Are you considering going camping? Or backpacking? Adventure lies just around the corner for you! But first, you need to buy your equipment. This blog post will explore what to consider when buying a tent.
What things should you consider when buying a tent?
When choosing a tent to purchase there are a lot of factors to consider. Some of the key concerns are:
- How often will you be using the tent?
- Will the tent be used in bad weather?
- How long will it take to pitch?
- How many people will sleep in the tent?
- How much are you willing to spend?
- How will you transport your tent?
- What sort of trip are you using the tent for?
What about the design of your tent?
Some other things to consider when choosing the design and when buying a tent are:
- the size of your tent
- types of poles
- materials including the rain fly mesh
- zippers
- type of stitching
- single or double skin design
Finance plays a big factor in considering what type of tent to buy
Cost is probably the most important factor for most solo travellers. Most tents vary in cost between £30 and £1000, depending on various factors such as size, weight, features, and quality.
Before you go shopping, think, and write down your budget for all of the equipment you are going to need for your trip. Perhaps you could investigate any discounts, deals, or vouchers you could use too? Is there a sale on? All of this can help you to buy something within your budget.
What tent capacity do you need?
Tent capacity is a particularly important consideration even if you’re planning on travelling solo. The weight of carrying the tent is important to note as well as the space inside the tent itself, especially if you’re bringing a large rucksack or pet with you.
How you want to use the tent is also important. Whether you’re looking for a light tent to use in summer for a family holiday or if, like me, you’re undertaking a journey where you’ll need to carry the tent and make sure it withstands adverse weather conditions.
My Join Davina South-West Coastal Walk
Personally, I plan on using my tent to wild camp whilst I walk 700-miles along the South-West Coast of England all whilst raising money for Ocean Generation. You can find out more information about my trek, keep up with my progress and even donate by heading over to my fundraising page here.
How did I choose my tent?
For my trip, buying a tent was a very important decision I did not take lightly, considering it will be my home over the duration of my walk. It was almost as important as choosing my rucksack, which I discuss here in more detail. Some of the most important features for choosing a tent for my journey were as follows:
- Weight– As I am backpacking around the coastal path, lightness was the most important feature when choosing the tent. After seeking advice from other hikers who had completed the walk, it seemed the key thing was to look for a tent that weighed below 2kg.
- Double Skinned -However, the strong weather variation around the coast meant that it was important to have a double-skinned tent (i.e. – a separate flysheet to the inner sheet to avoid condensation).
- Ease of Pitching- Being able to pitch a tent quickly and easily is always ideal. There are some ultralight tents, which use your walking sticks to save space and weight, however, I decided that because of the strong winds on the coast that this would not be a suitable choice for my trip.
- Space – Even though I am travelling alone, I still wanted space to move around inside the tent. Personally, I chose a two-man tent so that I can keep my belongings inside the tent without it feeling claustrophobic.
- Cost- The main reason that I chose wild camping for my trip was to save money and allow for flexibility. So, spending up to £1000 on a tent seemed to be counterproductive.
What tent did I choose?
By using these requirements to find the type of tent I was looking for I managed to narrow it down to two final options.
- The Naturehike Cloud Up 2, 2 Person Tent, 1.8kg
- Hubba NX, 2 Person Tent, 1.7kg
It was a close call between the two. At first, The Hubba seemed the better option. It had more space and was lighter, however, it felt like it took up far too much space especially when wild camping in small areas. Plus, it was £200 more expensive than the Cloud Up 2!
So, I finally decided that The Naturehike Cloud Up 2 was the perfect tent for my journey! I am very excited to come to a final decision and look forward to calling it my home throughout the next few weeks. If I get the bug after this adventure, I may even think about investing in another, lighter but more expensive tent such as the Big Agnes.
How did you decide which tent was best for you? Which tent did you end up choosing?
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