Tent Considerations for Buying

[renodesertfox]

Howdy,

When buying a tent, you have to consider many factors. Before you begin, you must first decide what features you want to have and how much money you are willing to spend. Tents can range in price from $20 to nearly $900, so it is important to know about the various features that camping tents can have.

• Poles - the best camping tent poles are made of high-strength aluminum, carbon fiber, or fiberglass. You may also find color-coded tent poles to assist you when setting up your tent.
• Freestanding - even though it is recommended that you always stake a tent down, it is important to find a tent that will stand up easily on many surfaces (sand, rocks, snow, etc.)
• Inside Storage - some tents will have pockets for storage. Other tents will have gear loops to hang flashlights from the inside.
• Carrying Case - nearly all tents come with some sort or carrying case. If you\'re going to be transporting the tent very often, make sure to get a heavy-duty tent carrying case.
• Fabric - this is important for durability as well as weight. Most tents are made of nylon or polyester. Make sure that you get a tent with fireproof material.
• Floors - sometimes, floors are made of multiple pieces. However, one-piece floors are better for \"waterproofness.\"
• Wall Steepness - the steeper the walls, the more room will be available on the inside of the tent. Steep walls also shed precipitation better than less-steep walls.
• Rainfly - these usually fit on top of the tent and act as extra protection against rain
• Windows and Doors - if you camp in warm areas, you should look for tents with many windows and doors. You should also look for tents with a screen layer so you can ventilate the tent without letting in bugs.
• Color - brighter colors will allow more light into the tent.
• Webbing - Strongly stitched nylon webbing is a must.

Good luck and if you are reading this for the first time and are thinking about joining campingforums.com come on. Sign up is free and it's a great place to share experiences about camping and asking questions. It is fun learning from each other! Let's go camping!

[Mike59]

Don't forget about size, or rather the size/value proposition. I like/need lots of elbow room, so I look for larger forms and tend to sacrifice some quality but that's OK. $200-$250 can usually get me a little of both.

[Bigdog57]

I find the size listed usually to be 'snug'. For two people, get a three-man tent. For a large guy, get a two-man tent for comfort and room to store gear.
Also, look for a full length rainfly, extending all the way to the ground - many cheap tents have a half-height rainfly - this WILL leak rainwater!
Always put a plastic or tarp ground sheet under the tent, to keep it clean and help prevent twigs or other things puncturing the tent floor. Also, it's nice if this ground sheet extends a few feet in front, to provide a 'front porch' - helps keep from tracking dirt into the tent.
At one time, Wally's carried some nifty "Glow-in-the-dark'" tent pegs - they work! Makes it easier to see at night where your tent is, and to find the pegs.
Different pegs may be needed for different ground types. Those skinny metal wire type work well in hard clay or rocky ground, but fail in southeastern sand! There, we need the fatter plastic pegs. I keep both types handy, depending on terrain.
Fiberglass tent poles can fail too - I had a section split once - but I wrapped it in bailing wire and slathered on some JB Quik-Weld - fixed it!

Just some tips I have learned from camping......

[Sford13]

Just having done some research on tents, I would say that keep in mind you get what you pay for in most cases. Several years ago I went out to buy a new tent. This was going to be a family tent even though at the time is was just me and my wife. I was willing to spend money to get a decent tent. Went to several different sporting goods type stores looking and really found stuff but nothing "big". I wanted room. Ended up at Target and saw a Coleman tent that was BIG had three rooms and was a fraction of what I had been looking at. Bought it.

Ok it is a Coleman and really an ok tent. If you planned on using it once maybe twice a year I would recommend it. But I am looking to do more than just a couple days of camping a year. So now I find myself in 3 years out shopping for a tent again. And would say after using the Coleman some and camping in Illinois I would say you have 3 things to consider.

Weather proof- It need to not only stay dry but also stand up in a strong wind. Illinois can have some strong winds with it's thunderstorms. A full coverage fly is now a must for me on any tent. If it is not full coverage it better be atleast 90%.

Ventalation- Summers can get warm so amble air movement in the tent is crucial. Look for air movement and don't be fulled by mesh ceilings. My coleman tent has a mesh but still no air movement. There is several factors to this. One is the V shape and small screens on the doors do not allow air to pass thru. Look for large screens directly across from each other to correct this. Also the window screens are mostly covered by the rain fly so unless their is decent wind there is no air movement. So while the ceiling is mess the air just sits where it is.

Size and usable space- Now I know that tents are rated for how many people you could sleep with no extra space. That is why I got the Coleman as it was a 9 person tent. So I was sure to have lots of extra room. Well it turns out that because of the V shape that alot of the room is un-usable. I think I would stay more with traditional shapes. Avoid being sold on a unique design without really considering how you would use it.

Just my 2 cents after having made the mistake of not really researching a tent purchase.

[Mike59]

The size and usable space are different as size (i.e. 14' x 12") usually indicates the footprint. Usable space is certainly less. And the number of people it says sleeps is "packing 'em in".

