Tents & Shelters

From a stretched sheet to a pitched tent

Tents & shelters covers everything that puts something between you and the sky, and the range is broader than the word tent suggests: camouflage netting, shade sails, heavy oxford tarpaulins, oversized ponchos and pitched tents all sit here. A sheet gives shade, cover and airflow for very little weight; a tent gives an enclosed, insect-proof space and takes longer to put up. The choice starts with whether you are keeping off sun, rain, insects or all three. Pitched designs are gathered in camping tents.

What is the difference between a tent and a tarp shelter?

A tent is a closed system with a sewn floor, a door and usually an inner layer, so it traps warmth and keeps crawling things out. A tarp is an open roof: lighter, faster, endlessly reconfigurable, and completely dependent on how you pitch it. In wind a low tarp pitched into the weather can be drier than a badly sited tent, while in still, damp air a tent keeps condensation off you because the inner separates you from the wet outer. Sheets and tarps of every size sit in tarp.

Does camouflage netting keep the rain off?

On its own, no. Netting is built to break up an outline and cut glare, and most of it is deliberately open so air and light pass through. It shades and hides, but water goes straight through unless a coated layer is put above or below it. If the aim is a dry roof, the material to look at is a coated sheet from waterproof tarpaulin, with netting used over the top when concealment matters as well.

How is a sheet pitched so it holds?

Tension is everything. A ridge line pulled tight between two anchor points takes the load; the sides are then pegged out so the fabric has no slack to flap in. Every guy line wants to pull in line with the seam it is attached to, otherwise the pull tears at the eyelet rather than spreading through the cloth. Give the roof enough angle for water to run rather than pool, because a shallow sag fills, stretches and eventually lets go.

What should be checked on a tarp?

• Tie-out points: how many eyelets or loops there are, and whether they sit on reinforced patches rather than on bare fabric.
• Seams: taped or sealed seams stop the needle holes leaking, which is where a coated sheet usually gives first.
• Fabric weight: heavier oxford cloth resists abrasion and wind, lighter nylon packs down and carries further.
• Packed size: a shelter that lives in a car boot can be as heavy as it likes; one that lives in a rucksack cannot.
• Pegs: supplied pegs are the weakest part of a tent and the cheapest thing to replace.

How much shelter do two people need?

Two sleepers need width for shoulders and somewhere dry to leave boots and packs, so a porch matters as much as the sleeping area. Dedicated cuts sit in two person tents. Whatever gets used, pack it away dry: a coated sheet or a flysheet stored damp grows mould that lifts the coating off, and once that has started, no amount of cleaning brings it back.