Tent Buying Basics- How to Choose the Right Tent

Have you been considering making your first big outdoor purchase- a tent? Have you been wondering what should you look for in a tent? Maybe dreaming of an upcoming trip and wondering how to choose the right tent? I've planned a multi-part series on how to choose the right tent. We'll be going over all the basic things- materials, shape, size, vestibules, and how to care for your tent.



Before we begin, there are a few broad questions followed by specifics, that you must ask yourself and have ready in your mind while shopping around.

Who will be sleeping in your tent and with what gear?

Examples: Will you be soloing? Will you be sharing it with your outdoor partner? Are you tall people, generally shorter, or maybe two of both?

Why?: First thing you’ll need to determine is size. This can be equated two ways- how any people will be sleeping in it and how tall they are.

When will you be using it?

Examples: Mainly summer? Spring/ summer/ fall or all four seasons? Will you be carrying it or driving it to your camping destination?

Why?: Tents basically come as a three season tent or a four season winter tent. Think about this one for a bit. If you are going to use it mainly in the summer and maybe one or two winterish overnights, you may be better off with a tent that has lots of mesh = lots of ventilation.

Where will you be camping?

Examples: rocky areas, windy mountain tops, just in the woods?

Where you plan to pitch your tent will influence the specific tent the setup of the tent. If you’re only going to be camping in rocky areas you won’t want to buy a tent that requires stakes to be set up. You’ll want a freestanding tent.

If you’re going to be backpacking through say the White Mountains of NH you would want to choose a tent that at least has the option to be staked out. This prevents pesky things, such as your tent flying away with you in it.

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