So, does anyone put ice in the cooler first, and then shove their drinks/food into the ice? I have a friend who does it that way. I was curious if anyone else does this besides him. Perhaps he only does this at parties or fishing trips and not for actual camping.

Growing up, my parents taught me to put all the drinks and food into the cooler, and then put a block of ice on top because blocks of ice stay frozen longer and keep everything cooler. We had a place right around the corner from our house that sold blocks. (Naturally if you didn’t want something squished then you could lay that item on top, or put it into a tray that sits on top. Our Coleman cooler had a tray.)

My parents taught me when using bags of ice, put all the drinks and food into the cooler, then pour bags of loose ice cubes in that fills in the cracks to the top of the cooler and across the whole surface so you can’t really see anything without digging for it.

(I read in another couple posts that jugs of frozen water work better to keep cool than loose ice cubes. Makes sense to me; acts like a block of ice. I also read in a post that the liquid water after the ice melts keeps the cooler colder than the loose cubes so it should be left in the cooler if possible rather than being drained and refilled with ice. I understand it’s been scientifically proven. But I would have thought that once the ice melts, then it’s no longer 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the cooler anymore.)

Ps—it drives me nuts that he shoves food and drinks into the ice and leaves a ton of space around them or above them. The ice only goes around halfway up the cans . . . Lots of air still available. Also he doesn’t completely cover the drinks with ice either. I figured the wisdom was to put ice in last. But that’s just the way my parents did it so I assumed.

I’m getting into hiking and would like to go camping with my girlfriend, using the tent to travel around the country.

I want to buy a 3-person tent, but I’m realizing just how little I know about the subject.

I’m looking for a durable tent that strikes a good balance regarding weight, suitable for both campsites and hiking trips.

Is a tunnel tent or a freestanding one better?

For instance, I’m under the impression that a freestanding tent is easier to pitch and more adaptable to different types of terrain—am I mistaken?

For hikes ranging from the coast to the mountains at lower altitudes (max 2,000–2,500 meters), would you recommend a 4-season or a 3-season tent?

I’ve also come across the Hilleberg brand; does it really make sense to spend that much, even with online discounts? Is the price justified, or are there other brands and tents you’d recommend?

Any advice is welcome—thanks!

Hello! I went camping after a long time using a tent that belonged to my parents. We managed to set it up, but there are extra pieces of fabric for making divisions and hangers that we couldn't figure out where they needed to be placed. Anyone has/had a the same tent that could help me out? It's a SwissGear model 39003 (something like that of what I could still read in the inside label) thank you

Hey fam,

I've been camping for decades, paddling the BWCA and the Wisconsin rivers and sleeping on sandbars, backpacking the national parks, etc, but I'm near 40 now, and my body just feels like ass when I wake up after a night (especially 2,3,4) of tent camping.

I can still go without much gear, but if I'm camping state parks or boondocking it near my car, I'm no longer opposed to leveling up some gear if it results in a good night's sleep. Even my quality sleeping pads are just "better than sleeping on ground" and i've tried 6" thick blow-up air mattresses, but they lose pressure overnight and I end up bobbing and rolling around.

Looking for advice and suggestions. Would a camping cot + blow-up sleep pad be a good way to go?

(P.S, still sleep like a rock in a hammock, but trees aren't always an open everywhere I go).

I just got of the camping trip and I have two 500 ml propane-butane cans left unopened. I want to save them for the next trip but I read that it's not safe to keep em inside of the apartment. I literally dont have any other spot beside the apartment to store them. My terrace is on the sunny side and its always hot as shit on it during the day, which I would assume is not good place to store gas. I also have a gas water heater in my kitchen that uses open flame to heat water and because if it I'm kinda afraid to keep canisters inside in case of the leak. On the other side I remember that older people around me used to keep small gas canisters all the time around the kitchen and it never seemed to be the problem. Any advice would be helpful!

Hi guys, i was wondering if anyone knew of any sites 3 hours away or less from the bay area. I am looking for something with pottable water, trees, no reservations/ first come first serve, body of water, and capacity for like 8 people. Please let me know if you have any recs!

SoCal family of 5, most Sierra’s (Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, etc), almost always in the hot summer (July).

For those who have experienced the BlockOut versions of the CORE tents, how are they? California summers can sometime be brutally hot and was wondering if the blockout tech actually makes a difference in internal temperatures.

My first time camping was just a year ago with my adult daughter, and I loved it. I have traveled quite a bit in my life; the slower, simpler pace of camping was so soothing. Having camped with a small 2-person tent so far, I bought this used Eureka tent cheaply on FB Marketplace. I love that I can stand up in it. The rain fly worked perfectly--in fact I could still keep the windows open for ventilation.

I camped at a state park in northern Indiana, as one can tell from the ubiquitous sunrise-in-Indiana photo. The only downside was the group of raccoons outside my tent re-enacting the gang scene from West Side Story at 3:30 am the first night. (And yes, all my food was put away in the car.)

I have a classic Hubba Hubba 2 with carbon fiber poles that I got in 2024. I love everything about it and its still holding strong despite heavy use in backpacking and car camping in all seasons. There are some small rips in the mesh vertex thats sewable, and the poles are starting to show wear.

How do the new 2 person hubba hubba tents with aluminum poles fair in durability and weather resistance? This would be the HD and LT versions.

I’ve been camping locally recently but I want something new like a place where you won’t hear cars in the distance not much light pollution and mostly isolated from civilisation. Does anyone know good spots (I don’t have a car so I can’t drive places)

Hello - does any other campers have this model of tent that connects to 10x10 canopy? I’ve lost the rod that comes with it and bag/instructions and Google do not tell me the exact length of the rod— if anyone could measure there’s or knows for sure what length I’d greatly appreciate it— Google gives me anywhere from 7ft-13 ft … please help this budget camper save some money

Looking at bike packing and camping in Glencoe planning on getting a city link bus as close as possible and biking through the area and finding a spot to camping for a night I was planning on doing this with a friend has anyone done this before is it a good idea? Never been to glencoe not sure how possible this is