The catalog contains a very large assortment of models, numbering in the thousands of products. A convenient search filter will help you to focus on the tents that are right for you, where you can set the budget, brands, purpose and various characteristics, up to the colour scheme.

What do you need a tent for?

First of all, the buyers should decide what sort of outing into nature they will have and choose the optimal temporary home for it. So, according to the purpose, the following types of tents are distinguished:

1. Camping. Such a model is focused on long-term use in one place, for example, at a music festival, at a summer camp, etc. These tents are usually not carried in backpacks – they are brought by car. They are almost always designed for a large number of people – from 3-4 to 6+.

The main requirement for camping models is a high level of comfort, so before buying them pay attention to:

  • sleeping area dimensions and the interior space as a whole. The larger they are, the less the feeling of tightness and the more comfortable the rest;
Camping tent – spacious, comfortable, but heavy.
  • ceiling height. If you have a long stay, then it is better to consider tents in which you can stand to your full height without bending over;
  • vestibule space. In camping tents, it is here that a camping dining room is often set up, and in rainy weather tourists spend time talking, playing board games, etc. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a fairly large vestibule with a length of 1.5 meters or more;
  • number of entrances to the sleeping area. Often 4+ people live in camping tents, so they will be uncomfortable with one entrance;
  • overall layout of the interior. For large companies or several families, models with separate sleeping areas are a priority. Usually, between the rest rooms there is a vestibule. There are also sleeping areas with a partition, which is usually made removable. This option provides less privacy, because the sleepers will be very close;
  • availability of a quick installation system. It can be a frame sewn into the tent or an inflatable structure. Both options increase the weight and dimensions of the product when folded, but are great for beginners. With such a system, skills in assembling a tent are not required, and setting up a camp will be many times faster.
Camping Tents

Important! Camping tents can be quite heavy and bulky. And although transportation is mainly carried out by car, you need to carry it to the clearing or to the storage place in your hands. Plus, even before buying, you should think about a suitable place to store such an large product.

2. Trakking. This is a model for hiking or cycling trips. Accordingly, the main scenario for its use is as follows: all day you walk or ride a bicycle with a backpack, and in the evening you make a halt, put up a tent, spend the night, collect equipment in the morning and hit the road again.

Trekking tent – small, reliable, not heavy.

Usually, the main requirement for trekking models is lightness and compactness. Accordingly, when choosing such a tent, you should first of all look at:

  • weight. Here, the lighter, the better, because you have to carry less on your shoulders. A balance is considered such that the tent gives an “increase in weight” to the equipment of about 1 kg per user. So, for a 2-person model, the optimal weight is 2 kg, and for a 3-person model, 3 kg. In practice, it is often necessary to make a correction upwards, since many trekking tents for two weigh in the range from 2 to 3 kg. But there are also enough variations for those who seek to go “light” even on long trips. For example the 2-person Naturehike Cloud UP II 20D Silicone Light weighs only 1.24 kg;
  • dimensions when folded (in case). These parameters determine how much space the tent will take in a hiking backpack. Most manufacturers give these values, and using them it is easy to determine the volume of the model in liters – by multiplying the height, width and depth, and dividing the result by 1000. What does this information give? It's simple, let's say a 17-liter tent takes up a third of the space of a 50-liter backpack;
  • sleeping area dimensions. For trekking, a width margin per tourist of 60 cm is considered the norm (with an allowable error of 10 cm in both directions). A 3-person model can provide a sleeping area with floor dimensions of 180 by 200 cm (width and length, respectively). For camping, this is clearly a bit cramped, but for hiking it’s quite enough, especially if the weight and dimensions in the case not too large;
  • overall reliability, readiness for adverse weather conditions. We will discuss these points in more detail below;
  • for a bike trip, you should also consider the dimensions of the vestibule. If it is large or there are two of them, then in the rain it may be possible to hide the vehicle. But in trekking models, such a “luxury” is rare. Therefore, it is easier to take care of an additional bicycle cover.
Trekking Tents

Important! Trekking tents usually have a hemispherical shape. It is also called the dome. Such models, due to their "streamlined" design, resist the wind well and are better protected from getting wet – raindrops flow down to the ground. Sometimes trekking tents are also cylindrical half-barrels, which are usually taller and roomier inside, but also less wind resistant.

3. Expedition. These are solutions for the most extreme trips, including mountain climbing, winter hiking, long stays in places with difficult meteorological conditions (prolonged showers, storm winds, etc.).

Expedition tent is ready for various weather surprises.

Such tents are the choice of professionals and experienced tourists. For a beginner, the first camping trips should ideally not be so extreme. The characteristic features of expedition solutions include high water protection, resistance to winds, the presence of a reliable frame that is not afraid of temperature changes, skirts and various reinforced structural elements.

