There are plenty of things to consider when choosing and using a tent. So listen up!
Shape: The main tent shapes around today can be categorised into tunnel, dome and geodesic designs. Tunnel tents generally have more usable internal space and are more stable in bad weather, but usually have only one door and vestibule and need to be securely pegged down. Dome tents are freestanding, requiring only a peg for each door at a minimum, but lose out in stability. Geodesic tents are similar to domes but have more pole crossings and are therefore more stable.
Inner tent: The main body of the tent, the inner defines your living area and can be made of mesh (for warmer weather) or closed nylon (for cold). Climb inside to check dimensions, head height and usability.
Flysheet: Completely covering the inner, the fly is the protective shell of the tent, both waterproof and windproof. Generally made from nylon or polyester, they are usually tape-sealed along the seams to prevent water ingress and siliconised on the outside for extra strength. The sun’s UV rays are the biggest threat to flysheets: leave your tent up in the sun day after day and it’ll degrade and tear much sooner than you’d expect. Note the ‘weight’ or thickness of the fly material, measured in denier (D).
Floor: As the only layer that separates you from the ground, the tent floor is usually thicker and more abrasion-resistant than the walls. To save weight, some manufacturers keep the floor thin but produce a compatible groundsheet, or ‘footprint’, to protect it when necessary.
Vestibule: The covered area between the flysheet and inner door is used for storage and cooking in poor weather. There is generally one porch per door and size is definitely important.
Hydrostatic head: This is the measurement of how waterproof the materials are, and is measured in millimetres i.e. how high a column of water would have to be to push through the fabric. A minimum decent figure would be 3000mm.
Pitching: There are three possible ways to pitch a tent: inner first, outer first or both together. The latter is called integral pitch and is great for bad weather as it keeps the inner tent dry during the process.
Minimum weight: This is a figure often quoted by tent manufacturers to make their tents sound lighter and can be misleading unless you know exactly what they are referring to. It can mean the weight of just the flysheet, poles, footprint and two pegs. Unless you’re a real gram gremlin it’s better for comparison to always use the total weight.
Single skin: The reason tents have two layers and aren’t just made of Gore-Tex is breathability – such a design would drip with condensation during the night and soak the occupants from within. A small number of high-altitude climbing tents do use this design for when temperatures are low enough to freeze the condensation, eliminating the problem. None are included in this review.
Poles: These are generally lightweight aluminium sections threaded together with bungee cord. Most tents use DAC brand, universally regarded as the best. Remember not to ‘snap’ them out – although this might be tempting it can severely weaken the ends and joints.
Pegs: There are various peg shapes on the market, but Y- or V-shaped stakes are the best and should be strong enough to withstand several blows from a rock without bending or breaking. The tent should include enough pegs for all points and guys.
Guy lines: For extra stability in windy conditions, it pays to have at least four guy lines. It’s handy if they have their own storage pockets and tensioning systems.
Words_Dan Slater