Minimalist Tent Camping must haves?

[KalamityJane]

I tacked on 4 nights at the Fort before we check into AKV. I only have a 6 bag allotment between all 5 of us for flying. We will be on a 15 night cruise after the Fort/AKV, so I'm guessing we will have 2-3 bags strictly for luggage/clothes and FEs. I'm bringing my tent, borrowing a Coleman and cooler, should I bring my kitchen tote? I do have a place to store this in Orlando while we are on the cruise.

Do we need sleeping bags in early May or can we make do with blankets (I can borrow)? I was planning on buying new sleeping pads, I can ship those to Orlando so they don't count in my luggage allowance.

Any must haves that I am missing?

 

[KalamityJane]

Oh, probably will borrow a box fan for the tent.

 

[KristinU]

You'll need towels and shampoo etc. since they're not provided like at the hotels. How about pillows? (or are you game to be so minimalist and just roll up sweatshirts for pillows?) I'd also add an extension cord with multiple outlets to charge phones. Kitchen box will depend on your meal planning...if I were going full minimal I'd probably just plan for granola bars, non-refrigerated juice boxes and whole fruit for breakfast, grab coffee at the trading post, and then buy lunch and dinner at quick service.

 

[KalamityJane]

Good point on the quick service. We are gluten free (not celiac, but sensitive), so I likely will be doing some cooking regardless. My kitchen box is some dishes, French Press, kitchen utensils, cast iron pan, small pot and usually fire lighting stuff (but won't need that this time). If I plan it out well, I can probably get away with cooking minimally and possibly buy a pan (and pillows, towels, shampoo) at Walmart. I have family in the area and will be camping for 2-3 weeks at the Fort later in the year so I can make a camp box for next time to leave with them.

Probably should pick up some folding chairs as well, clothes line, too. If we go into the parks, it will be only once probably, so most of the time will likely be at the pool and around FW. Even buying stuff for a camp box there will still be a lot cheaper than renting a popup or staying off site so it should be fine.

 

[peg110]

I see a good "Business Model" here. A Camping supply rental store for people just like you. Price the items cheaper then you could buy them for at the Walmart (or similar) and still have a place to drop them off so as not to have to "Dispose" of them. Things like folding chairs, propane stoves, cooking (and eating) utensils, air mattresses and the like would be ideal. I can't tell you how many times I see similar posts like yours wanted to minimize what you bring because of "Flight" restrictions on baggage.

Then you start adding up the "Minimal" stuff (you mentioned chairs, pots pillows, and towels... Sorry... no renting of Shampoo, toothpaste or toilet paper. ) and the Minimal becomes more and more.

 

[KalamityJane]

REI does rent out stuff I don't know if they will be open by the time we get there though.

 

[snowmedic]

I see a good "Business Model" here.

All my gear is in storage 15 minutes from the Fort, just need your pillows and toiletries. I would be willing to rent everything out for how much my next reservation cost.

 

[KalamityJane]

We plan on staying in Nov for 2 weeks and Jan for 2-3 weeks (have to book flights) so anything I buy for this short trip will be well used. I think it would totally be an amazing idea to have gear rental, especially given how expensive it is from Disney for the tents/cots.

 

[FortForever]

Being a member of lots of camping forums, I got a bit of a chuckle that a French Press was included in a "Minimalist Tent Camping" thread. But, then again, an ice maker would make my "minimalist" list, so who am I to judge?

 

[Westcoastwild]

As mentioned, towels and wash rags. I ended up using my quick dry one a lot because my beach towel never dried due to the humidity. Tote bags for kids to carry their own shower stuff to the bathrooms. Lantern for light, maybe a string of holiday lights if the kids like those and decorating is a "thing" at fort wilderness. Last July some awesome people had those blow up holiday penguins by their RV which cracked me up. An outdoor power strip to make the most of those electric outlets! I mean you pay so much for those amenities anyway lol.

Most useful tip someone gave me was a small broom for the tent. The pads are this white crushed shell stuff that sticks to EVERYTHING. The broom and dust pan made clean up a lot easier.

