Think first about what you’re most likely to be using the tent for and how many of you are likely to be using it? If you think you’ll be camping quite a lot it’s worth investing in a good tent.
What sort if weather conditions might you expect? If it’s the full range of British weather with the potential for strong winds and torrential rain (although hopefully not) you’ll want a tent that is certified to withstand gales and to be really waterproof.
How will you travel to your campsites? If you’ll be arriving by car, them how compact your tent is to pack down and how much it weighs may not be an issue, but if you’re cycling or carrying your tent on public transport, this is crucial – the more compact and light weight the better.
If you’re looking at tents in an outdoors store it’s great to see the tents already erected but equally you should look at them packed up before you buy!
How much space will you need inside your tent? Again this is a weight and packed-down size issue that you need to balance against how much space you can get. Family tents can have multiple ‘rooms’ and even add on awnings to provide more ‘indoor’ space on bad weather days or in the evenings.
But even small two-person, super lightweight tents can be cleverly designed to create more interior space.
It’s also worth asking how easy it is to erect and take down the tent? Again tent design has come on in leaps and bounds over recent years so some tents can be very quickly and put up and taken down again, but some cheaper versions can also be complicated and confusing so check that the reviews are good and instructions are clear for whichever model you think about buying.
Specialist tent manufacturers like Vango, the tent of choice for organisations like the Scouts and The Duke of Edinburgh Awards, have a wide range of tents for all needs and all budgets.
The company revolutionised tent design and camping by creating the inflatable AirBeams® in place of traditional poles for rapid pitching in any environment. Pitching time takes only 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size and number of AirBeams® to be inflated and it’s so quick and easy to dfo that just one person is required to pitch an AirBeam tent within minutes.
Tents come in vast array of shapes, sizes and prices.
