Before you can go out and buy tents, you need to take a little time to consider exactly what you want your tent to be able to do. If you are going winter camping, for instance, then you are going to want to buy a four season tent that will be able to stand up to ugly winter weather that might wreck a three season tent. Of course, the seasons of the year that your tent is appropriate for is only one of several different things that you need to consider.
Buy Tents
What to look for when you want to buy tents.- Capacity – One of the more important things that you need to decide on is how big your tent is going to be. More specifically, it’s often helpful to compare the floor space of tents. Two may both be called 3 man tents, but they will not necessarily have the same amount of floor space available.
- Weight – Another important consideration is the weight of the tent. If you’re not going to be carrying your tent, if you’re just car camping for example, then it might not be too much of a concern. But if you’re going to be carrying a tent while camping or backpacking, you will be wishing you had paid a little more for the lightweight tent at the end of the trip.
Recommend Tents to Buy
Some of the better possible tents to buy, based on the above.- REI Camp Dome Tent - If all you need is something basic to get you through the night without getting you dry, a little recreational camping, then the Camp Dome is an ideal tent for you. The price is very low, and it's really just a basic 2 person, dome tent. It has 2 doors, which is nice, though no vestibule, which might be a feature that you want. It's also a bit heavy, at 4 pounds 15 ounces, or 2.24 kilograms. But again, the price is right. It also comes in a 4 man size.
- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 - The Fly Creek is the kind of tent you want for backpacking. With room inside for just 1, and a weight of just 1 pound 14 ounces, or 850 grams, it's light enough to throw in to your backpack and just about forget about. It's also a freestanding tent, which is impressive for the weight. Of course a tent doesn't get that light without utilizing a few expensive features and materials, so the cost is a little high. But if you need something lightweight for backpacking, this is an ideal option.
- NEMO Equipment Meta 2P - This is something a little different from NEMO. It's a single wall tent, for starters, and you can also use trekking poles, rather than the tent poles, as supports for the tent. So if you carry trekking poles and you can save weight and bulk by leaving the tent poles at home. And of course the single wall design helps keep the bulk and weight down. There's room inside for 2, and also a nice, big vestibule. The whole thing weighs 2 pounds 15 ounces, or 1.33 kilograms.
