5 Expert Tips For Buy a Backpacking Tent
The choice in tent for backpacking look to have well every year , with lightweight models continually getting lighter and other advances that make tents sturdy and more livable without lend weight . But with all the options out there , how do you choose ? The answer is simple than you might intend : It comes down to understanding the key difference that distinguish tent from one another—which will serve you understand whatyoumotive .
Like tent , backpackers come in unlike sizes and their need in a tent vary depend on their manner of backpacking and where they go . In testing lots of backpacking tent over a quarter-century of testing and look back gear—formerly as the tip gear reviewer for Backpacker magazine for about 10 year and even longer running this blog—I ’ ve acquired a sense of what to appear for in a tent and how to help people blame out one they care .
The five simple tips in this article will help you notice the tent that ’ s best for your motive . Please part any tips of your own or your questions in the commentary part at the seat of this story ; I seek to react to all commentary .
See too my story “ How to Prefer the Best Ultralight Backpacking Tent for You , ” which explains specific point and purpose difference that enforce to all tents .
See “ The 10 Best Backpacking Tents ” and all backpacking tent reviews at The Big Outside .
Hi , I ’ 1000 Michael Lanza , Lord of The Big Outside . to ratify up for my FREE email newsletter . Connect The Big Outside to get good access to all of my blog ’ sec story . Click hither for my e-books to classic backpacking trip . Click hither to see how I can help you design your next trip .
# 1 What Kind of Backpacker Are You ?
Live tent weight your top priority , or weather resistance , or inner space and livability ? You ’ ll spend countless hr and nights , as well as plenty of waking hours inside that shelter ; reach sure it ’ s get to be enjoyable , and it all do down to your personal way of backpacking .
If you ’ re the kind of backpacker who ’ s not concerned in get up early and hurry out of camp , and who prefers to hike for not a lot more than half the day and reach your next camp with time to relax in the warm afternoon Sunday and maybe need a swim in a lake or creek , you may prefer a tent with good interior space . That becomes twice genuine if your common destinations show the prospect of rain continue you inside that tent for hours . Weight may not live your top priority . Still , think weight as you equate tent , because you do have to carry that shelter .
On the early hand , if you are the sort of backpacker who loves to shoot the lead early and slam out large mileage every day—like many ultralighters and thru-hikers—then weight probablyisyour top priority , and you ’ re willing to endure some compromises in your tent to minimize gang weight because you have a higher ratio of hours spent hiking to hours pass in the tent ..
Do you fall somewhere between those two descriptions—not an early-rising , big-mileage backpacker , but nonetheless keen to hold your gang weight comfortable ? There be tent models that strike a symmetry between livability and moderate weight .
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# 2 Read the ReviewsClose
Yes , there are a lot of gear reviews in the ether and in print . Notice author you consider authoritative and experienced , whose position cost shaped by get slept in many tent : With tents particularly , the medium backpacker doesn ’ t buy or use very many example , and masses own a natural bias to desire to affirm that a purchase they made was a good one , so they ’ ll tend to comment positively—but vaguely .
Read review for details you can ’ t glean by simply checking out a tent in a fund , like how good it stands up to wind and rain , the ease of pitching it and breaking it down , and whether it own a trouble with condensation buildup , especially on chilly , calm nights .
Use reviews in conjunction with your preferences in a tent to narrow your list to a few finalists—or maybe well winnow it to one obvious good choice for you . And finally , look for brands know for create good tents or that you ’ ve take serious reviews about . You may ultimately settle on a tent from a sword after hearing or reading about another model from that same brand .
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# 3 The Little Details Matter
But some short things matter more than others . Here are some key details to try out in a backpacking tent :
A tent will typically last for many years . Make certain you ’ re satisfied with it .
Learn “ The 10 Best Backpacking Tents ” and all reviews of backpacking tents , ultralight backpacking tent , backpacking gear , and ultralight backpacking gear at The Big Outside .
Whether you ’ re a beginner or seasoned backpacker , you ’ ll learn new tricks for making all of your trip go good in my “ , ” “ A Practical Guide to Lightweight and Ultralight Backpacking , ” and “ How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be. ” With a make up subscription to The Big Outside , you can read all of those three stories for free ; if you don ’ t receive a subscription , you can download the e-book version of “ , ” the lightweight and ultralight backpacking guide , and “ How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be . ”
bill : I tested gear for Backpacker magazine for 20 years . At The Big Outside , I go over merely what I study the best outdoor gear and clothes . Hear The Big Outside ’ s Gear Reviews page for categorized menus of all gear reviews and expert buying crest .
