Tips Camping - Tips Camping
Many factors affect tent design, including:
• Financial Cost.
• Intended use.
• Backpacking / tramping: having to carry the tent all day. Weight and size are the most crucial factors.
• Touring: having to pitch and strike the tent every day or so. Ease of pitching/striking the tent then becomes important.
• Static: staying at one campsite for a week or two at a time. A comfortable camping experience is then the target.
• Camping season
A tent required only for summer use may be very different from one to be used in the depths of winter. Manufacturers label tents as one-season, two/three-season, three/four season, four season, etc. A one-season tent is generally for summer use only, and may only be capable of coping with light showers. A three-season tent is for spring/summer/autumn and should be capable of withstanding fairly heavy rain, or very light snow. A four-season tent should be suitable for winter camping in all but the most extreme conditions; an expedition tent (for mountain conditions) should be strong enough to cope with heavy snow, strong winds, as well as heavy rain. Some tents are sold, quite cheaply, as festival tents; these may be suitable only for camping in dry weather, and may not even be showerproof.
• Size of tent
• The number and age of people who will be camping determines how big and what features the sleeping area(s) must have.
• To allow for inclement weather, some covered living space separate from the sleeping area(s) may be desirable. Alternatively, cyclists on a camping trip may wish for enough covered space to keep their bicycles out of the weather.
• To allow for sunshine, an awning to provide shade may not go amiss. Some tents have additional poles so that the fabric doorways can be used as awnings.
• Internal height
Manufacturers quote the maximum internal height, but the usable internal height may be a little lower, depending on the tent style: ridge tents have a steeply sloping roof so the whole height is rarely usable, dome tents slope gently in all directions from the peak so something close to the whole height is usable in the centre, tunnel tents have a good usable height along the center line. Frame and cabin tents have gently sloping roofs and near vertical walls, so both the wall height and the maximum height must be considered.
Height is significant in connection with moving around in a sizable tent, and in changing clothing in any tent. There are basically four useful heights to consider: lie down only, sit, kneel, stand. The exact heights at which these apply depend on the heights of the campers involved; those over 182 cm (6 ft) are likely to have less choice of tents than those who are somewhat shorter. As a starting point, sitting height is often between 90 and 105 cm (3 ft to 3 ft 6 in), and kneeling height may be between 120 and 150 cm (4 ft to 5 ft).
• Number of sleeping areas
Larger tents sometimes are partitioned into separate sleeping areas or rooms. A tent described as viz-a-viz usually has two separate sleeping areas with a living area in between.
• Tent colour
In some areas of some countries, there may be restrictions as to what colour tents can be, there by reducing the visual impact of campsites. The best colours for low visibility are green, brown, or tans. It is important to check for any such restrictions
• Setup effort
Some styles of camping and living outdoors entails quick setup of tents. As a general rule, the more robust the tent, the more time and effort needed to setup and dismantle. The style of the tent also has a great impact on its ease of use.