As one of our end of the summer getaways, my family and I packed up and headed to the beach to camp.  Truly, we’ve pitched a tent in our back yard before and the kids were thrilled about it!  Sleeping outdoors is a special memory we love sharing.  Although it was Labor Day weekend, we checked around and found one spot for one night at Manresa Uplands, between Monterey and Santa Cruz.  Just about 30 minutes from home we are always thrilled at the beach/camping experience, best of both worlds!

Considering the coast being socked in with fog Friday night, we skipped the beach and set up our camp with the best of Coleman‘s new camping gear!

We started with the Sundome 6 tent.  They make tents so user-friendly and this was no exception.  Once our spot was chosen, we had it rolled out with the poles adjusted and ready to pop up.  The kids even chipped in.

When I see that the tent can fit 6 people, I cut that in half for comfort’s sake considering we have our suitcases and then bring a bunch of stuff in so it doesn’t get too damp overnight.  I love that it has a divider that can be hung, zipped, and even tied back for a dressing area or separate room.  The rain fly came in handy with the heavy fog, we heard large drips from the tree above us all night and it was nice to know we were going to stay nice and dry!

In the picture to the right you’ll see our new Willow Creek Sleeping Bag.  Our old Coleman bags were all flannel-lined and at some camping spots you can get pretty warm at night and you want to stick your feet out, the Willow Creek bag has brushed polyester that insulates but doesn’t overheat.  I love the curve on the headrest to keep your head off the floor of the tent but not necessarily covered.

Now, anyone who uses a cooler without wheels is doing it the hard way!  That was us before we received the 50qt Wheeled Xtreme Cooler! Because we were in a walk-in campground, our car was not nearby so we have to bring in all our supplies to our site. Having this cooler, we loaded it a few times used it like a hand-truck.  Super handy, not to mention it can fit a weekend’s worth of food and drink and stay cold!  For only one night it contained what we needed, with room for tons more!

To keep everyone hydrated we used the 2 Gallon Party Stack Jugs and filled them with Gatorade (the kids favorite) and plain ol’ water for me.  I like the idea of having one jug for water, it can be used to drink, wash hands, and even help do dishes right in your campsite.

One of my most favorite new item from Coleman is the Quad Lantern. Aside from the 8 D batteries (buy them at the dollar store!!), this is the smartest lantern invention ever!  Alone the lantern puts out plenty of light to keep your campsite bright in the evenings with 24 LED bulbs.  But it get’s better, each of the four sides of the lantern detach into 4 separate hand-held lights each with their own on/off switch!  This is brilliant for families with kids, they can take one light to the restroom, one into their own tent, to play hide/seek all while still being able to see in the main site.  My youngest slept with her siblings in the second tent and she loved having the security of one of the lights beside her as she slept.  The lights snap in and out of the base with the D batteries acting as the charger for the individual lights.

The weekend getaway with Coleman Camping Gear was a blast and set up and clean up was a breeze.  If the opportunity arises, we may just head out to camp again this year, even if it’s in our own backyard!

We received Coleman gear for the purpose of this review.  The opinions are our tried-and-true experience and were not influenced by any source.