Also super useful was a clothesline. To dry the towels and your swimsuits.

Make sure you've got waterproofed seams and you have guy line to tie out your tent. Probably not much of a problem in May but if I hadn't followed advice and don't that, I would have had drenched everything.

 

[KalamityJane]

Being a member of lots of camping forums, I got a bit of a chuckle that a French Press was included in a "Minimalist Tent Camping" thread. But, then again, an ice maker would make my "minimalist" list, so who am I to judge?

Coffee. Must have I don't usually camp with electricity, so french press it is

 

[KalamityJane]

As mentioned, towels and wash rags. I ended up using my quick dry one a lot because my beach towel never dried due to the humidity. Tote bags for kids to carry their own shower stuff to the bathrooms. Lantern for light, maybe a string of holiday lights if the kids like those and decorating is a "thing" at fort wilderness. Last July some awesome people had those blow up holiday penguins by their RV which cracked me up. An outdoor power strip to make the most of those electric outlets! I mean you pay so much for those amenities anyway lol.

Most useful tip someone gave me was a small broom for the tent. The pads are this white crushed shell stuff that sticks to EVERYTHING. The broom and dust pan made clean up a lot easier.

Also super useful was a clothesline. To dry the towels and your swimsuits.

Make sure you've got waterproofed seams and you have guy line to tie out your tent. Probably not much of a problem in May but if I hadn't followed advice and don't that, I would have had drenched everything.

This is really good info! Will definitely spring for the quick dry towels. I always forget about the humidity in FL (aka wall of water). It's so dry here in Idaho, it's not usually an issue.

Tent has been in puddles and wicked thunderstorms/wind and kept dry, it's an REI Base Camp like this - so I'm hopeful it will continue doing well. I will check to see how the bottom is doing this year, it's been a few months since we last camped. I have a footprint for it and tie the lines tight. Someone on another thread mentioned screw in stakes and I was going to grab those.



I was thinking of jutting the tent up to the driveway to help with the coquina tracking into the tent, I think @snowmedic mentioned this and I thought it was brilliant.

 

[Westcoastwild]

This is really good info! Will definitely spring for the quick dry towels. I always forget about the humidity in FL (aka wall of water). It's so dry here in Idaho, it's not usually an issue.

Tent has been in puddles and wicked thunderstorms/wind and kept dry, it's an REI Base Camp like this - so I'm hopeful it will continue doing well. I will check to see how the bottom is doing this year, it's been a few months since we last camped. I have a footprint for it and tie the lines tight. Someone on another thread mentioned screw in stakes and I was going to grab those.



I was thinking of jutting the tent up to the driveway to help with the coquina tracking into the tent, I think @snowmedic mentioned this and I thought it was brilliant.

Sounds like you're all ready! Where in Idaho?? I'm usually a warm weather camper and I lived in Idaho for years, so that is the reason I am really glad I took the guy line advice. Like you said, so dry! Florida rain is more like Florida flood lol. I rarely even use my rainfly at home. Take an extension cord in that case- I was mostly limited by site drainage and how long my extension cord was (I wanted the outlets to be inside). The sites are bigger than I expected!

Forgot to mention- if it is rain in the forecast, store stuff in the tent or the car. Not in the tent "garage". I have a different rei tent but was chagrined to find out that rain bounces the "sand" up onto your stuff in the tent garage. So your shoes/gear end up crusty and damp even if they don't get directly hit by the rain.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Also- I think screw in would have been a pain in the butt. The sand is pretty shallow. You may also want snow/sand stakes. I was pretty happy with those but should have brought extras, because if you push them the wrong way they bend.

 

[snowmedic]

I was thinking of jutting the tent up to the driveway to help with the coquina tracking into the tent, I think @snowmedic mentioned this and I thought it was brilliant.

That is how we set our tent up this time around. Not sure how you would stake out the corners of your canopy area, unless you leave the tent back far enough to stake it right next to the pad and bring a small piece of carpet to go from the pad to the tent. The width of the pavement is 12 feet.

