Here are basics for first-time campers

If there's one camping item that should be considered an investment, this is it. Nothing connected to a tent should be plastic or complicated. Get the best one you can afford, and think about how important space is to you. Depending on the size of your family, if you have four people, remember that for maybe $70 more, you could have about 20 to 30 more square feet of moving-around room.

Sierra Designs Moken 4 or 6 Person

Cost: $479 (4) or $549 (6)

Dimensions: 15 by 8 feet (4) or 20 by 8 feet (6)

Sweet: Two removable side rooms mean the kids can be messy elsewhere. Incredibly easy to assemble, especially considering the complex design, and Sierra is a committed green company, with cleanly manufactured poles.

Skunky: High-up vents but no windows for the sides.

At sierradesigns.com; REI stores, rei.com.

REI Base Camp 4 or 6 Person

Cost: $339 (4) or $399 (6)

Dimensions: 8 by 7 feet (4) or 10 by 8 feet (6)

Sweet: My all-time favorite tent. So easy to put up, a 5-foot-2 woman can accomplish it in the dark her first time, in about 15 minutes. Front poles stake out to make a little vestibule, like a mud room.

Skunky: After several years with this baby, I have yet to have a complaint.

At rei.com., REI stores.

Coleman Rangeview 4 Person

Cost: $60 (4)

Dimensions: 9 by 7 feet

Sweet: I just sold my first Coleman tent — now nearly 20 years old — at a yard sale, and it's still going strong. This is the closest to the one I had, with simple construction, a rainfly with a little "V" in the center over the front flap and good ventilation.

Skunky: I've had three Colemans over the years, and with all of them after a while I really had to stay on top of reapplying seam-sealer to make sure they kept the water out.

At coleman.com.

The reason to spend serious money (more than $100) on a sleeping bag is for backcountry and sub-zero-temp camping. Unless you're going to be doing that as well with this bag, just get one that is comfy, wicks away sweat and will withstand a lot of shoving in and out of a sack and getting dirty. For summer in the mountains, get one in the 20- to 35-degree range, and you'll be fine. Outside of that time period, go lower. If you plan to camp more than once a summer, and your kids are older than about 9, get them a good adult bag, because they will grow out of a kid-size quickly.

As for camp beds, those pads you put beneath your sleeping bag, they will make your night pass much more comfortably. For backcountry camping, I like Therm-a-Rest (starting at about $65, thermarest.com), mainly because they roll up thin and are light, but there are thicker, puffier ones out there (REI makes a nice fattie for $89). Confluence Kayaks carries Paco Pads ($145), which river rats know as heavier-duty, waterproof, person mattresses (they also have a pickup-truck version you can throw in the bed and sleep out under the stars for $267). Really have a tough time on the ground? Spring for an air mattress, although purists will scoff.

Kelty Stellar Sleeping Bag

Cost: $75

Sweet: Thick, fluffy, 35-degree synthetic bag that feels like a down one. Taffeta lining means it breathes, so when it's too warm, you aren't sticky, and it has a satiny feeling.

Skunky: The lining is so slippery that you may find yourself on the other side of the tent in the morning.

At kelty.com, REI stores.

L.L. Bean Camp Bag

Cost: $59 (regular), $69 (extra long)

Sweet: This flannel-lined, 20-degree bag is the quintessential camp sleeping bag, and L.L. Bean is made to last. These things are sooo soft inside.

Skunky: If it's warm outside, it's really warm inside these things.

At llbean.com.

North Face Great Smoky Kids' Bag

Cost: $59

Sweet: Rectangular, 20-degree bag (the Blue Ridge costs the same but is a mummy version, which kids love) that's sturdy and holds up like a much more expensive one.

Skunky: As a synthetic, it's a little thinner than a down one, so not as much padding.

At northface.com.

What's important here is to find a sturdy chair that you feel comfortable in, that can take some wear and tear, will fold up as small as possible for transport and clean up well if something gets spilled on it (and something always will).

Coleman Deck Chair With Table

Cost: $40

Sweet: For those times when you're juggling a plate of food and a drink, this aluminum-frame padded-back chair folds in half and has a folding table connected on the side, complete with beverage holder.

Skunky: It's a little on the heavy side, and compared with the nifty chairs that completely collapse it's bulky.

At amazon.com.

Big Bubba Chair With Footrest

Cost: Starting at $40

Sweet: After a friend and I got lost in a canyon for six hours but finally found the car at midnight, we popped open a bottle of champagne and then actually slept in these — that's how comfy they are.

Skunky: Eventually the footrests give out, but it does take a couple of years.

At rei.com, amazon.com, Target.