In recent years the range of tents has exploded with even high street stores offering specialist types such as teepees and geodesic domes.
Tents have dramatically fallen in price with supermarkets offering some incredible deals, so it’s now practical for even the casual camper to own several tents for every outdoor eventuality. From small and cheap dome tents to luxury palaces with several bedrooms, tents offer a compact and cheap means of camping.
Most camping stores have a good selection so it’s worth visiting to get a sense of the various sizes. To score a real bargain you should check out online stores with high street stores such as Milletsoften cheaper than in-store. You risk not seeing the tent up before you buy but the savings can often outweigh this inconvenience. eBay is a great source for second hand bargains, take a look at old scout or army surpless tents, they are cheap and made from proper canvas.
The Campr roundup:
Dome
Great for backpackers and festival goers, the lightweight dome tent is easy to carry and pitch.
The dome tent is available in sizes ranging from 2-person tents with limited headroom to 6-9 person tents with headroom exceeding 180m.
Ridge
The traditional triangular tent is sturdy and offers ample headroom. However they can be trickier to pitch than dome tents and the sides are unsupported.
Pop-up
A recent innovation, the pop-tent is built of flexible hoops so when unpacked it immediately springs into shape. Pop-up tents are generally single skinned so best for summer use and beware, they’re much harder to get put down than put up!
Geodesic
Similar to dome tents but with 2 or more extra poles which help support the basic shape and minimise the amount of unsupported fabric. Geodesic tents are much sturdier in high-winds and extreme conditions.
Teepee/Pyramid
The teepee or pyramid tent is triangular in shape and easy to erect with a central pole. They are also extremely chic with many campers opting for them as something different.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:36 am
What about “tunnel” tents?
Here’s ours, the Outwell Wolf Lake 5:
http://tinyurl.com/d6r5tf
July 6th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I would love a Teepee but heard they’re pretty hard to put up?
July 6th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
@Nick Robinson Good spot! How do you rate it?
July 6th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Thanks James,
The Wolf Lake 5 is a very good top-end family tent.
On the downside, it’s pretty big and heavy and needs to be put up by two people. It’s also pretty expensive – twice the price of our previous Vangos.
On the upside, it’s very spacious and has room for me to stand up everywhere inside – I’m 6′2″. Seems pretty secure in moderately windy conditions, but haven’t tested it in v.bad weather yet. Lots of neat little touches like pockets and clever windows and vents. We especially like the polycotton outer and the green colour. Feels like something we could live with for a long time.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Thanks Nick, nice review.
July 10th, 2009 at 6:28 am
What shape are pop-up tents when they’re down?
July 10th, 2009 at 6:38 am
@Duncan Page They’re a big, unwieldy disc. Like a massive frisbee. Don’t rate pop-ups too much but they’re great for kids.
July 11th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
for a cheaper alternative to the wolf lake you could try the Outwell hartford, it comes in three sizes L Which has two bedroom pods the XL which has three and the XXL with a masive four bedroom pods. we have the hartford L. its great for us as you get two large bedroom pods a massive living area and the best part a porch area to the front which is worth the money alone as you end up with a room to put all your boots and such in therefore out of the tent
July 16th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
@Martin Adams @Nick Robinson Thanks guys. If you fancy doing in a more in depth review with a couple of pics we’ll send you a Campr Camping Essentials Pack! More details: http://www.campr.co.uk/win-a-campr-camping-essentials-pack
August 24th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Can highly recommend the Outwell Montana 6 if you want a really sturdy, spacious and quality family tent. Our’s is still going strong after 2 years and several weeks away and numerous weekends. It’s survied strong winds at both Stonethwaite and Shell Island – we saw many other tents collapse and go but our trusty Monty stood firm. Fantastic handy features too like a wall of pockets for keeping everything neat and tidy and to hand. Without doubt the best tent we have ever owned. Would not hesitate to recommend to anyone with a couple of kids.
August 24th, 2009 at 7:34 am
@Michele H Thanks Michelle. We’re planning a follow-up post that goes into more detail on tent recommendations.