In addition to the listed tourist tents, other models are distinguished by purpose, namely:

  • fishing. There are varieties with characteristic distinctive features. For example, carp tents are designed for carp fishing, which can last for days. These are quite large and heavy models spacious inside that have the ability to accommodate various tourist furniture, including carp folding beds. Another category of fishing tents are winter models without a bottom, so you can drill a hole in the ice right in them;
  • beach. These are models for a safe short time in the summer sun, for example, near water (often with a specific UPF value – UV protection factor). Such tents are mostly open and in fact are an alternative to beach umbrellas;
  • canopies. These are specialized solutions for protection from the sun and/or light precipitation. They can serve as a camp kitchen, dining room, play area for children. There are both more massive canopy tents with a supporting frame, and lightweight textile models that can be stretched between trees;
  • shower and/or toilet tents. Highly specialized models are predominantly vertical in shape.
Expedition Tents

How many people is the tent for?

When you have decided on the purpose of the tent, it is worth sorting out the number of its “residents”. For single travelers, single tents are offered, and for large companies, you can choose models designed for 6, 8, and even for 10 people. Solutions for two, three and four are considered the most popular, which is quite logical – most often trips are undertaken together or as a family with one or more children.

We remind you that the standard width of a sleeping area for one person is 60 cm. For example, this is enough for a child, but in practice, children rarely sleep peacefully in one position, instead they like to spread their knees and elbows, so really saving space will come out only with babies up to 3 - 5 years. It is also important to take into account the complexion of specific tourists, for large people, even 70 cm is not enough. Accordingly, for camping it is quite advisable to take a model with a reserve in places: for example, for families of 3 people it would be helpful to look at a 4-person tent. In the case of hiking, everything is not so simple - you need to analyze what is more important – extra centimeters in the sleeping area or less weight in the backpack.

Multi-person tent – like a 3-room apartment or a small private house.

What time of year will the tent be used?

Another important point when choosing is the season. At the same time, tents do not have division into 4 groups according to the number of seasons, since models that are designed only for summer or winter are rare. Yes, you can find purely summer variations, for example, beach and low-cost trekking solutions, but most often manufacturers claim greater versatility for their products. Accordingly, you have to choose between two variations:

  • three-season tents. These are models for off-season + summer. Ideally, they can withstand bad weather (rain and wind), and in hot weather provide an influx of fresh air;
  • all season tents. These are versions that can be used even in winter. Here, thermal insulation should be improved through the use of more durable, windproof materials, often there is a snow skirt, and sources of heat loss, including various holes, are minimized.
Spring-Autumn Tents

Models designed for several seasons simply must be two-layer and have outer and inner tent. This improves air exchange and thermal insulation properties, and also prevents the formation of condensate. You can read more about the number of layers and why you should choose two-layer solutions in the material “How to go camping without catching a cold: 7 tips for choosing the right equipment”.

By the way, in summer, a two-layer model is also convenient because it can be used without an external tent on hot, dry nights, but only on condition that an internal frame is provided here.

An all-weather tent is first of all a solution for winter, and then for other seasons.

All-weather tents, usually, are more expensive than analogues. If you are not planning winter outings, but are going on a summer hike in the Carpathians, the low mountains of Georgia, the Lycian trail in Turkey or warm Cyprus, then the version designed for spring and autumn should be quite enough.

What is a good tent made of?

When choosing, it is recommended to take into account the materials for the manufacture of the frame (poles) and textile elements (tent and floor). If we talk about the latter, then most often synthetic fabrics are used here – polyester and nylon. The floor is still sometimes made of reinforced polyethylene (tarpauling). It is inexpensive and have high water resistance, but heavy and difficult to repair.

The inner tent can be not only nylon or polyester, but also made of mesh materials or even natural textiles. The last two options allow water to pass through, but have good "breathing" properties. The outer layer of tents is made only from synthetics. Often, it is not the type of material itself (nylon or polyester) that is more important, but the type (technology) of weaving. The most common and at the same time well-established can be considered Taffeta, Oxford and Rip Stop. The latter, for example, increases the tensile strength of the fabric, but at the same time does not make it heavier.

In general, the floor material should be more reliable than that of a tent, because it is subject to additional mechanical influences – it rubs against stones and soil, and withstands users. The inner tent should be breathable and the outer tent should be of good quality weave (ideally one of the above). You also need to look at the waterproof performance of textile materials, but we'll talk about that later. And additional strength can be provided by reinforced angles.

