Camping Tents

Camping tents, from a one-night shelter to a family pitch

Camping tents in this range run from bivvy shelters and hammock tents through to double-layer domes and pyramid designs built around a single central pole. Some pitch in seconds because the poles are already sprung into the fabric, others are cut down for bikepacking. Reading a tent starts with three things: how many people it is meant to hold, how the poles work, and whether it has one skin or two.

How many people does a rated tent actually sleep?

The number on a tent describes bodies lying side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with no room for boots or bags. A solo walker who wants floor space for a rucksack is usually happier in a two person tents model. The rating on a one person tent assumes a sleeping mat and nothing beside it. A couple travelling with a dog and wet kit tends to end up in a three person tent. For a group with camp chairs and a table under cover, the sensible starting point is tents four person and upwards. Weight is the price paid for that extra floor space, so the rule reverses as soon as the tent has to be carried far.

What changes between a single skin and a double layer?

A double-layer tent puts a breathable inner under a coated outer. Warm damp air passes through the inner, meets the cold flysheet, condenses there and runs down to the ground instead of dripping on a sleeping bag. A single-skin shelter loses that separation, which makes it lighter and faster to pitch but far more sensitive to condensation.

Which pole system suits which trip?

• Crossed dome poles: freestanding, so the tent can be lifted and moved once pitched, and stable on a hard surface where pegs will not bite.
• Single central pole: the pyramid layout, which gives generous headroom in the middle and steep walls that shed rain, at the cost of usable floor at the edges.
• Sprung automatic frame: opens on its own and is quick in bad light, though folding it back down is a knack worth practising at home.
• Suspended hammock designs: no floor and no need for flat ground, which suits woodland pitches and rules out open moorland.

Where do tents fail first?

At the pegging points and the zips, rarely in the middle of a panel. Guy points take the whole load of a gust, so a tent with reinforced tape at those corners lasts longer than one where the webbing is sewn straight to thin fabric. Zips wear out because grit gets into the teeth. Brushing the slider and the sand out of the door before packing is the single habit that adds seasons to a tent.

How should a tent be packed away?

Dry, if there is any choice in the matter. A tent bagged wet will mark and smell within days, and the coating on the flysheet degrades faster in a warm damp bag than it ever will in use. If it has to be packed wet, hang it out at home the same evening. Rolling the fabric around the poles rather than folding it along the same creases every time keeps the waterproof layer from cracking in a line.