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Selecting A Tent
General Concepts
Buying a tent is like buying a home --
you have to decide what you must have and what you are willing to give up in
order to be the most happy. I've divided the buying guides into six categories
-- The Basics (features any tent should have); Summer Tents (if
you only camp in hot climates); Three-Season Tents (to weather light snow
plus work in hot climates); All-Season (commonly called convertible
tents, these work in all seasons but are still not intended for hard-core winter
mountaineering); Winter Camping / Mountaineering (the bomb-shelters of
the portable domicile world for harsh conditions only); and Single Wall
(a category unto itself for those who desire minimalist features and ultralight
shelter).
Features to Covet - The Basics
(what any tent should have)
- Collapsible tent poles of aluminum,
high-strength aluminum, carbon fiber or tubular fiberglass.
- Freestanding tents set up easily on
sand, rocks, snow or anywhere it is difficult to get a stake into the
ground. You still need to stake a tent down though unless you want to risk
turning it into a very expensive and disposable kite.
- Storage pockets inside for
organizing.
- Nylon or polyester fabric for
durability and lightest weight.
- One-piece floors add to
waterproofness.
- Steep walls increase usable
interior room, shed precipitation better and help vent out humidity.
- Waterproof rainfly that clips to
poles and requires only minimal additional stakes.
- Mesh windows and doors with
zippered closures for battening down the hatches when things get blustery
and damp.
- Same length poles or color-coded
poles (each color corresponds to a specific pole sleeve on the tent) makes
it easier to set-up the tent in less than ideal conditions.
- Tent body of yellow, white or beige
to let the most light in.
- Gear loops inside the tent to hang
flashlights and more from.
- Beefy nylon webbing stake loops at
each pole end on the tent body.
Features to Covet - Summer Tents
(if you only camp in hot climates)
- Generous amounts of mesh in the
tent body--the breezier the tent the better it will ventilate.
- Rainfly that stops several inches
above the ground allowing for maximum protection combined with maximum
ventilation.
- Two pole construction for weight
savings.
Features to Covet - Three-Season
Tents
(to weather light snow plus work in hot climates)
- Three pole high-strength aluminum
construction to stand up to strong winds and heavy rains.
- Full coverage rain fly the extends
to the ground.
- Sturdy guy-out points sewn to the
rainfly for tying down the tent should things get downright blustery.
- Allows set up of the rainfly by
itself for the ultimate in weight-savings and go-light travel.
- Inside gear loft attaches to roof
for additional gear storage.
- Large vestibule adds room for wet
boots and damp dogs.
- Two-door or extra-large door means
easier entrance and egress without risking stepping on your partner's face.
- Three pole construction for maximum
durability.
- Skylight window in the rainfly for
additional light.
Features to Covet - All-Season
Tents
(commonly called convertible tents, these work in all seasons but are still not
intended for hard-core winter mountaineering)
- Skylight window in the rainfly for
additional light.
- Four high-grade aluminum poles,
freestanding construction. One pole removable option for weight-conservation
versatility.
- Sturdy guy-out points sewn to the
rainfly for tying down the tent should things get downright blustery.
- Allows set up of the rainfly by
itself for the ultimate in weight-savings and go-light travel.
- Removable vestibules for addition
weight savings.
- Generous mesh with zip-out panels
for added ventilation when needed or full closure when maximum protection is
required.
Features to Covet - Winter Camping
/ Mountaineering
(the bomb-shelters of the portable domicile world for harsh conditions only)
- Four to five high-grade aluminum
poles, freestanding construction.
- Full coverage rain fly.
- Steep sidewalls to shed wind and
snow.
- Two doors on opposite ends or sides
of the tent with vestibules for maximum gear storage and entrance / egress
versatility in the face of anything Mother Nature tosses your way.
- Vestibules have their own poles for
support.
- Sturdy guy-out points sewn to the
rainfly for tying down the tent should things get downright blustery.
- Rain fly pitches separately from
tent so you can use it as a roof for a modified snow cave shelter to save
weight and space.
Features to Covet - Single Wall
Tents
(a category unto itself for those who desire minimalist features and ultralight
shelter and don't mind engaging in meticulous seam sealing)
- Stick with name-brands that include
Bibler, Marmot, Integral Designs, and Dana Design.
- High / low ventilation ports for
maximum flow-through of air even when the hatches are battened down.
- Vertical sidewalls for maximum
interior space and shedding precipitation.
- Freestanding design.
- Sturdy guy-out points sewn to the
tent body for tying down the tent should things get downright blustery.
An Adventure Network Truth from
the gear guru himself, Michael Hodgson: Just because a manufacturer says a tent
will sleep three doesn't make it so. How much space you require inside a tent is
a personal thing that needs to take into account how tall you are, how wide you
are, how much "toss and turn" room you need, and how much extra
sitting-up room you desire. I've seen two person tents that won't even
accommodate two full-sized Thermarest sleeping pads side-by-side without
overlapping -- a savings in weight that will be most realized when one partner
beats the other to death.
Features To Avoid
- Solid fiberglass poles - these are
the poles that discount stores and cheap tents rely on and these are the
poles that break, shatter and disintegrate with alarming frequency.
- Too large a tent footprint with
sharply angled walls inward may offer strength but require a large lot to
set up in while offering minimal usable interior space.
- Metal zippers of any kind.
- Tents that require fully staking
out to set up.
- Tents so small you feel as if
you're the filling in a nylon burrito.
Other Considerations
- Add a ground cloth to your
purchase. With nothing more than clear polyethylene sheeting available at
most hardware stores by the roll, you can make a trim-to-fit ground cloth
that is slightly smaller than the footprint of your tent's floor. Now it
will take the wear and tear of earth and grit abrasion instead of your
harder-to-replace tent floor.
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