The frame of the tent is formed by poles, which are usually made from:

  • fiberglass. This is a popular material that does not deform under loads and is affordable. But fiberglass poles are not suitable for winter hiking, because in frost or a sharp temperature drop they become brittle and can break. Durapol material is able to partially offset this minus, here fiberglass is covered with a synthetic mesh that increases strength. But such poles are still not very common;
Fiberglass poles are well suited for long stays in warm weather.
  • aluminium. This metal combines strength and lightness, is not afraid of temperature changes, that is, it is suitable for difficult trips, relatively inexpensive. The potential weakness of aluminium poles is the tendency to deform under prolonged loads (but trakking rarely involves multi-day staying);
  • steel. It is a durable and reliable material that is not subject to deformation. But it has a lot of weight, so it is used mainly in canopy tents and occasionally in camping models.

For hiking trips, tents with an aluminium frame can be recommended, and for camping – with fiberglass. It is also worth looking at the thickness of the materials, for example, dense poles with a diameter of more than 8.5 mm make the design more reliable and wind resistant, but also increase the overall weight of the product.

Tents with Thicker Poles Over 8.5 mm

What weather conditions is the tent ready for?

The main task of a tent is to protect from wind, direct sunlight and precipitation. In part, the tent is able to protect from heat, if it has a well-thought-out ventilation system. The basis of the latter are special windows. It is also worth considering that a pair of entrances to the sleeping area makes it easy to organize ventilation and effectively get rid of the feeling of stuffiness in the recreation area.

UV protection involves applying special coatings to the outer tent. But even if this parameter is declared, then if possible it is worth placing a tent not directly under the scorching sun, but in the shade of trees. It is difficult to adhere to this recommendation in the highlands, where the level of UV exposure is traditionally higher than in the plains. That is, for mountain hiking, the presence of UV protection is a must-have.

The readiness of the tent for rains of varying intensity is reflected in its water resistance indicators, which are standardly indicated in thousands of millimeters of water column. The corresponding figures are usually given separately for the tent and for the floor. The latter has traditionally higher protection from water (up to 10,000 mm of water column), since manufacturers take into account the mechanical impact factor (abrasion) on difficult terrain. At the same time, even an indicator of 3000 mm for the floor essentially means a reference tightness, that is, de facto, such a tent can be put up in a puddle.

Basic recommendations for choosing a tent water protection:

  • values up to 3000 mm are suitable for dry weather and areas where rain is rare;
  • from 3000 to 6000 mm – must withstand moderate rains;
  • values above 6000 mm are ideal for hiking in the rainy season and will help you “get out of the water” in heavy rains.
In case of heavy rain, an additional canopy is useful, under which you can hide the tent.

Synthetic fabrics are protected from water by polyurethane and silicone impregnation. The former is usually designated PU and the latter SI. Polyurethane makes textiles heavier and is not the most durable (over time, the water protection index decreases). Silicone is considered a better technology for water resistance, but it is more expensive and does not protect the seams, so they need to be sealed additionally. Sometimes both of these impregnations are used together. To reach 2000 mm, usually, one water-repellent layer is applied, and 4000 mm or more – several. Usually, the weight of the tent also increases with the addition of millimeters of water column.

Reliable frame and well-placed guy ropes are designed to provide a wind protection. As mentioned earlier, both the streamlining of the shape and the thickness of the poles play a role. You can increase stability by choosing a model with a so-called hub structure, a low ceiling and a skirt (protects from blowing from the floor).

Hub Tents

What else to consider before buying a tent?

Significant little things when choosing include the following:

  • protection against insects in the form of mosquito nets. Such accessories at the entrances of the tent today seem to be taken for granted, but their absence can cause serious inconvenience;
Today, almost always the entrance of the tent is duplicated with a mosquito net.
  • the presence of internal pockets, as well as a hook, and preferably a shelf under the ceiling. The latter will allow you to place a lamp for lighting and other items;
  • the presence of windows for natural light and visibility, as well as a canopy, that increases the space protected from the sun and rain. Both structural elements are more common in camping tents, as they are aimed at improving the comfort of campers;
  • bright (contrasting to foliage or ground) colours and reflective elements. If the tent does not merge with the environment, then it will be a guide during radial walks (short exits from the camp without basic equipment), and reflectors on the tent or guy ropes will help you not get lost in the dark.

When making a final decision, it is worth focusing not only on prices, but also on manufacturers. Among the reputable brands with the appropriate price tag are the Outwel, Ferrino, Salewa and Coleman. Among noteworthy representatives of the middle price segment, it is worth highlighting the tents of Naturehike, High Peak and HUSKY, as well as the Ukrainian company Terra Incognita.

Good luck choosing a tent! Have fun hiking and camping! And don't forget to dry your tent when you get home!