Advice for Families & First-timers
5 Comments
There have been several prior “first-timer” and “family” books, including an excellent one published by the Sierra Club. This one does an excellent job of helping families new to camping and provides a quality introduction to making the transition to extended walking away from car campgrounds.
The Handbook is divided into 11 chapters and 5-part Appendix with a good Index. Lots of illustrations, photographs, helpful sidebars and checklists. There are a wealth of ideas for keeping families and children busy, yet satisfied.
It is recommended that you keep a clean camp and store food in your vehicle – a major no no when it comes to bears. There is no mention of bear-proof canisters. Increasingly bears break into vehicles because they reconize ice chests are usually filled with food and are attracted to anything that has a scent (soap, toothpaste, food, insect repellent). There is no thought of recycling or taking home your refuse (and that of others) to recycle to reduce the burden on campgrounds and wildlands. They talk about staking a tent, when even the largest monster tents are now free-standing and self-supporting/
A strong thread of wisdom and experience runs throughout. After the Introduction, Ch. 2, “Getting Ready” covers tarps, tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags but omits discussion of sleeping bag liners for keeping clean and warm. Good overview of stoves, cookware, coolers and utensils but omits discussion of water filters for camp or day hikes. Good overview of layering, clothing, keeping warm and cool, and how to pack and unpack your vehicle. Ch 3 is a very generalized “where to go.”
Ch 4 is Camp Setup – campsite selection, tents, kitchen cleanup, hygiene, campground etiquette and breaking camp. Ch 5 is Family Matters – expectations by age, heat, dehydration, sun protection, insects, safety, kids and food, elderly and dogs. Ch 6 is Campfires – but lacks any discussion about not having a campfire where it is not appropriate, impact of charcoal and ash buildup, wood smoke; and not using a campfire as a television substitute – thereby precluding campers from getting to know the night sky and sounds.
Ch 7 does a good job with Mealtime in Camp, but ignores the good work of others such a Latimer (1991) Wilderness Cuisine – how to prepare and enjoy fine food on the trail and in camp, and Prater and Mendenhall (1982) Gorp, Glop & Glue Stew – favorite foods from 165 outdoor experts. The authors make reference to charcoal briquettes. These are bad! A by-product of oil refinery cracking towers, they leave a residue that is hard to clean up and hard to properly deal with when finished and it contributes to poor air quality.
Ch 8 is First Aid is good, however, it makes reference to poison ivy “leaves of three, let it be.” The phrase and botanical description of poison ivy and oak is “leaflets of three, . . .” – three parts of one leaf. Ch 9 Camp Activities includes hiking, bicycling, basic canoeing and PFDs, fishing and wildlife viewing.
Ch 10, On Your Own, is car camping where there are no campgrounds. There is no discussion about minimizing your impact. Discussion of water filters refers to “micron” (no such measuring unit), instead of “micrometers” (millionths of a meter). It is discussed that toilet paper does not easily decompose, but there is no mention of taking your toilet paper and other hygiene items home for recycling or proper refuse discarding. Ch 11 covers Coming Home, cleaning up and getting ready for the next trip.
Appendix A, Leave No Trace, makes no mention of carrying out all refuse to take home and recycle. It again makes reference to camp fires with no concept of not having a fire and enjoying the dark night sky. Appendix B, Best of the Best Campgrounds is very brief and generalized – state-by-state, with a few recommendations. Appendix C, Boredome Busters, represents an extremely tiny portion of the techniques of Yosemite Institute instructors. If this book is aimed at families with children, the counter-boredom factor can easily and greatly be improved. Appendix D, is Camping checklist, Appendix E, Resources, is a good introduction, but too generalized. Many outfitters are increasingly family-oriented such as REI and LL Bean.
This is a family-friendly, family-oriented book. However, car camping tends to be high impact camping. The book can be greatly improved by multiple examples of how to minimize your impact while car camping, including proper food storage, carrying out any and all refuse and “restoring” a site to near natural before you leave.
Rating: 4 / 5
Disappointing text for those of us who appear to have a base knowledge of how to go camping, what to pack, what type of gear we need, etc. Great book for those who have not a clue how to go camping. Unfortunately, this book hit my recycle bin too fast and was not helpful at all for me. Was seeking more car camping guide, and this was not really addressed in this book. Great for non-RV owners like myself for equipment needs.
Rating: 2 / 5
This was such a good little book. I’ve just started tent camping. This was much better than most of the other books as it was geared to tent campers and not RVers. It gives all the “if you’re a beginner” details: what to buy, how to decide what to buy, what clothes you might need and recipes for cooking on an open fire. Just about everything you need to get started. I’m just sorry I bought it after I had all my camping gear!!
Rating: 3 / 5
Whether you’re camping via car, tent or a combination of both, the latest publication from the Backpacker magazine series TENT AND CAR CAMPER’S HANDBOOK is for you: it uses a visual design with black and white photos and sidebars of information to make it easy to access details, it covers all the basics from equipment to what to pack and it is packed with ideas on how to include the kids in a family camping trip. In fact, families and non-campers are the focus here, making it a delightful recommendation for those who have discovered competing books usually assume a foundation of camping knowledge.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Rating: 5 / 5
As an avid camper who enjoys any excuse to get out into the wilderness from the mountains of the Rockies to the Boundary Waters canoe area to the wilds of the Everglades. So, a book on camping needs to come up to a certain level of quality before I can recommend it. Recognizing that wilderness camping is not for everyone the authors of this book not only discuss the needs and techniques of primitive camping but cover the whole gamut up to the more modern camping with landscaped sites, running water and hot showers. They do an excellent job of providing detailed information on tents, sleeping gear, pads, clothing, cooking, and other camp gear. This is a great collection of a lot of the things that experience teaches after the fact but now you can have it to help plan beforehand. It’s like having a very experienced guide to walk you through everything you need to know and do in order to have a great camping experience. Where do you go, what questions do you ask, what you should expect at National forests, state parks, or private campgrounds. There is a great section on setting up camp from pitching the tent, setting up your bedding, setting up your cooking area, hygiene issues, and dealing with animal visitors. There are even sections on camping with kids, various easy camp recipes, basic first aid, and suggested activities.
The book concludes with several excellent appendixes including one that covers the ultimate standard in primitive camping – leave no trace philosophy. Additional appendixes include a list of the top 100 campgrounds around the U.S., activities to deal with boredom and children, and a camping checklist. Backpacker: Tent and Car Camper’s Handbook is an excellent resource and a highly recommended read.
Rating: 5 / 5