If you’re an avid outdoorsman and camper like me, I think choosing the right tent is a key ingredient to a successful camping trip.  Locating the exact tent you need may be confusing at times.  Getting an uninformed salesperson, giving incorrect advice, can make the choice even more difficult.  Having an idea about what you are looking for before you get to specific products, will put you ahead of the game.  I believe it is always better to keep things simple, so keep this acronym in mind when shopping for your next, possibly your first tent: D.E.W.

D = Durable – A tent you are willing to spend your hard-earned money on needs to be durable.  The stitching needs to be clean and doubled up on the portions of the tent that receive the most wear, like the floor and doorways.  The poles should be made of aluminum so they do not break in cold weather.

E = Easy to set up - A tent that cannot be set up quickly, especially during bad weather, does you no good.  A well-designed tent can be set up by two people, with practice, in less than a few minutes.  This is vital if you are back-packing and a thunderstorm sneaks up on you.  If it takes you more than 2-3 minutes to set up your tent, all of your gear will get wet before you can erect it.

W = Weather resistant – Once you have the tent set up and you are dry, the tent needs to keep you that way.  A good tent should have a full-length, seam-sealed fly that will keep you dry from both falling rain and splattering rain.  No matter what anyone tells you, no tent is waterproof if set up in the wrong place.  That being said, every seam on the tent should either be factory sealed or sealed after purchase.

Putting in the time and effort to make a well thought out purchase is the way to kick off the summer and the first of many camping trips.

For additional local numbers to meet your camping needs, or anything else in the Fargo-Moorhead area, click on www.directoryoffargomoorhead.com.