Color- When considering tent color decide if you want to blend in with your environment or stand out. Neutral natural colors like green or tan blend in with the surrounding environment. Some areas even require tents to be of a certain color to minimize their visual impact.
If you're into extreme sports like climbing or extended backpacking trips, bright colors like orange or yellow might be a good idea however. In an emergency, bright colors can make it easier for a search team to locate you.
Ease-Of-Use And Set-up- When it comes to camping tents, simple is usually better. The mark of a well-thought-out tent is one that you can put together easily the first time without directions. Maybe it's just me, but great products should be intuitive to use, just like an iPod. No it's not 'the' most important thing, but it can make a definite difference in your overall experience. The easier it is to use, the better you will like a product.
Ease-of-use also includes how many people a tent requires to set-up. All else being equal, which of these two tents would you choose? One that only requires a single person for set-up, freeing their buddy to make them dinner, or one that requires two cranky people with growling stomachs? Besides, if you ever decide to solo, it won't even be an option. Simple is almost always better.
Materials Used- Tents can be constructed from everything from canvas (cotton fabric), to nylon, to polyester, to Gore-Tex® or other breathable materials. Older style tents were usually made from cotton canvas which is heavy in comparison to new materials, especially when canvas gets wet. Canvas is probably my last choice when it comes to tent materials unless you plan on being outside in the sun for extended periods of time, or you're hunting and need a good quality wall tent.
Nylon and polyester are lightweight and can be made very water-resistant when manufactured correctly. (I hesitate to call anything truly waterproof as it implies an absolute barrier that can never be penetrated, and this really doesn't exist. After all most scuba diving watches are only water resistant to 100 meters.) The challenge though is to keep them out of the sunlight because UV (ultraviolet) light can break them down.
Some of the more expensive tents are made from breathable fabrics. The supposed advantage being that they only require one-wall construction to keep you dry, while at the same time they breathe to let the moisture inside the tent escape. One-wall translates directly to lighter weight which is always nice. Like anything though, design and construction can either make a product great or downright bad. Just like anything there are good products, and not so good products.
Size- One of the first questions to ask yourself is how much room do you want. Notice I said want, and not need. Usually you can get by with what you need, but you won't be as happy as if you got what you wanted in the first place. It's like buying a mini van for its practicality, when secretly you want or even lust after a sports car. The difference with a tent though is that it's not going to cost you thousands of dollars more to get a better tent.
Personally I like to have a lot of room to get comfortable. I don't enjoy feeling like I can't move around, especially if I keep bumping into things. I also like keeping a small amount of gear inside the tent so I have it close at hand if I want it.
Keep in mind the advertised "person" rating of a tent is usually an ideal that most people won't be happy with. For example, the average two-person tent rating means that you and a close-friend (I mean this literally) that you hopefully like very well, will be able to fit with not much room for anything else. That means, no gear, no moving around to find a comfortable position, and not much stretching out either. If you're like me and like extra room simply double the capacity of what the manufacturer claims the tent will fit. That means if you mostly camp with just one other person, get a 4-person tent for the two of you. Unless you're a backpacker, you'll be glad you did.
Style/Type- There are a few different types of camping tent. The type of the tent you get should reflect what you plan to use it for. My advice is to somewhat overestimate what it is you will use your tent for. For example, if you plan on doing early and late summer camping, I'd make the jump from a strictly summer tent to a 3-season tent. This way you should be OK if the weather ever surprises you at some point. As I just mentioned above having a little extra room is nice too. That way if you have to stay inside because it rains for a straight week, it might even prevent things from getting ugly. ;-)
There are several different styles of tent. For most people I'd recommend either a dome or cabin tent.
Dome tents are nice because they tend to hold up to the elements better. Their shape lets the wind blow over and around them much more easily than a stand-up cabin tent. Where I've had a cabin tent collapse on me twice, once at 3 am. in moderate rain, I've yet to have a dome tent collapse. The flexible poles make the tent free-standing, which simply means the tent will stay up without the benefit of guy lines, which can't be said for a cabin-type tent. Some dome tents add more poles to the mix which serve to strengthen the tent because it takes on a more geodesic design, this is nice in high-wind or snowy conditions. Again make sure to get one with a good rainfly.
