Using the proper, high quality outdoor gear is the key to having a safe and enjoyable outdoor experience. Whether you're hiking 100 miles, hunting deer, or just camping with friends, nothing ruins a good time faster than broken or unusable equipment. Camping supplies are much easier to find now in everyday stores, but many beginning campers make the mistake of buying whichever tent their local store sells. These tents are usually very low quality, made with inferior materials, and easy to break.

By buying a high quality tent, you can camp in almost any situation and trust that your tent will hold up. It's also possible to find much more durable and protective tents by shopping with an experienced outdoor gear dealer. Tents are available that provide protection from below freezing temperatures, that can be pitched on the side of a steep hill, or that shed water extremely well for wet conditions. These kinds of tents can't be found in most big box stores.

Even occasional or hobby campers should invest in a decent quality tent. Camping in one of the lower quality dome tents is not always the most fun experience. Leaks are common, as well as drafts from poorly placed netting or badly sewn seams. Many beginners assume that when camping in a tent, it's just not possible to be comfortable. But once they get a chance to spend the night in a real camper's tent, they find out that it's simply not true.

Eureka Tents makes some of the highest quality solo or double occupancy tents on the market today. The company was founded in 1895, and has produced tents for use in World War 2. Tents from Eureka are trustworthy, and designed to withstand fairly extreme weather conditions. But Eureka also produces higher occupancy tents, up to 7 people, for less rugged experiences. These tents are still very well made, and of a much higher quality than you will find in the sports section of a large store.

Of course, a tent is only one of the camping supplies a well prepared outdoor enthusiast needs. A portable water filter is a great thing to have, especially if camping or hiking far into unpopulated forest or National Parks. Prepared hikers always pack enough water, but it's possible to lose the packed water, for the containers to break open and spill, or for the water to become polluted and dangerous to drink. Carrying a portable water filter can be the difference between life and death, especially on long hikes.

These small and portable filters can remove particles, sediment, and bacteria out of any water source. This makes the water cleaner than simply boiling, and works faster and without a fire. By carrying a water filter a hiker can shed the weight of heavy and cumbersome water containers, and can keep moving while drinking instead of stopping to build a fire at every stream or river. Filtering bags with a drip line can also be bought for established camps, and can hold up to 50 gallons of filtered water at a time. The hanging bag also protects the water from being re-contaminated or spilled.