Choosing a tent: design, season, weight

A tent is a tensioned system: poles, fabric and guylines bear wind and snow together. In dome and geodesic tents the poles cross. As a result they stand even without pegs and can still be moved after pitching. Geodesic tents have especially many crossing points and are therefore very stable, but usually heavier.

Tunnel tents consist of several parallel hoops. They offer a lot of space for their weight but only stand when tensioned with pegs. They are most stable when the narrow end faces into the wind. If a tunnel tent stands side-on to the wind, the wind pushes against the large side wall.

A double-wall tent separates the waterproof outer skin from the breathable inner tent. That helps against condensation. Your breath and your body give off a lot of moisture overnight. When this warm, moist air meets the cold outer fabric, water forms there – just like on a cold glass in summer. In a double-wall tent it collects on the fly rather than directly above you. Single-wall tents are lighter but more prone to condensation inside.

First clarify the use: in which season, in which terrain – forest, mountains, coast – and with how many people are you travelling? And how will the tent be carried: in a pack, on a bike or in a car? A family at a campsite needs a very different tent from one person on a mountain trip.

Three-season tents are meant for spring to autumn. For snow load and winter storms there are four-season or expedition tents with stronger poles and more guy points. Also look at vents, vestibules (covered porches for gear and boots), the number of entrances, the floor fabric and whether the fly can be pitched first or together with the inner. In rain that is a big advantage, because the inner tent stays dry.

Manufacturer figures for waterproofness (hydrostatic head) and weight are only partly comparable. The hydrostatic head describes the water pressure a fabric withstands in the lab – but in practice seams, pitching and ventilation also decide whether you stay dry. The stated number of people is often tight. If you want room for your gear, it is usually better to go one size up. Buying a tent only by the lowest weight often results in a tent that does not suit your trips.

No tent suits everything. A light three-season tent is ideal for summer trips but out of place in a mountain winter. A sturdy expedition tent is needlessly heavy for a weekend in the woods. If your trips vary a lot, you have to compromise or borrow for special conditions.

Sometimes no tent at all is the better choice. A tarp – a sheet pitched as a roof – is lighter and more versatile but protects less from wind and insects. A bivy bag is even smaller but offers hardly any room. For expeditions in extreme conditions, get specialist advice.

And no tent is storm-proof everywhere. On exposed summits, ridges or open ground, strong wind can damage any tent. When severe weather is forecast, it is often safer to move or end the trip than to trust the tent.

Stoves, barbecues, charcoal and heaters never belong inside a closed tent or a closed vestibule. They consume oxygen and produce carbon monoxide (CO). This gas is invisible and odourless and even in small amounts can cause headache, dizziness, nausea and unconsciousness – even a barbecue that seems to have burnt out can still give off CO. Tent fabric can also catch fire very quickly.

With headache, dizziness or nausea in the tent, get to fresh air at once and call the local emergency number (112 in the EU). Cook outside, at a sufficient distance from the tent.

The site also decides how safe you are: not under dead branches, not in hollows or stream beds that can fill with water in rain, and not on exposed high points when thunderstorms are possible. Whether and where you may camp is regulated differently from country to country and area to area – check the local rules beforehand.

Pitch a new tent at home or in the garden before the first trip. Read the instructions as you go, count pegs and poles and replace anything missing. Once you have pitched it calmly, it will go much faster later in wind, rain or at dusk.

Feel free to practise in harder conditions too: in wind, with gloves or with only a headlamp. Try out how to orient the tent into the wind and tension the guylines. After practising – and after every trip – dry the tent completely before packing it. That way it stays waterproof for a long time and does not smell musty.