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Hiking Gear – The Different Types of Camp Tent
By Hikerpro | April 20, 2009
Over a decade ago there has been a consistent increase in new camping tent designs. The huge range of choices makes it confusing at first but it can better be understood by categorizing them in two ways.
Tents are sorted by function followed by structure. As an example camping tents being identified by season where tents are either 4-season or 3-season tents. This can then be further sorted by the number of people it can hold.
The “3-man” and “4-man” tent came to be known as “3-person” and “4-person” and even to solo, duo, trio, quartet and so on. But this demands a much more cynical way of looking at the tags.
This is because what some manufacturers mean by a 3-man camping tent is a tent that can accommodate 3 small human bodies laid out like corpses. If it were live breathing people the space would be too small.
If you were hiking alone, some people prefer to carry a 2-man tent so that you can also keep your camping gear and yet provide enough comfort and space for you to cook if you really have to. It’s better to be stuck in a 2-person tent for days in a blizzard than to be stuck in a small bivvy tent.
Some camping tent manufacturers make space for camping gear and cooking. If your tent is not well ventilated, don’t cook inside your tent. It can even spell death for you. Be sure the camping tent is well ventilated when you cook in it. camping tents that compensate for such matters are tagged as “2-plus”, “3-plus” and so on.
Going back to take the example of “4-season” camping tent models we see that they are designs that could withstand the heaviest snow and rain and strong winds. Closing the gap between 4-season and 3-season tents are “convertible” tents. This type of tent can save weight by removing some parts of the tent including poles, sections and zip-out roof panel.
However, most new camping tents are 3-season tents that do well in all types of weather except for the worst of winter. The lightweight version is sufficient for backpacking in late spring and early fall also known as the 2-season camping tent.
Keep in mind that this type of categorization is based on estimations of the average person. The problem is not everyone has the same tolerance for comfort. A seasoned backpacker might survive a blizzard with the simplest of 3-season tents or even a small bivvy and yet still can sleep easily at night.
Topics: Hiking & Backpacking Knowledge | No Comments »