To stake out our tent we use the 9" tent spikes. They hold really well, make sure you put your which ever stake that you use on a 45 degree angle, they will pull out fairly easy if you don't.

 

[KalamityJane]

Sounds like you're all ready! Where in Idaho?? I'm usually a warm weather camper and I lived in Idaho for years, so that is the reason I am really glad I took the guy line advice. Like you said, so dry! Florida rain is more like Florida flood lol. I rarely even use my rainfly at home. Take an extension cord in that case- I was mostly limited by site drainage and how long my extension cord was (I wanted the outlets to be inside). The sites are bigger than I expected!

Forgot to mention- if it is rain in the forecast, store stuff in the tent or the car. Not in the tent "garage". I have a different rei tent but was chagrined to find out that rain bounces the "sand" up onto your stuff in the tent garage. So your shoes/gear end up crusty and damp even if they don't get directly hit by the rain.

Nampa We've camped all over Idaho though, love the Sawtooths. I grew up in Orlando, so I totally know what you mean about the flooding rain. Good idea about not storing in the tent garage!

 

[KalamityJane]

That is how we set our tent up this time around. Not sure how you would stake out the corners of your canopy area, unless you leave the tent back far enough to stake it right next to the pad and bring a small piece of carpet to go from the pad to the tent. The width of the pavement is 12 feet.

To stake out our tent we use the 9" tent spikes. They hold really well, make sure you put your which ever stake that you use on a 45 degree angle, they will pull out fairly easy if you don't.

I will put those on the list! I think that might be what we have right now, I know I upgraded our stakes from the ones that came with the tent. I like the carpet idea, I use a throw rug right now, and the distance between the edge of the fly and the edge of the tent isn't that far, so I think that would work out well.

 

[lodge]

I see a good "Business Model" here. A Camping supply rental store for people just like you. Price the items cheaper then you could buy them for at the Walmart (or similar) and still have a place to drop them off so as not to have to "Dispose" of them. Things like folding chairs, propane stoves, cooking (and eating) utensils, air mattresses and the like would be ideal. I can't tell you how many times I see similar posts like yours wanted to minimize what you bring because of "Flight" restrictions on baggage.

Then you start adding up the "Minimal" stuff (you mentioned chairs, pots pillows, and towels... Sorry... no renting of Shampoo, toothpaste or toilet paper. ) and the Minimal becomes more and more.

we use our Owner's Locker for just this- our chairs fold up small, as do our cots and mattresses (Big Agnes mostly), then I have ponchos, tent stakes, hammer, compressible pillows, and extension cords in there. A few extras include a little broom, camping towels (dry fast and take up little space) and dust pan and plastic tarp for under the tent. We then would just fly in with the tent. It's so easy.

For those who don't know what Owner's Locker is- you purchase a large heavy duty bin, bigger than the standard recycling bin, and it locks closed. They deliver and pick up from the Disney resorts. We have 2 now- one for camping and one for resort stays with kitchens.

 

[KalamityJane]

I scored 2 Exped Megamats at the REI garage sale Saturday so those will be flying in with us now I like the Owner's Locker idea! I can store at my parent's home, but I think I will do that (leave a box with extra stuff there) as we will be back in November for 2 weeks!!

 

[FtW Mike]

OFFICIAL DISLAIMER Opinions Expressed Below are strictly those of the poster and are not those of Management
For minimalist camping I go with the following. A backpack large and sturdy enough to hold the following
1 Sleeping bag rated for season
2 Waterproof ground cover
3 Light weight Tarp 8x12 works well to use as an over head cover and rope to secure same to trees and ground
4 Tri legged Dutch Oven with lid able to hold coals from fire
5 Collapsible 5 gal. water container and canteen
6 Mess kit (Boy Scout variety works very well)
7 Personal Hygiene items including foot powder, tooth paste, soap, deodorant ect
8 Matches and disposable lighter
9 Military style entrenching tool
10 Clothing for 2 to 3 days
11 Poncho with USMC liner
12 Reservations for a cabin as wife not coming with me otherwise