A camping tent is the single most important part of just about any camping trip. Without a halfway decent tent, there is no way you will enjoy yourself while trying to have fun in the great outdoors. This is precisely why a tent is such an important part of just about any pre-trip preparations.
Camping can be a fun activity, and it does not matter, whether you are with a large group of people at the local campground or have gone on a backpacking trip with your erstwhile better half. In any case, a good quality tent is deemed to be an absolutely vital necessity, if you really want to enjoy your camping experience of the kind that great memories are made of, to be cherished for years and even decades on end.
To choose the best tent for yourself says 99 Camping, pick a suitable tent type, size, as well as shape that will be able to meet your highly specific needs (that will depend on the nature and scope of your camping trip as well as the kind of weather you might encounter, during the trip).. This is why you have to make good and sure that the tent also includes the various features that might be required and you want. Furthermore, it should be made of sturdy and high-quality materials.
Let us see what features, your perfect tent should typically have:
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Selecting that ‘just right’ type of tent
Foremost, select the tent that you have in mind for your upcoming trip.
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The three-season tent is a highly versatile invention
Whenever you feel that you are in any doubt, choose the ‘three season tents’ as they are a superb option. In fact, these tents easily fit the basic camping needs of any hardy camper, new to the world of camping. Indeed, as the very name implies, this type of tent is suitably well equipped to handle the weather in the main seasons of the year, the spring, summer, and fall.
A 3 season tent not only is relatively lightweight, but it also provides adequate ventilation even in the torrid summer heat. It is also well equipped with its own roof canopy to successfully keep out all that water, just in case you get trapped in an unexpected cloudburst.
The common rule of thumb is that ‘size matters’. So irrespective of the fact that you are backpacking very light, or are going on a family camping expedition, the overall size of the tent that you pack with you will inevitably have a really huge impact on your whole trip.
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Different tent sizes
It will be a wise idea to understand how tents are gauged in terms of their size. The average tent sizes are typically measured in ‘men’ as an actual unit of measure. That is a 2 man tent, a 4 man tent, all the way to a 15 man tent, and so on and so forth. The core purpose of this ‘man size’ is to basically give the prospective tent buyer an idea as to how many people can actually fit comfortably in the tent. However, it is pertinent to note that this size classification only vectors in the men’ themselves, not their gear, such as sleeping bags, water bottles, backpacks, etc. Once you throw in all of those, a comfortable 2 man tent can easily become a bit of a tight squeeze (to say the least).
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Opting for a larger ‘family seized tent
If your camping trip will be along the lines of a drive to a neighboring campsite in your spacious SUV, then obviously weight is not really that much of an issue. In this case, you can just simply drive straight up to your allocated area and commence unloading your car.
You will not need to lug the thing around for hours on your back, then you should opt to go for the largest and roomiest tent that you can stuff in your vehicle. This is because many if not most large tents these days have multi-room compartments that can also double as separate bedrooms. This is a great type of tent for families with children or even grown-ups who are on a camping trip with friends. They will not need to trip up all over each other. And as a bonus, there will be considerably more privacy and personal space, for all concerned.
It is pertinent to remember that your tent is the equivalent of being your ‘home away from home’ throughout your camping trip. This means that if there is any chance of inclement weather, then opting for a large tent could prove to a blessing since any children (or even adults for that) who are forced by the weather to remain confined to the tent will not end up feeling claustrophobic, as such.
In a nutshell, a lot more room will also automatically mean far more space as well. So that the denizens of that tent will indulge in various indoor activities without the likelihood of people falling over one another, in the cramped confines of the tent
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A few extra points that you should consider
When choosing your tent camping essentials, it is very important that you should also pay heed to the following points:
- The personal requirements of the people who will live inside the tent. For example, if you have a really tall camper in your group of friends, then you just might need to consider the kind of tent that will have more length and height so to accommodate them comfortably enough.
- If you have decided to camp outdoors in rugged areas, where there is no guarantee of weather patterns, then you should invest in a tent that has a separate vestibule so that you will be able to stow away your wet gear and muddy hiking boots, without fouling up your living space.
- While big is good, but there may well be too much of a good thing. If you decide that you want all of our creature comforts and elect to opt for a tent that is truly massive, then you should keep in mind the fact that such tents are not all that easy to set up at all. And you might have encounter problems with finding a flat space that would be large enough to pitch your tent!
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Conclusion
Apart from the above, there are certain other characteristics that you should take into consideration when selecting a tent for your very first camping trip. The material has to be such that it will be able to keep you warm even during a snowfall and the structure should be completely waterproof.
If you have taken care of these points, then you can just go ahead and kick off your highly enjoyable camping trip.
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