Buying a tent is an important purchase. The right tent can be the difference between a comfortable night outdoors or a sleepless sit-through in the cold and rain.
There are many tents available in your typical outdoor store: different types, different brands, different materials and also, very different prices. In this article we’ll look at the important characteristics of a tent and how you can decide which tent is just right for you.
What you need is what you get…
The most expensive or the best equipped tent isn’t necessarily the best tent for your needs.
As with all equipment, you should ask yourself: what am I going to use this new tent for ?
If it is just to survive your local music festival overnight ? A family camping trip with the kids ? Or a trekking through snow and rock perhaps ?
It is important to have a good idea in which conditions and circumstances you’ll be using your tent, so you won’t experience unpleasant surprises when using it later on.
Three is a crowd…
The first thing you need to ask yourself is how many people will be sleeping in the tent.
You’ll find that tents are labelled with their capacity in your local outdoor store. Yet, don’t be fooled: a tent destined for two people means just that: two people in their sleeping bags, with often little elbow or moving space.
Do you want to store your backpacks or kit in the tent as well ? Or do you want some level of manoeuvring comfort ? Often it is better to pick a capacity which is one or even two persons above the number of people who will be using it.
If you plan to use your tent for the family camping trips, make sure you look into the multi-roomed tents. These look on the outside like one big tent, but have separate one or two-person compartments inside. Tents in a tent if you wish.
The change of the seasons
Another item you’ll often find on the tent labels are a certain numbers of seasons: this number represents the way in which it can handle weather conditions such as rain, strong winds, snow, …
1 season tent:
These are often small, cheap tents, ideal for the kids in the garden. They are only suitable for ideal, summerlike conditions and are more of a toy than a real tent.
2 seasons tent:
Two-seasons tents are typical summer tents and often have larger mesh areas to stimulate ventilation and battle summer heat. This makes them excellent tents for a warmer climate, especially if they are also equipped with a full mesh canopy that keeps out insects. They can mostly hold mild rains as well.
3 seasons tent:
This is the workhorse amongst regular tents: it is often a versatile tent that can withstand most normal weather conditions and terrain. Even though they sometimes have a tendency to get a little warm in sunny conditions, they still have enough ventilation. In combination with a good sleeping bag, this tent can also keep you warm and comfortable throughout most of the year, rough rains and even early, soft snowfall.
4 seasons tent:
These tents are prepared for the rough work: often very good insulated, with strong guy line structures against the wind. Ideal for rough terrains or more severe weather conditions. If you are going to be using it in the snow, make sure to pick one in a bright colour such as orange. It helps you finding your tent quickly again when you have to go out. These are trekking tents, no doubt about it.
Carrying the load…
There is a golden rule in backpacking and trekking and it also applies on tents: You have to carry what you pack.
Tents can range widely in weight, depending on the materials they are made off, their size, the poles, …
If you are going to have to carry your tent yourself, you might want to be looking out for a lightweight tent. There are lightweight carbon-fibre tents who still offer full protection, but they are often quite expensive as well, being the technical marvels they are.
If you plan a road-trip, or if you don’t really have to carry your tent around, weight matters less and you shouldn’t really worry.
Ten Tent Tips…
To finish off, I’ll leave you with a series of tips to keep in mind when buying your tent:
1) Aluminium poles are stronger than their fibreglass counterparts.
2) Check the seams: double-seamed tents are not only stronger, but also dryer.
3) Exercise: you don’t want to have to find out how to put the tent up in the rain
4) Look for a tent in which the outer wall goes up first, it keeps the inside one dry when you put it up in the rain.
5) Always carry a tent repair kit or plain old duct tape.
6) Look for a tent that has ‘ripstop’ technology, which prevents further tearing when damaged.
7) Get those guy lines up, you never know what the weather will be changing into.
8 ) Inspect the stakes: are they strong enough or do they bend/ruin easily ?
9) Make sure the flooring of your tent is sturdy, waterproof and covers all.
10) Have fun with it !
