Cat's Meow

The North Face 'Cats Meow" (solidly "mid" as the kids say) + compression bag (included) + dry bag. Decent, cost effective and functional.

I have both down and synthetic. I prefer synthetic, it’s a little heavier and cannot compress as much, when that is said it’s still very lightweight and compresses very small. My down bag tends to leave feathers on my sleeping clothes, and I don’t know how to explain it, but my synthetic feels more ‘durable’. I took my down bag to Lapland, and somehow the bag ended up completely flat now, all the loft is gone, I’ve used my synthetic for hundreds of nights, it’s just great. (The North Face Cat’s Meow). This is my opinion, I know people who swear to down… depends on the conditions.

Sierra Trading Post has been a great to get some gear as we get away from family/group sleep and into Scouting and solo/one person per tent trips and need more gear. Sleep bags and pads, etc are quite discounted but you have to be flexible. Just got a Marmot 2P tent 60% off ($120) and Northface 20 degree bag for $45 this year. I have 3 kids, we camp for 2-3 weeks each sunmer at a beach in CT and have it down-pat. We also winter camp in freezing temps and have pieced together gear out of necessity and experience. Trial and error is huge. So many people come past our site and comment on how handy our setup is but it just took dozens of trips to figure it out. Things I always bring: pop up gazebo. Tarps. Bungie cords. Extra tent pegs, cord, those mats people use by pools (ground cover outside tent and water goes thru, easily rinseable and pack away quick). If it rains you can make all sorts of shelter options with that to keep the fun going. Bungees are a no brainer to adapt to anything and make it work. Like duct tape. I use 20lb propane tank. Splitter hose to a single burner for coffee or castiron pan and other hose to a 17” griddle. Wind guards came after some trial and error. Stainless bbq pans to manage prepped and finished food. Easy cleanup. We have a foldable wagon that helps. Can even tow wood around on a bike in it. Everyone camps differently. Anyone who tells you you are doing it wrong is an idiot. Take what you see and make it work for you. Be flexible! Be prepared to find a better way next time! Have fun. It is the best with kids. My kids are their own people out there and it is heaven.