Cabin tents are nice if you want to stand upright fully, though there are dome tents that offer 6 and half feet of peak height (remember peak height just refers to the center of the tent). Cabin tents can offer a little more vertical storage area near the walls, but to me it doesn't out-weigh the drawbacks. Since cabin tents usually have a single wall (i.e. no rainfly) by design they're more likely to leak. That alone is enough for me to look toward dome tents with a rainfly.
Tunnel tents usually require guy lines for support to keep them upright. They get their name because of their shape which usually requires 2-4 hoops to prop them up. Tunnel tents can offer a little more room, and are pretty stable in the wind especially when compared to cabin tents.
As you may have guessed my preference lies with geodesic dome tents. A couple of other things to consider...
Time of year- What time of year you'll be camping will also play a major factor in what tent you select. If you camp mostly in the summer or camp in hot locations, then you're going to want as much ventilation as possible. Look for tents that offer plenty of built-in screens and windows.
If you camp from spring to fall, then look for something that offers a happy medium between
ventilation and solid panel construction. To me that means a tent with plenty of windows that can be zipped shut as needed, and maybe a few small ventilation screen panels.
If you do a lot of winter camping, you're probably going to want a dedicated winter tent that can shrug off the winter winds and snow with a smile. So what exactly does a smiling tent look like anyway... if you've got a picture, I'd like to see it.
Use- Another big consideration to think about is what you're going to actually use your tent for. Do you backpack, camp mostly out of your car, or are you going to use it for winter hunting? As each of these all have very different requirements.
If you're going to be backpacking you're going to want something light and compact that's easy to setup on a daily basis, maybe even in the dark.
With car camping, a larger heavier tent will be easier to take with you because you won't have to carry it. But if you have a small vehicle, trunk space may be a deciding factor in what tent you get. If this describes you, take a look at the tents overall packed dimensions, to see how it measures up.
If you're planning extended winter hunting trips, then you're going to want to look at sturdier wall tents. Some of which can be equipped to handle a wood stove to keep you comfortable when the temperature drops below zero.
If you're into extreme sports like climbing or extended backpacking trips, bright colors like orange or yellow might be a good idea however. In an emergency, bright colors can make it easier for a search team to locate you.
Ease-Of-Use And Set-up- When it comes to camping tents, simple is usually better. The mark of a well-thought-out tent is one that you can put together easily the first time without directions. Maybe it's just me, but great products should be intuitive to use, just like an iPod. No it's not 'the' most important thing, but it can make a definite difference in your overall experience. The easier it is to use, the better you will like a product.
Ease-of-use also includes how many people a tent requires to set-up. All else being equal, which of these two tents would you choose? One that only requires a single person for set-up, freeing their buddy to make them dinner, or one that requires two cranky people with growling stomachs? Besides, if you ever decide to solo, it won't even be an option. Simple is almost always better.
Materials Used- Tents can be constructed from everything from canvas (cotton fabric), to nylon, to polyester, to Gore-Tex® or other breathable materials. Older style tents were usually made from cotton canvas which is heavy in comparison to new materials, especially when canvas gets wet. Canvas is probably my last choice when it comes to tent materials unless you plan on being outside in the sun for extended periods of time, or you're hunting and need a good quality wall tent.
Nylon and polyester are lightweight and can be made very water-resistant when manufactured correctly. (I hesitate to call anything truly waterproof as it implies an absolute barrier that can never be penetrated, and this really doesn't exist. After all most scuba diving watches are only water resistant to 100 meters.) The challenge though is to keep them out of the sunlight because UV (ultraviolet) light can break them down.
Some of the more expensive tents are made from breathable fabrics. The supposed advantage being that they only require one-wall construction to keep you dry, while at the same time they breathe to let the moisture inside the tent escape. One-wall translates directly to lighter weight which is always nice. Like anything though, design and construction can either make a product great or downright bad. Just like anything there are good products, and not so good products.
