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Hints and Tips on Selecting a Tent

How many people will sleep in the tent

Calculate at least 60cm per person for inner tent.
Tent should have at least 200cm2 ventilation surface per person
Take into account that you have to store your equipment (backpacks, shoes etc) and if there is no additional area outside the tent (apses, porches) you will have to store your equipment inside, thus reducing your sleeping area.

Do you need living space or will you use the tent for sleeping only?

If you plan to spend time “living” in the tent, the bigger the living area, the more comfortable your stay. Bear in mind the number of people using the living area.
If you do not need living space, apses or front porches are always useful for storing equipment.

How long are you planning to stay at the same camp site?

Check the assembly time of your tent. For frequent assembly, 2 or 3 pole dome tents are the easiest to assemble.
Assemble the flysheet first then hang the inner tent, so that should it rain you will not get wet. Check the method of assembly.

Do you have to carry the tent on your back?

If you have to carry the tent on your back, the weight and packing size will be one of the most important issues to take into account.

In what conditions will you be camping?

Choose the material suitable to your needs:

Water column

Up to 500mm: usually cotton tents. Should be treated frequently.
500 – 1000mm: enough to hold out light rain but needs to be treated 1000 – 1500mm: good
More than 2000mm: very good

This analysis is always in combination with seam taping (if seams are not taped, even the highest water column will not prevent leakage at the seams.)

Seam Taping

To prevent water leaking in through the seams, a heat treated waterproof film is applied to the seams.

Flysheet

Polyester

Usually used for flysheets due to its competitive price/quality, it is more resistant to wear and tear than polyamide (nylon) but a little less colour fast.
Ripstop design is very tear resistant.
Lightweight and recommended for all seasons.

Polyamide (nylon)

Ripstop nylon is very strong and colour fast.
Lightweight and recommended for all seasons.

Cotton

Being breathable it gives a feeling of freshness but has a low water column and needs frequent waterproof treatment.
Very resistant to wear and tear. Dries very slowly. High risk of mildew.Very heavy. Recommended for summer.

INNER TENT

Breathable Polyester

Polyester without waterproof treatment. Dries very quickly.
Inner tent usually combines polyester and mesh for better ventilation.

Polycotton or T/C

A mix of polyester and cotton. More breathable than 100% polyester but dries more slowly. Increased risk mildew.

FLOOR

PE (Polyethylene)

Very resistant to wear and tear and the material itself is waterproof, but heavier, noisier and bulkier than other materials.
Best price/quality relation.

High density polyester
Very resistant to wear and tear, very soft, lighter than PE.

Coated polyester or polyamide

Very lightweight and small packing but less resistant to wear and tear.

POLES

Fibreglass poles

Competitive price/quality.

Aluminium poles

Very light weight, resistant to breakage and frost but expensive.

Steel poles

Used for the so-called “frame tents”. Classics are difficult to assemble, compared to “dome tents” but very stable and very spacious thanks to their straight walls. Steel poles are also used for the front canopies of dome tents. They are very heavy compared to fiberglass or aluminium.

Summary

If weather conditions are not going to be very bad, then the recommended materials are: Polyester for flysheet and inner tent, PE floor and fibre glass poles.