[renodesertfox]

Good advice there Mike. Thanks for adding. One thing to try too if a family is large with a few older children and younger, is to consider allowing the older boy(s) sleep alone in their own small tent as opposed to trying to cram everyone into the tent for Mom & Dad. When my sons reached 8 they were camping with us in their own little pup-tent. My oldest child, who is now almost thirty, began camping with us when he was 11 months old. Shawn, still loves all the outdoor stuff more than I, once he had graduated from the Cordon Bleu French Cooking School here in Las Vegas he found work in a fabulous resort in Minnesota. When he flies down here to see us in the dead of winter, what do we do...we go camping and he still sleeps with his bride in the little tent I purchased some twenty years ago!

[Bigdog57]

... and he still sleeps with his bride in the little tent I purchased some twenty years ago!

It's COZY like that - he's no fool! :D

Though a 7' diameter three-man dome tent fits a twin-size good thick airbed very nicely! (Hint...hint...)

Maybe Dad could 'upgrade' him and his good lady wife this Christmas?

[renodesertfox]

Hey Bigdog, we purchased 2 Kelty Crestone 2 backpacking tents, $109 a piece! One is going to be delivered in Minnesota and the other is already on it's way here! He and his bride of 2 years are flying down in in January for our 25th wedding aniversary and we will be going camping like we do every year probably back to Joshua Tree National Park. Thanks for your suggestion! Hey, it's the season!

[Sample]

Hey everyone. I need some help. I"ve been looking for a new Tent for a month or so. Have been looking online alot and "educating" myself about what I want in my new tent. My old Eddy Bauer tent that I bought years ago is wearing out(I use to only camp a couple times a year with it), but got married a year or so ago and my wife and her family camp alot during the spring,summer and fall,we'll we try to make it once or twice a month during that time.

I need a tent with room for my wife(our queen mattress) our dog and a future kid or 2. Were trying to have one and we've also considered being foster parents.

Here's what I"m looking for and the importance:as close to 300 or under as possible..but if you know of something more..please let me know

1. Staying Dry
-Full Rain Fly or close..bathtub floor...qualtiy floor..welded seams.. and good waterproofing.

2. Being Well Built(which also includes staying dry and handling the wind)

3.Size
-my present tent is about a 8x15 although it's got a very short ceiling. So mininum I want a 10x10,but I"d prefer something a bit bigger,but not on the huge size(seen those 20x20 tents out there..:P).
-being able to stand up in it,is also important.

4. Venilation
5. Vertical Walls would be cool
6. "Extras"

I"ve checked out alot of websites and reviews. I"ll briefly list what I"ve read and why I'm hesistant about some tents.

Eureaka-alot of positive reviews,but the floors are mostly made out of same material as the walls and on some models plastic zippers.
Columbia-same type of floors and read about shoddy workmanship
Coleman-seems alot of negative reviews about most and some of the rain flys aren't very good
Jeep Tents-alot of leak concerns

Many others-Swiss,Camping Equipment,QuicTents,Wenzel


I have been looking into Giga Tents. They have a couple models there that seem to fit what I"m looking at and under $300 bucks.

Any help would be appreicated.

[renodesertfox]

Actually under $300 for a tent with what you want is kinda hard to fill. We own a Canvas wall tent 9x12 and it has everything that you're wishing for except the price. Ours was $750. But we love to camp, in any kind of weather! We are not pretend campers...it's at least twice a month. Except for last month and this month because of the move to Reno. Camping is our main sport so the $750 tent has already paid for itself many times over. A tent is your home away from home so when it comes to buying a home I want the best I can afford.

[lowplainsdrifter]

You can read all this. But what you really need to do is get out an camp.
And by doing that you will learn what like and don't like about a tent.

Our main concerns in tent shopping are ventelation, size/height, and durability.

When we started camping we were pretty brand loyal to Coleman. I grew up in Wichita, it's a local company. But having had two Coleman tents, I don't think tents are their strong suit. Cooler's and stoves maybe, but not tents.

Anyway, The tent we have now is a Quest 8 Person Tent. I think that's it's actual name. The tent itself has been discontinued. We bought it on clearance at Dick's Sporting Goods. It had everything we wantet: Tall and wide, with good ventaliation..a lot of the tent is mesh. We picked it up for $250. After we bought it I got online and started reading the reviews of the tent we just bought. They were terrible. I was like great, I just bought a crappy tent on clearance.

However, I think it's the best tent we've owned. It's kept us dry, catches a breeze, and is huge. The only draw backs is it will not fit on most platforms if you're camping somewhere that requires that. It's in the middle of it's third season. Although, we did shatter one of the poles under the weight of 16 inches of snow during out last trip. I'm not sure any tent would have held up. But, tent poles are easy to replace.

[renodesertfox]

LPd, when are you goin' campin'? Thanks for your opinion here...it's great getting everyone to voice up on a great subject!