What a wonderful way to experience the outdoors and make lasting memories. Camping can be great fun for people of all ages, especially when you learn the lingo. Take a look at these 11 Common Camping Terms To Know.
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Camping Styles
1. Frontcountry/Car Camping-This type of camping generally takes place in a well-established area that you can drive up to or near to for unloading your equipment for set-up. Often amenities such as running water and restrooms are available.
2. Backcountry/Wilderness Camping-As it sounds, this type of camping is truly roughing it. No bathrooms or well-kept campsites. If a site has no sources of natural water available, it is called dry camping.
For your safety when camping, it is critically important that someone knows where you are going and how long you plan to be gone. That way if you do not return when you are supposed to, he or she can alert authorities.
3. Bivouacing-Related to backcountry camping, this term means to set up a temporary shelter because weather or other factors prevent you from reaching your intended camping spot on the expected timeline.
Common Camping Tent Shapes
4. A-Frame-The shape of the good ole’ pup tent that Snoopy and crew camp in. A pole runs along the top of the tent giving the classic A shape. Lots of headroom is a hallmark of this tent shape.
5. Dome-Shaped-Trails.com puts it well when they say this tent resembles an” igloo shape with a rounded top”. Dome tents are more aerodynamic than the A-frame which makes them good (when staked down properly) in windy and other adverse weather conditions.
6. Pop-Up/Easy Up Tents-Assembled in just a few simple steps, these tents are great for the occasional camper. Based on my own observation, these tents really are not the best for rough weather-conditions or frequent multi-day use.
7. Semi-Geodesic and Geodesic-The most extreme weather friendly tents of all. Especially well-suited for mountain camping. Trails.com notes that one of the defining feature of this tent is that “the poles criss-cross over the surface, intersecting to form triangles.”
Camping Tent Parts
8. Groundsheet-A piece of waterproof tarp material the size of your tent (Camping World). Possibly a little larger if not sewn into the bottom of the tent. This helps protects the tent from the ground and the elements.
9. Guy Line-Rope or paracord that is attached to the tent on one end and staked to the ground on the other to add stability to the tent. These lines also help with making sure that tent weather proofing features function properly.
The guy lines are the ones that the kids are always tripping over. I have started to see more and more people buying the Glow-In-The-Dark Paracord
10. Rain Fly/Tent Fly-This outer layer of the tent (which is many times detachable) is used to protect the rest of the tent (and you) from the rain, sun, and other outdoor elements.
11. Vestibule/Garage-This optional add-on (built into very few tents), provides extra space to store gear and provides a nice cover for the opening of your tent when you are getting in and out in the rain.
For more Camping Tips in addition to the camping terms above:
7 Pieces of Camping Gear Worth Every Penny
5 Things To Know About A Camping Tent
50 Budget-Friendly Camping Supplies for Gift Baskets