Size- One of the first questions to ask yourself is how much room do you want. Notice I said want, and not need. Usually you can get by with what you need, but you won't be as happy as if you got what you wanted in the first place. It's like buying a mini van for its practicality, when secretly you want or even lust after a sports car. The difference with a tent though is that it's not going to cost you thousands of dollars more to get a better tent.
Personally I like to have a lot of room to get comfortable. I don't enjoy feeling like I can't move around, especially if I keep bumping into things. I also like keeping a small amount of gear inside the tent so I have it close at hand if I want it.
Keep in mind the advertised "person" rating of a tent is usually an ideal that most people won't be happy with. For example, the average two-person tent rating means that you and a close-friend (I mean this literally) that you hopefully like very well, will be able to fit with not much room for anything else. That means, no gear, no moving around to find a comfortable position, and not much stretching out either. If you're like me and like extra room simply double the capacity of what the manufacturer claims the tent will fit. That means if you mostly camp with just one other person, get a 4-person tent for the two of you. Unless you're a backpacker, you'll be glad you did.
Style/Type- There are a few different types of camping tent. The type of the tent you get should reflect what you plan to use it for. My advice is to somewhat overestimate what it is you will use your tent for. For example, if you plan on doing early and late summer camping, I'd make the jump from a strictly summer tent to a 3-season tent. This way you should be OK if the weather ever surprises you at some point. As I just mentioned above having a little extra room is nice too. That way if you have to stay inside because it rains for a straight week, it might even prevent things from getting ugly. ;-)
There are several different styles of tent. For most people I'd recommend either a dome or cabin tent.
Dome tents are nice because they tend to hold up to the elements better. Their shape lets the wind blow over and around them much more easily than a stand-up cabin tent. Where I've had a cabin tent collapse on me twice, once at 3 am. in moderate rain, I've yet to have a dome tent collapse. The flexible poles make the tent free-standing, which simply means the tent will stay up without the benefit of guy lines, which can't be said for a cabin-type tent. Some dome tents add more poles to the mix which serve to strengthen the tent because it takes on a more geodesic design, this is nice in high-wind or snowy conditions. Again make sure to get one with a good rainfly.
Cabin tents are nice if you want to stand upright fully, though there are dome tents that offer 6 and half feet of peak height (remember peak height just refers to the center of the tent). Cabin tents can offer a little more vertical storage area near the walls, but to me it doesn't out-weigh the drawbacks. Since cabin tents usually have a single wall (i.e. no rainfly) by design they're more likely to leak. That alone is enough for me to look toward dome tents with a rainfly.
Tunnel tents usually require guy lines for support to keep them upright. They get their name because of their shape which usually requires 2-4 hoops to prop them up. Tunnel tents can offer a little more room, and are pretty stable in the wind especially when compared to cabin tents.
As you may have guessed my preference lies with geodesic dome tents. A couple of other things to consider...
Time of year- What time of year you'll be camping will also play a major factor in what tent you select. If you camp mostly in the summer or camp in hot locations, then you're going to want as much ventilation as possible. Look for tents that offer plenty of built-in screens and windows.
If you camp from spring to fall, then look for something that offers a happy medium between
ventilation and solid panel construction. To me that means a tent with plenty of windows that can be zipped shut as needed, and maybe a few small ventilation screen panels.
If you do a lot of winter camping, you're probably going to want a dedicated winter tent that can shrug off the winter winds and snow with a smile. So what exactly does a smiling tent look like anyway... if you've got a picture, I'd like to see it.
Use- Another big consideration to think about is what you're going to actually use your tent for. Do you backpack, camp mostly out of your car, or are you going to use it for winter hunting? As each of these all have very different requirements.
If you're going to be backpacking you're going to want something light and compact that's easy to setup on a daily basis, maybe even in the dark.
With car camping, a larger heavier tent will be easier to take with you because you won't have to carry it. But if you have a small vehicle, trunk space may be a deciding factor in what tent you get. If this describes you, take a look at the tents overall packed dimensions, to see how it measures up.
If you're planning extended winter hunting trips, then you're going to want to look at sturdier wall tents. Some of which can be equipped to handle a wood stove to keep you comfortable when the temperature drops below zero.
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