Tents For Camping
When it comes to choosing a tent for camping the decisions that one needs to make can be overwhelming so lets take a look at seven different styles of tents for camping in order to help you make the best informed decision to fit your camping needs as well as what characteristics to look for when tent shopping.
- A-Frame/Wedge: This very light and standard tent is generally amongst the lest expensive of all tents and is traditionally the image of a tent that comes to mind. With it’s “A” frame design there is not a vast amount of headroom and it often doesn’t stand up to gusty windy conditions despite being staked down and affixed to the landscape.
- Modified A-Frame: As the name indicates, this A-Frame tent has been adjusted in an effort to create more rigidity during windy weather by the adding a center hoop pole, along with a ridegline pole or curved walls. It still requires staking in order to keep it upright and affixed to the landscape.
- Freestanding: As the name indicates, these tents do not require staking in order to keep them upright and secured to the ground. This freestanding quality applies to the main tented area, with the exception of a vestibule area that is used for storage and is separate from the rest of the tent. Generally speaking, these tents are quick to set up and can be repositioned easily as you don’t have to remove and replace stakes.
- Dome: If you are looking for a superbly stable tent, the dome tent is the tent for you. Domes come in a large variety of sizes and shapes, but they are generally freestanding with an arched ceiling.
- Hoop/Tunnel: Again, as you can imagine from the name, this tent design is basically a tube style tent that has hoops at each end to give it stability. Depending on the specific brand of hoop/tunnel tent chosen, headroom is not generally very plentiful in this style of tent. They require staking in order to set up.
- Pyramid/Tepee: Based off of the traditional tepee design, this tent is one of the most historic designs of tents around. The structure is supported by a central pole that elevates the middle of the tent material. In some designs the remaining material is supported through a network of poles and cables that are staked in order to create the form of the tent. Condensation tend to build-up quite heavily with this design of tent.
- Single vs. Double Walled: Historically most tents were created with a double wall system in order to keep moisture away from campers. The inner wall was used in the sleeping area and was covered by an outer wall or “fly” that extenuated over the inner wall and was staked very tautly so any moisture would hit the fly first and keep the inner walls dry. With the changes in fabric technology & design, many tents combine this system in a single wall design with venting. While they are not always totally effective at keeping everything 100% dry, they have the major advantage of being extremely light due to the fact that there is 50% less material to tote around.
As you can see, there many different design choices when it comes to tents. In order to make the choice that will give you the best possible camping experience, it’s imperative to knowing what your needs are before you’re able to select your tent.
Knowing how many people will be sleeping in the tent is the first question that needs to be addressed. When tents are labeled, they range in sizes from 2,4,6 and up. The number refers to the bodies that can sleep comfortable in the tent, but it should be noted that these numbers refer only to sleeping space and leave no room for baggage or personal belongs. If you require room for storing these items, you shoal increase the size of your tent accruing to your belongs, or set up an additional tent for storage items.
Another important consideration to make when choosing a tent is the type of weather conditions you will be using it in. For rainy, moist regions, choosing a tent constructed out of a 100% waterproof material that includes a fly cover is advisable. Tents with fly coverage are great in sunny camp sites, as they provide much needed shade protection especially if you’ll be camping in areas with little tree coverage to provide shade. When camping in the heat of the summer, you’ll want to ensure your tent has plenty of ventilation. Choose a tent that has several screened in windows placed opposite each other to allow for a cross breeze to air out the tent. If you plan to set up your campsite in areas that are traditionally known for their windy conditions, selecting a tent that has a well designed secure structure, with stakes and anchor ropes to add to the stability is advisable.
Depending on your camping skill level, the easier a tent is to set up, the more enjoyable the trip is. Select a tent that doesn’t have too many separate parts that can get easily misplaced and ruin the camping experience if not there when needed to set up the tent. Many of today’s styles have easy to snap together fiberglass poles that thread through sleeves and hook into the bottom of the tent creating a relatively stress free tent set up. Test zippers and Velcro flaps for durability and east of use, along with the thickness of the tent material. Most tents are constructed out of coated nylon for waterproofing, but in order to stay dry, the thicker the better. Most camping stores will have a demo area where you can see how the tents go up. If not, purchase the tent with the understanding that you are planning to try setting it up at home and make sure you can return it to the store if it doesn’t meet your expectations.
There’s a tent out there to meet everyone’s needs both option and budget wise. If you are a recreational camper, there’s a wide variety of reasonably priced family style tents available at many local hardware & department stores. If you are an avid outdoors person and plan on spending a great deal of time in your tent through a variety of seasons, a trip to an outdoors specialty shop will give you a greater selection in design as well as price with cost excavating based on options and structural material.
By knowing what your parameters are and researching the many different varieties of tents available on the market and how they meet your needs, you’ll be able to make a qualified and informed decision. Once you have selected the perfect tent for your camping needs, the next step is opening up the map and choosing a destination that you can enjoy and explore the great outdoors. Camping is a wonderful way to reconnect as a family as well as with nature. Spend the weekend camping and discover how great nature can be.
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