Everybody is counting their pennies and nothing drains the family budget more than a holiday. Buying a tent opens up a whole range of holiday possibilities where you don’t have to shell out for accommodation. So, what should you be looking for when you buy a tent?
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The 2 most important features when choosing a tent are
1. Capacity. Tents are often sold by ‘person’ eg a ‘3 person tent’ – but as well as sleeping room you need to consider how much kit you plan to take along. A ‘4 person tent’ may be just big enough for two of you, your clothes and a cool box so make sure you check dimensions.
2. Construction. You need a combination of space, sturdyness and ease of erection. We give you the pros and cons of tent types in more detail below. If you are a fairweather camper unlikely to use your ‘canvas’ more than once or twice a year and for relatively short periods, you need something that’s easy to set up.
Before you even look at a tent ask yourself these questions…
- How often are you planning to camp?
- How many people will be using the tent? Adults only or kids too?
- Will you be transporting it by car or do you plan to carry it on your back?
- Are you likely to use it for short trips, weekends, overnighters and festivals or do you plan to take it on holiday?
- Do you want to stand up in it?
- Do you need separate living and sleeping areas?
You’ll find more helpful buying advice under our pro and cons section below.
Prices and brands
You can get some incredibly cheap tents these days but be prepared to pay at least £50-60 for a 2 / 3 person tent if you want it to last (and keep you dry and warm). For a 4 person tent, or something with more height and space you need to budget between £100 and £150. Brands worth looking out for include Outwell, Vango and Khyam.
Where to buy…
The Outwell
Black’s have an excellent supply and offer good discounts online. If you want something relatively cheap, easy to carry and ideal for a couple, then check out the 3-person Outwell Jersey M Pop Up Tent which is currently on offer.
>> Blacks
>> Outwell Fusion 300 Pop Up Tent
Another really great UK site is Outdoor Gear. They stock everything for the camper including some fantastic tents at reasonable prices. Their range includes the Lulu XL toilet tent. >> Outdoor Gear tents
If you’re just looking for something cheap the kids can have fun with check out:
>>Argos
>>Tesco
If you live in the US then check out the Sierra Trading Post online. They always have 35% – 70% discounts available. >> You’ll find Sierra Trading Post camping and hiking gear in their Outdoors section
The pros and cons of tents types
Ridge tents - old fashioned, traditional, triangular tents – the sort with a pole at each end and a long horizontal pole running between. The big issue with this type of tent is that the sides are unsupported.
Dome tents – popular with backpackers as they pack up compactly and are light and easy to carry. They’re also easy to put up as they have lightweight aluminium poles which thread through a sleeve in the tent fabric and cross at the top.
Steel frame tents – loads of headroom and living space. They provide separate sleeping compartments, with a kitchen and a living area. They usually have cotton flysheets but these can sometimes be synthetic.
Pop-up tents – these are quite new and are really super easy lightweight convenient tents. They pack flat like a circle and you just shake them open and their spring action “pops” them into shape. This video to show just how easy they are – it also includes some generally good advice on pitching a tent.
Wilderness Survival: How To Pitch A Pop-Up Tent
Geodesic tents – similar to dome tents but have a different pole configuration so they are stronger at withstanding windy conditions. They have flexible poles which cross each other at different levels and hold the fabric taut.
Touring tents – come as extended ridge or dome designs but with more height so you can stand up and walk around in them. They often have clear plastic windows and a large porch area where people often cook.
Hoop or tunnel tents – very popular with mountaineers as they are very sturdy yet light to carry. They have a support structure of one or more hoops so they are shaped like a tunnel and sometimes you can enter the tent from either end.
Vis a vis tents – these have sleeping compartments on either side of a central living area. They can be constructed with either ridge or dome style. Fabric is usually lightweight nylon or polyester.
Tent construction and materials
Most good tents have a two-wall structure comprising a an inner breathable sleeping section and a separate waterproof flysheet. This gives insulation and prevents the build-up of condensation inside the tent.
Cotton It is usually coated with PVC for the roof and the skirt (the strip round the bottom). It is however heavier than synthetic fabrics and is much bulkier making it far less portable. The big drawback of cotton tents is that they will rot unless given lots of care and attention.
Nylon and polyester They dry quickly. They’re lightweight. They pack easily into a very small size. They also need very little care and maintenance.The drawback is they can become brittle and deteriorate with prolonged exposure to bright sunlight.
Nowadays tents come with Sewn-In-Groundsheets (S.I.G.s). These are sewn either to the inner tent or to the outer flysheet and provide comfort and warmth for your tent and keep insects at bay. Whatever the type of tent you choose do make sure it comes with a SIG.
Tent tales
>> Read Clare Flynn’s article on How to go camping (not) – salutary tales about ‘two person tents’ and DingoesAnd don’t forget to tell us your tent tales. Use the comment box below.
Posted by Alexus1325 (unregistered) on August 5, 2009 at 7:34am
Great article! I just want to add that there is a way to determine what size tent you need depending on your circumstances. . Here in Northern Ontario, we do alot of weekend camping. It's not unusual to spend 3 or 4 nights in the bush. This means we tend to take alot of equipment. . For sleeping tents, we have a rule about tent size: take the number of people proclaimed on the packaging, divide by two, and if it's a fraction, round down to the nearest whole number. For example, a 7-man tent: 7 divided by 2 equals 3.5. That means it will comfortably sleep 3 people and their packs. . If it's just overnight and there is no equipment to be stored, divide the proclaimed sleep capacity by 3, round down to the nearest whole number and remove the result from the original number. For example, a 10-man tent: 10 divided by 3 equals 3.33 repeating. Therefore, 10 minus 3 equals 7. That means, 7 people will survive the night in a 10-man tent if they don't have bags and equipment with them. . I'm not making this up. We do the math before buying or borrowing tents :P The reasoning behind all this math is that each person's belongings take up approximately half a person's space, plus you want to avoid crowding. My boyfriend and I own a 5-man easy-up dome tent with vestibule that is GREAT. We sleep in the dome and put the gear in the vestibule. . I'd also like to make one more recommendation: if the party is four or more people, consider buying or borrowing a screen tent. We have never gone in a party smaller than four (and usually more like 6 to 10), so we always take a screen tent to use as a "kitchen" tent. Ours is old and has no rain fly, so we cover it with tarps. We store all our food and cooking supplies in it. That means any bears that come by will root around the kitchen tent and likely leave US alone :P