Tents

What will you use it for ?. If you only intend to use it for family camping holidays in the country side and don't intend to use the tent in mountain valleys, then a large frame tent is right for you. If however you intend to use the tent in mountainous areas for a weekend then you will need to consider what the weather will do as it is often more windy and wetter than in low land areas. Consequently you will need to consider the design, materials, aerodynamics and other features of the tent.

Size, you have to decide how many people will sleep in the tent and how much head room there is. For valley camping where you may be using the tent for a holiday you will want the tent to be reasonably comfortable. One of the most important factors is head room and you will want at least be able to sit up in the tent. Ideally you want to be able to kneel in the tent without your head touching the roof. This makes it easier for getting changed etc. For camping high up in the mountains the compromise is between strength of the tent its weight and comfort. And of the three comfort is the lowest priority, but generally you will only be using the tent for a few days and so can put up with the cramped conditions. If you don’t want to share a tent or want something that is as light as possible and that can be used as an emergency shelter then a 1 person hooped bivi is for you.

Weight, if you will only use the tent in the valley next to the car then weight doesn't matter to much. But if you intend to use the tent for backpacking you will have to carry it. Generally, you will be going into the mountains with others and sharing a tent. Therefore you will want to share the weight between the people using the tent. So ideally choose a tent that can be broken down into 2 or 3 similarly weighted pieces.

Shapes, the compromise is between maximum internal space and stability in the wind. For maximum internal space you need vertical tent walls, so a box is the best shape for this, but these vertical walls are not very aerodynamic and are liable to be flattened by the wind. The traditional tent shape is the ridge pole, basically a tent with sloping sides that is triangular in section with rounded ends which helps to make the wind flow over it. The next phase in tent evolution was the tunnel tent, basically instead of being triangular in section the shape changed to be like a tunnel in section. Which had a couple of advantages such as the sides were more vertical and its a more aerodynamic shape. The reason for this step forward was that materials improved so that tent poles could be curved and nylon had been improved. Both of these shapes have to be pitched with an end facing the wind for maximum stability, which is fine as long as the wind direction doesn't change. So the next design step was to overcome this and the answer was the igloo shape (geodesic domes).

Depending on the material the tent will have an inner tent and an outer shell, called a fly sheet. Depending on the design either you put the fly sheet up first or the inner tent first. I prefer the fly sheet first method because if its raining your inner tent stays dry. Unlike the inner tent up first method which means the inner tent gets wet if it raining so you will have to carry a towel to dry the ground sheet, before you put your sleeping bags in. The other advantage of the fly sheet first method is that you can use the tent as an emergency shelter and you don't have to have the inner tent with you which will make your rucksack lighter. When pitching a fly sheet first tent, peg a couple of corners out first to stop it blowing away. You can always adjust their position later to get the shape of the tent right. If the tent is pitched inner tent first then you could put a rucksack into it before you start to put it up to stop it blowing away.

Materials, cotton is heavy but durable and will need to be re-water proofed every couple of years if used a lot. Also, it may shrink a bit over time, this material is good for people who work with kids as it can take the abuse. Nylon is light weight but will have condensation problems if you don't have adequate ventilation. Nylon may need re-waterproofing occasionally and is a bigger fire risk than cotton. Gore-tex tents are single skinned and hence lighter, but will be more expensive than the other materials.
Features, ground sheets this is the floor of the tent, these days most small tents have them sown in which means that the rain won't get in at the edges of the tent. Those that don't have ground sheets tend to be the large family frame tents that generally come with "bed rooms" and you can buy separate ground sheets to put on the floor. The thickness of the ground sheet does affect the weight of the tent and back packing tents tend to have thin ground sheets to save weight but they are easily punctured. So to prolong the life of the ground sheet it’s a good idea to use a heavy duty separate ground sheet under the tents ground sheet when camping out "of the car" because you don't have to worry about the weight of it.
Poles, some tents have straps connecting the base of the poles for extra stability. To increase stability further poles sometimes have holes in the base of them for tent pegs to anchor the pole to the ground. If you intend to camp in the winter then look for a tent with a snow valence, this is an extra strip of material about 30 cm wide attached to the base of the fly sheet. The idea being that if your going to use the tent in the snow most of the time then tent pegs aren't much use so you can shovel snow onto the valence to stop the fly sheet blowing away.
Dual entrances, some tents have entrances at both ends this is useful if the wind changes direction and blows into the tent you can then use the other entrance. Also it’s a useful place to store rucksacks because they will be out of the way and you can still get at them once inside the tent.

Ventilation holes, nylon tents are prone to condensation problems and so many nylon tents have ventilation holes build into them. Usually they have draw cords on them so that they can be closed when its very cold.

Guy ropes help to anchor the tent poles and have locking slides to prevent the cord becoming slack when buffeted by the wind. Brightly coloured guy ropes are a good idea because you are less likely to fall over them in the dark.

Pitching, where to pitch the tent, when camping in the valley on a busy camp site you don't have much choice about the exact location, but generally speaking there shouldn't be any great hazards that you need to be aware of and avoid. But you do have a choice about the orientation and fine positioning of the tent. The things to look for are the direction of the wind and the slope of the ground. In terms of wind direction its best to put the door facing away from the wind because you don't want the wind to blow in and blow away the tent. Also the rain won't be swept in and the warm air in the tent swept out.

Slope of the ground, you should always make sure that when lying in the tent your head is higher than your feet or else you won't sleep, because the blood will flow to your head. Finally check the ground for rocks and old tent pegs as they will tear the ground sheet or make it uncomfortable to sleep on. When camping on empty camp sites or in the mountains there are several things to bear in mind. Camping near streams always seems attractive but bear in mind that at night the stream will sound a lot louder and probably keep you awake. Also look at the width of the stream and for evidence of how wide it can become during flooding then double that distance and camp there. If you will be using the water from the stream for cooking and drinking. Then check up stream for a few hundred metres for dead sheep or signs of other peoples latrine's, if you don't find anything then its ok to use after filtering, boiling and or sterilising.

Mosquito's and midges love water and boggy areas. So if you can find an area that is a bit higher than the rest and has a breeze. The reason being that they can't fly against a breeze and so you won't be bothered by them.

Trees, ideally don't camp under trees. If you have to then check the trees for dead fall e.g. will any of them fall in the night if the wind gets up and bring the trees near you down also. Don't forget to look at the branches of the trees, more people are killed in the jungle by falling branches then any thing else. The other problem with trees is that they can be struck by lighting. Finally if it rains then the leaves will drip long after it stops raining so whilst every one else on the camp site enjoys the sun shine you'll be having your own personal rain shower. Also the rain will wash all the dust, insect and bird droppings from the leaves onto your tent which you will need to wash off when you get home before storing the tent away.

If camping in the mountains, ideally camp some where, where it is easy to find your way down in the dark back to your car, a village or other place of safety. Think about what you will do if your tent burns down with your equipment in it and its impossible to stay where you are until daylight using the kit you have salvaged from the ashes. Keep your map and compass near to hand and study the route and try to memorise it in case the map gets burn. Keep your compass on your body with a bearing to a place of safety already set on it and check it still has this bearing on it before you use it.

Happy camping!