Browsing through the tent section of the local outdoor gear store can be a little overwhelming. Four tents may look the same with four vastly different price tags. Or it's uncertain what kind of tent is needed for a first backpacking trip. And what about the tent cabin with a stove pipe port and inflatable kitchen sink? Narrow the search based on the type of activity to be done, and then start nit-picking about features. It makes shopping for a tent a little bit easier.
Car-Camping and Tent Cabins
The biggest tents on the shelf are made almost exclusively for car camping or stock packing. The reason is obvious: tents can be huge and this type of tent is great when planning to day-hike out of an established campground, or if the family is coming along for a camping getaway. A car camping tent can be downright luxurious and may include separate rooms, covered sitting or dining areas, or stove pipe fittings. Enjoy the space, but don't plan on taking this tent into the backcountry.
Backpacking
Backpacking tents range in size from single-person tubes to family-sized domes. They have similar specifications, though, that make them suitable to hauling through the hills. Lightweight materials and minimal hardware make packing and carrying easier, particularly if the pieces---poles, fly, tent and stakes---can be distributed between several people who will share the tent. Most of these tents are designed for three-season use and incorporate large amounts of mesh for airflow and visibility on stargazing nights. A lightweight, removable rain fly with vestibule should be included in case the skies cloud over. Because the back-country poses varying sleeping surfaces and weather patterns, these tents should provide structural stability, sometimes sacrificing a few ounces for a free-standing design.
Ultra-light Trekking
Ultra-light tents are the lightest of the bunch, and they are often designed to provide only minimal protection from the elements. These tents can easily be carried and deployed by one person and often offer only enough sleeping room for one body and a water bottle. A few modern styles are free-standing and even offer overhead room for dressing and eating; others, like bivy sacks, have no poles and simply provide a waterproof, bug-proof layer over your sleeping bag.
Four-season and Mountaineering
Tents designed for winter use are often considered mountaineering tents. They are heavier than their backpacking brethren, though still packable, and offer superior protection and insulation. With dual-wall design, little mesh and large vestibules, they are ideally suited to cold temperatures and snowy sleeping surfaces. Most are designed to withstand extremes of wind and precipitation, as well, incorporating snow-shedding angles and streamlined shapes. Because winter tents are so burly, however, they are also weighty, and although called four-season tents, many hikers find them uncomfortably cumbersome in the warmer seasons.
References
- "Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills," 6th ed., Edited by Don Graydon and Kurt Hanson, 1997
- "Backpacker Magazine": Tents 101
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