I've come to recognize the joy in being able to pull up the car, set up the site and enjoy the great outdoors in one of the seemingly infinite number of state and national parks. You get the benefits of experiencing the outdoors, without the crazy work and danger part. Having spent years researching alpine climbing gear, I didn’t want to go through that again, so I reached out to Coleman, a company that has comfort camping down cold. Here are a few of the products they sent us to check out.
All campsites live and die by the tent, and Coleman’s 3 Person Sundome 3 is perfect for family camping. We could squeeze in two adults and two kids, but you have to be pretty comfortable with each other. I’d say this tent is ideal for the kids when the parents sleep in the RV, or for the parents when the kids are back home with Grandma and Grandpa. Not being one to read instructions, I laid it out, set up the poles and set the first clip. That’s when I saw you had to thread the poles through the top sleeve…then set the clip. Even with that hiccup, the tent was up in a just a few minutes. It was shaping up to be a beautiful night and we skipped the rainfly so we could gaze at the stars.
When I hit the really high country, my sleeping bag is crucial: it has to be warm and light. So my alpine sleeping bags are, frankly, constricting and claustrophobia-inducing to save weight. What's more, if the temps are warm, they are a furnace. The one Coleman sent was a revelation! Their “adjustable comfort” sleeping bag has more features than a swiss army knife. First, the inside has a nice cottony feel - very comfortable. Then it has a unique layering system. There’s a lightweight topsheet that you can use by itself for hot nights, you can keep your feet under the thicker insulation, or zip yourself up in the whole thing. The comfort range says 30 to 70 degrees, but I’d say 40’s would be as low as I’d like to go, and if it gets colder than that…you shouldn’t be camping. It’s a generously shaped rectangle so there’s plenty of room to move, and it has a nice big “pillow pad” area for your head.
And after a day of exploring, returning to camp to chill is a pleasure. Coleman sent us their Patio Sling Chair to rest our weary selves in. These chairs are getting a ton of use because not only are they great for camping, they are perfect for the beach. The neatest feature is the folding cup holder (a beer fits nicely too, just saying). Speaking of which, the Coleman wheeled cooler is perfect to store beer, juice boxes, wine, snacks and other necessities. I found it the right size, not too massive that I couldn’t pick it up to get it in the car, but still large enough for this family of four. The Packaway Picnic table was a neat addition to our campsite. It was best suited to the kids, but the set up was easy, it is very light, and having our own table came in handy.
Of course, the kids' favorite Coleman camping accessories were the flashlights. I gotta' say they are pretty cool. The small LED flashlight was plenty bright, even in the “low light” mode. And the best thing is they come with batteries included. That kind of attention to detail does make things a good bit easier.
So with age comes an appreciation of ease and versatility. Yes, I’ll still be hitting the high peaks with my climbing buddies, but I’ll also be enjoying the wilderness with my family in comfort.
***
[Coleman sent products samples for review. No compensation was received for this article]
