Choosing the right tent for your needs is a very important ingredient
for the opportunity to maximize your enjoyment of the outdoors.
There are so many different options to choose from that it can truly be
overwhelming when you begin the process of seeking the options
available to you. Once you have factored in your needs and chosen
an appropriate style and size of tent, the issue of price becomes key
in your decision. Is it important to spend hundreds of dollars to
get a tent that will serve your purpose, or can you get by on a lot
less? Well, it all depends.
According
to Wikipedia, a tent is "a shelter
consisting of sheets of
fabric
or
other
material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or
attached to a supporting rope." Within that context, materials
can be canvas, nylon, and/or a host of other materials which all are
important considerations when choosing your tent as they impact warmth,
water shedding capabilities, durability, and not least of all
maintenance.
"Material Considerations"
- Canvas (Cotton)... This material is often
considered "old-fashioned" and is therefore overlooked as a modern tent
material. There are certainly some disadvantages to canvas tents,
but they do have their place. One of the most obvious
disadvantages of canvas/cotton is its weight. Another
disadvantage is that it is almost always necessary to treat the canvas
with a waterproofing material, often parafin. For canvas tents
used during summer months, air flow is almost non-existent. Finally,
with canvas it is critical that the material be 100% dry before it is
stored away. The advantages of canvas include its resistance to
tearing, the fact that they are made from natural materials, and if
treated properly, longevity. Canvas tents are most often used for
wall tents, which will be discussed later.
- Nylon (Rip-Stop)... Most nylon is coated with
polyurethane for water proofing purposes. Rip-Stop Nylon is
regular nylon with a heavier fiber woven intermittently into the fiber,
you guessed it, to resist tearing. Look for a grid pattern in the
nylon to assure yourself the material has the rip-stop feature embedded
in the material. Once the material has been coated with
polyurethane, it loses much of its breathability. The material is
probably still more breathable than canvas in terms of air flow, but
screened door, window, and often roofs are important elements for
summer camping. A disadvantage of nylon is that it is susceptible to
ultra-violet (UV) sunlight degradation over time. For tents used
only a few weekends each year, this really should not be much of a
factor.
- Polyester... Really, this material has all the
qualities of nylon with the advantage of somewhat better UV
resistance.
Tent
Poles 101
- Aluminum... The consensus opnion seems to favor
aluminum poles over fiberglass poles for a variety of reasons.
First, aluminum poles rarely break or even bend significantly.
When they do bend, often they can be bent back to original shape and
even retain their structural characteristics. One note of caution
is that aluminum poles come in various "grades" and so it is difficult
to say that aluminum is always better than fiberglass poles.
- Fiberglass... Many tents at the lower end of
the price spectrum come with fiberglass poles. This should not be
considered an automatic reason not to purchase such a tent. The
problems with fiberglass poles often come in high wind
conditions. They flex to a large degree, but when they break,
they splinter and make field repair difficult. If you know you
will not be subjecting your tent to these conditions, and you are
looking to keep price really low, a tent outfitted with fiberglass
poles shouldn't be automatically dismissed.
Tent
Designs
B
esides
basic
designs
such as A-frame, dome, and cabin style, a fairly recently
poular design that might be considered is the "one-person" tent, a
personal favorite of mine. Each of these designs has a place and
an application; only you will know which is right for you. We
will discuss each and you will have to consider how you might be using
your tent to decide which is right for you.
Cabin tents are available in all of the materials discussed
above. Generally speaking, floor plans for cabin tents vary
between 13ftx8ft and 10ftx25ft, and often are fitted with removable
dividers so that the enclosed area can be subdivided into rooms.
The room dividers can be handy for situations where privacy is a
concern. It is always a good idea to look for a tent fitted with
a canopy/rain fly that extents over the tent and a real advantage is
when the canopy extends over the door area and out a bit to allow
shoes/boots to be taken on and off outside the tent but also out of the
elements. One feature to perhaps seeks out is an extention of the
tent floor under the extended canopy over the door. This also
helps keep the interior of the tent cleaner. Finally, look for a
cabin tent with either a domed roof or a slanted roof to help shed
water and inure that poles are strong and fitted in a manner to stretch
the wall and roof material taut. Otherwise, due to the larger
profile of these tents, much of any wind at all will result in the tent
failing in even moderately windy conditions.
