Tents are one of the big three of basic camping gear: stoves, sleeping bag are the others. While just about everything else you can improvise, the big three are camping necessities.
Now, before you think that you’ll just grab your sleeping bag and throw it on the ground, let me clue you in to two important features of “sleeping under the stars”:
- Bugs, critters, and crawlies.
- Rain, wind, snow and sun.
So, even if you think you’d like to try really roughing it and camping without a tent, I recommend that you take a tent as a just-in-case. I figure it’s better to have the tent and decide not to use it than to leave it at home and really wish you’d brought it!
Before you head out to purchase a new tent there are four questions you should ask yourself:
- Is the weight or packed size of the tent an issue?
- Where and when will you be camping?
- How many people will be going?
- What features do you want?
Weight and Packed Size
Since this article is geared toward car campers, not backpackers, weight of the folded tent shouldn’t be much of a consideration. But, don’t forget that the folded tent not only needs to fit in your vehicle along with the rest of your gear, but you’ll also need to store it inside a garage, closet or shed when it’s not in use.
Much of a tent’s weight and packed size comes from what materials and fabrics are used in its construction. I’ll talk about this in detail a bit later on.
Three-Season Tent
A three-season tent is also known as a family tent, or a recreation tent. It is rated for spring, summer, and fall, and is designed to hold up in a variety of mild to moderate weather conditions. A three-season tent will hold up to rain and wind, and should be okay in a light snowfall. In addition, a three-season tent usually has plenty of ventilation with screened windows that also have a zip-over covering of the tent’s material.
Four-Season Tent
A four-season tent is rated for year-round use in just about any weather condition from rain to snow to wind. However, most 4-season tents aren’t comfortable for camping during warmer months since they may not offer enough ventilation. You may find yourself boiling during a warm summer in a 4-season tent. And during a hot summer? Spontaneous combustion!
For most recreational camping activities, a three-season tent is just perfect, since most families won’t be camping in the snow or very cold conditions. Plus, three-season tents are typically less expensive than a four-season tents.
Summer/Screen Tents
This type of tent has excellent ventilation and large, mesh covered windows and doors. Summer/screen tents are a type of tent that are primarily screen with huge windows and limited solid sides. While these tents usually have a rain fly, they are really best suited for warm weather or summer only and not for chilly fall weather or breezy, wet springs, because of the large amounts of screening.
Plus, they’re not usually made of materials (fabric, screening, and poles) tough enough to stand up to high winds or driving rains. And you’d be miserable if it snowed!
How Many People Will Be In The Tent?
Tents come with a capacity rating that denotes the number of people who can sleep in the tent, according to the manufacturer. In addition, some tent models come in multiple capacities, or sizes.
But what the tent manufacturers always fail to build into their capacity rating is one simple thing: gear.
That’s right, the capacity rating is for nothing more than average-sized adults in a sleeping bag. Period, that’s it. It doesn’t take into account duffle bags, a spot for a port-a-potty, rolling over, the dog, etc. A good rule of thumb is to allow at least an extra person of capacity in the tent for gear. So, if you’re a family of four, get a tent with a capacity for a minimum of five sleepers, six would probably be better.
Here’s the way I look at it: a duffle bag is about 1/3 of a sleeping bag. And every camper has his or her own duffle. So, a family of six has at least two whole extra “people” just in duffle bags! And, if you want to move around in the tent at all… that’s another “person.”
And don’t forget Fido! If your dog will be sleeping in the tent for you, be sure to leave enough room for him or his kennel. Only you know if your dog sleeps all spread out like a bed hog or rolled into a little ball. Keep that in mind when deciding on how large the tent needs to be.
A lot of gear can live outside the tent or be stored in your vehicle. But you really do want your duffle bag with your change of clothes right there with you!
Sleeping configuration
Hand-in-hand with the size rating is the suggested sleeping arrangement. Many, but not all, tents, show suggested sleeping arrangements in the footprint of the tent. Keep this arrangement in mind when you think about crawling over another person to answer nature’s call in the middle of the night! Some types of tent layout also show campers sleeping head-to-toe with another person. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like to have my pillow inches away from another person’s feet; I prefer to have everybody’s toes pointing the same way!
Tent Features
Floors
The type and style of the tent floor is a feature that may be easy to overlook, and miserable to deal with, in camp. Make sure that you are buying a tent with a floor in it! Also look for a tent that has a seamless floor; the floor should be made from a single piece of fabric.
Avoid tents with a plastic or tarp-like floor, because this will tear easily and wear out quickly. The tent floor will likely be from the same material as the tent, but thicker and treated to be waterproof.
My recommendation is to steer clear of any tent that is super cheap. (Discounts and year-end-sales, notwithstanding!) If a retailer can sell you a tent dirt-cheap, then the manufacturer probably used dirt-cheap materials. And the tent won’t stand up to your family using it, wind, dirt or rain.
Perimeter-cut
Most commonly found in backpacking tents, perimeter-cut floors are where waterproof floor sections (sidewalls and ground-touching panels) are separate pieces of fabric stitched together at the perimeter. Perimeter cuts are alternately known as a “Catenary” cut, a “cut-in” floor or a “taped insider” floor. The perimeter-cut design creates straight, taut edges along the tent’s perimeter, optimizing floor space.
