 | 3-Season Tents - These are the most popular tent sold today
because they are versatile, lightweight and easy to set
up. These tents can be used throughout the main camping
season (Spring - Fall) and stand up well to wind and rain. |
| 4-Season Tents - These tents are for use by those who intend
on camping during the winter months. They stand up well to
many inches of snow because they have more poles and less
horizontal surface area for snow to collect. |
| 3 and 4-Season Convertible Tents - These tents are
excellent year round shelters. Extra poles can be detached
to create a 3 season like tent for warmer climates or added for
a winter situation. |
| Bivy Sacks and Solo Tents - These shelters are for use by one
person that does not require too much space. They are
typically only big enough to accommodate you and your sleeping
gear. |
| Family Tents - Best used by the camping family. Family
tents are best used for car camping because of their weight but
there are some dome models that can be hauled into the
backcountry. |
| Shelters and Tarps - These are for the minimalists. They
are very lightweight but are only for use in warmer seasons and
in some cases are fully enclosed but sometimes not. |
| 1-Person Tents (Bivy Sacks and Solo Tents) - These tents
provide enough room for one individual and not much more. |
| 1 or 2-Person Tents - If you need a little extra space or
don't mind getting really cozy with another person, this tent is
an excellent choice for one, sometimes two. |
| 2-Person Tents - This is the most popular sized tent for
backpacking. It can accommodate two people snugly with a
little room for gear. |
| 2 or 3-Person Tents - An excellent choice for supplying enough
room for two plus gear or three minus the gear. |
| 3-Person Tents - An excellent choice for those who travel in
threes but also does very well for couples who need a good bit
of extra space. |
| 4-Person Tents - This is where the size and weight of the tent
makes it a little heavy to use for hiking into the backcountry
but components can be split up to be carried by others.
Tents this size or bigger are best for car camping. |
| 5-Person Tents and up (Family Tents) - Best for taking the
family out car camping but is great to have just in case there
will be more people or gear than planned. |
For most planning to buy a new tent, the manufacturers capacity
rating will suffice, but if you want to get down to the nitty gritty
and find out exactly what size you need, consider the
following. Most tents in our equipment store
have measurements that show the floor size of the tent. It
would be a good idea for you to measure your sleeping pad or
sleeping bag to get an idea of how much space you will need in a
tent. Lay out everything you think you will have with you in
your tent in a spare bedroom or in a nice open space and measure the
amount of space you think you will need. If you haven't got
that kind of space here is an idea. A typical sleeping pad
measures 72" x 20". Using that size you can
determine how many people you will have sleeping in your tent and
choose accordingly. Of course if you feel you need more
sleeping space or you toss and turn alot you might consider adding a
few inches to that measurement. Something else to consider is
if you are planning on getting an airbed of some type that you will
be using to sleep on, measure it before you buy a tent!
Some other things to consider are prices and accessories.
Prices on some high quality brand name tents can be quite high but
they are well worth it. The number of stitches, design and
rain-proofing will definitely save you and your gear from a sudden
rain and will last a good deal longer than a less expensive
model. If you are someone that is going to use a tent less
often, you may consider a less expensive tents from Eureka or Coleman
(The best
selection of Eureka and Coleman tents can be found at Fogdog.com but be sure to see their
current promotions before you go!) but be advised!
There are two accessories that are highly recommended when buying
a new tent. Footprints and
gear lofts. Footprints keep
the bottom of your tent from getting all torn up and will increase
the life of your tent. A gear loft can be hung on the inside
of the tent to store lightweight gear that might otherwise take up
your sleeping space.
Now that you are armed with all this information, it should be a little easier
to buy a tent online. Be sure to visit our equipment store to take a look at the tents we have to offer in the Camp/Hike section.