Dome tents have certainly become the most popular style of tent over
the past 15 or 20 years and this is because of a number of advantages
they possess. Even dome tents need to be chosen for the right
conditions, but they do tend to be very wind resistant and excellent
for shedding water. Dome tents also maximize area for their
weight when compared to cabin or many other frame tents. Because
of their shape, they provide quite a lot of head room for their
size. The corners of a dome tent provide room for gear
storage. Finally, dome tents set up and stow away relatively
quickly and easily. Depending on your needs, a 3-season or
4-season tent might be the right choice. Some dome tents come
with vestbules, or can be added as an option. These extensions to
the entry area can serve as kind of an arctic entry way and/or some
added room for storage of shoes/boots and the like. Again, a rain
fly is a must, and the 4-season tents usually come with a fly that more
fully encloses the structure of the tent. Dome tents can be had
in about a wide a variety of floor sizes as one could possibly need, as
well as a wide variety of shapes.
The old stand-by "pup-tent" falls into the category of an A-frame and
has been around about as long as any style tent. Essentially, all
you need to make a very simple A-Frame is tarp, poles, ropes, and
pegs. Obviously, there are A-frames available on the commercial
market and are used very often by backpackers or people who are camping
alone, or perhaps with one other person. Space efficiency is
really the main drawback to this style of tent as their simplicity is
hard to beat. As with the previously mentioned tents, A-frames
are available in all the material types, though canvas is awfully
heavy, and usually come with aluminum poles. A rain fly is a
great idea as with all tents.
- "One-Person" (Solo Tent) Style...
The main two considerations here are size and weight. At 6 ft 4
in tall, the length of a solo tent is quite important to me. Even
the width of these tents is an issue to look into. If you are
claustrophobic, this also might not be the option to look into.
If you are looking for ease of set-up and take down, these little tents
are hard to beat. Typically, these tents have two poles and a few
tie downs to contend with, and take about 5 minutes to erect. This
option really isn't even a bad one for families with older kids.
We often bring ours, set them up side by side, and we are afforded a
measure of privacy, but can easily communicate through the walls.
Typically, the weight of these tents is very low thus making them ideal
for backpacking. I would even content that carrying one of these
attached to a day pack might be a great added bit of security for a
hunter or fisherman. These tents are almost always nylon and
almost all come with a rain fly. One structural feature to
consider is the tent walls. We have one with mesh side walls (the
fly is all between you and the elements). For 90% of the usage we
need it for it works fine. We have used it in temperature down to
zero with a warm sleeping bag and been fine. For more extreme
conditions it would not be suitable.
Tent
Cost
The cost of a tent is a consideration for anyone reading this
website. Our theme centers on getting into the outdoors for a
reasonable cost. Having said that, depending on where you are going and
when, a good tent might be an area where you would want to spend a few
extra dollars. Because of all the types of tents that are
available, it is hard to specify a range of prices. All I can
really say is that we have spent under $100 on solo tents and the costs
just go up from there. Prior to beginning your search, perhaps
ask yourself the following questions:
- Who will the tent be used by? Whether it will be
a family of 4-6, a couple, or an individual will dictate some of
the decision.
- How will the tent be used? Consider seasons, wind
conditions, and whether the tent will be packed on a backpack.
- How often will the tent be used? Let's face it, if
you are using the tent 20 weekends a year, you may wish to invest a bit
more than if you will use it once or twice.
- Due to budget, will you have to strike a balance between
the cost of your tent and sleeping bag(s)? A great 4-season tent
will be irrelevant in 0 degree weather if you have a sleeping bag rated
only for 40 degrees. Sometimes reality has to guide part of our
decision process.
Once these questions have been answered, you are ready to start
looking. I suggest sticking with a reputable retailer who will
stand behind the product after the purchase. Also, for whatever
money you allocate for the tent, take the time to properly care for and
store away your tent when not in use. I always get my tent back
out after I return home, hand it until thoroughly dry, and then repack
it.
We wish you all the best using whatever tent you buy, sleeping in the
best place in the world - the Great Outdoors!
See our
suggestions on tents in the $100 Price Range
See our suggestions
on higher-end tents