Bathtub
Most family-style recreation tents have a bathtub style floor. A bathtub floor gets its name from the way the floor material continues up the walls about six inches before being sewn to the walls. The purpose of this is to keep the side seams elevated, so no seams are in contact with the ground, where water might seep in.
Ground cloths, footprints, and liners
Many tent manufactures also sell a ground cloth, or footprint, that is another waterproof barrier designed to go under the tent. A ground cloth or footprint also protects the tent floor from damage caused by the ground.
Some manufactures also market a tent liner that goes inside the tent to protect the tent from damage caused by shoes, walking on the tent floor, and gear.
Every tent manufacturer has their own name for their floor-saving accessories. Just make sure you know if it goes inside or under the tent!
Single-wall vs. double-wall
A single-wall tent is where the tent fabric is not treated to be water-resistant but is actually waterproof. There will be no detachable rain fly with a single-wall tent. Since there is only one wall, it must be able to let moisture out and a waterproof layer to keep rain, dew, snow and wind out. A single-wall tent should have lots of ventilation areas that can be propped open using some combination of stiff tent material and guy lines.
And advantage of a single wall tent is that there are fewer pieces to carry so there is less chance that you’ll leave an important piece of gear at home. That being said, single-wall tents still don’t offer as many ventilation options as double-wall tents.
A double-wall tent has two parts to the tent: the main tent body and a second covering that is stretched over the tent. The second covering is usually called a rain fly.
The advantages of a double wall tent are that you don’t have to put on the rain fly. If you are expecting warm, dry weather with little to no dew, you can leave the fly off entirely. Of course, that means that the tent walls will be mostly mesh; that affords little privacy!
Don’t assume that your tent is waterproof. You may not know that the tent material isn’t waterproof until it starts to leak!
The tent fly is made of heavier fabric and is coated to make it water and windproof. Plus, the rain fly acts in conjunction with the tent body to trap a layer of air between them and help with keeping the interior of the tent up to ten degrees warmer.
Multi-room tents
Some tents will come with a room divider. It can either be a permanent or removable feature. The advantage is that a multi-room tent can give campers a little privacy. But, you need to weigh it against additional tent pieces to lose or damage. And, in the case of multi-room tents with permanent dividers, it can make it difficult for the entire family to gather in one area to socialize or play cards.
Doors & windows
Windows should be covered with a fine mesh that will keep out most insects. The more windows, the better the ventilation and the easier it is to catch a cross-breeze during the day.
When choosing a tent, multiple doors are usually a plus. It maximizes the ways that someone can exit a tent in the middle of the night without having to crawl over somebody else.
The big key to a tent’s doors and windows is to keep the tent’s zippers closed as much as possible. Many tents offer windows and doors that are screened and also have tent material that can be zipped into place. Think of it like the windows in your house: you have screens in the window to let in air but keep out bugs (the tent mesh) and blinds that cover the window so you can choose if you can see through the window (the tent material).
Keeping tent zipper closed as much as possible doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t unzip the tent fabric away from the doors and windows, like opening the blinds. It means to keep the mesh in place over the window and door openings. In you leave the tent door hanging open you can only blame yourself when the flies and mosquitoes invite themselves over for a party!
Ventilation
Our bodies naturally radiate heat, and our exhalations let out both heat and moisture. On a cool night, inside an enclosed tent, the moisture in our breath can cause condensation to form on the inside of the tent. If enough condensation builds up, added to any humidity that’s already in the air, the moisture could pool into drops of water and start raining on you inside the tent! Not fun! The solution is to make sure your tent has adequate ventilation.
Tent Coatings
Fabric coatings make the tent material water-resistant, waterproof, or UV-resistant. Every tent manufacturer will have a different name for its treatment process, so be sure to verify what the coating does for the material.
Water-resistant coatings will stand up to occasional light rain or snow showers and general morning dew. Waterproof coatings keep the inside of the tent dry in harsh weather. UV coatings prevent damage from the sun.
Tent Poles and Frame Material
The frame of a tent is the poles that hold it up and give the tent its shape. The most common types of tent poles are aluminum, fiberglass, and composite materials. Aluminum or fiberglass poles are the materials of choice for most family recreational tents.
The advantage to aluminum is that it is light, inexpensive and relatively tough. Aluminum poles will bend under weight (like snow) and can be bent with rough handling. Aluminum is vulnerable to corrosion, which is why almost all aluminum tent poles are anodized.
Fiberglass poles are less expensive than aluminum and also lightweight. They’re not as sturdy as aluminum and are nearly impossible to fix if it breaks; fiberglass will break if it’s bent too much (heavy winds), and can actually splinter and damage the tent fabric. Composite poles are usually made from carbon fiber.
Composite poles are durable, lightweight, and tough. And usually really expensive! For a family recreational tent, they’re overkill. For a backpacker who hikes fifteen miles in a day -that’s the pole of choice!