Buyer's Guide:
Tents

What to look for when buying a tent

First we should state a basic premise. A modern tent consists of two parts, the tent itself, or the inner sleeping shelter, has a door with a screened window or a screen door with a storm flap. It also has at least one other window, a mesh top for ventilation, and a water resistant floor. The second part is the water resistant fly. The fly keeps rain away from the inner tent, and protects the open windows and door(s) from falling rain. In the summer heat, the fly keeps the tent in the shade. The shade and ventilation will keep the tent cool for sleeping. The more of the inner tent that is covered by the fly, the better the tent design.

Next we should determine what you will use the tent for. A Backpacking tent is somewhat smaller, lighter, and usually more expensive than a tent used for standing camps or "Tailgate" camping. A $300 tent is generally of better quality than a $100 one. Will you use it 5 times a year or 50 times?. Will you be setting it up just about every day, or will it be left up for extended periods? What age group(s) will be using it?

General design:

Before we even start looking at tents, we can narrow our search by eliminating 50% to 75% of the tents in the catalogue.
The purpose of a tent is to keep the mosquitoes and the rain out. If one tent will not do both jobs well, we do not want it. Lets look in the catalogue. See the funny tents with windows on the sloping walls? Gone. See the funny tents with a large door on the front with nothing to keep the rain out? Gone. See the funny tents with the fly looks like a kid's beanie on King Kong, and the door shaped like a funnel? Gone!
For regular sized people (Adults), Scouts over 11, and Cubs under 12, eliminate any tent that you cannot stretch out in without touching the sides. For me that works out to be 8 feet. (7½ is pushing it--I have one.)
Now lets look over the ones left.

Size:

Boy Scouts of America stipulate that each occupant requires 30 square feet of floor area. At first glance this may seem excessive, but an adult sleeping bag is 20 square feet, a normal pack will use up 6, leaving only 4 square feet for clothes and things not inside the pack. I would use this figure to calculate the size required for a Jamboree tent, or for camping in one place for extended lengths of time. It is also a nice round figure to use when comparing manufacturers.
My dome tent is 7½ ft x 7½ ft. Manufacturer's rated capacity: 4. It is great for one, crowded with two (28 square feet each).
The 9 x 9 foot Tourist tent is comfortable with 3 (27 square feet each) and cramped with 4. The difference is when you subtract 6 feet for my sleeping bag, it has twice the space between me and the tent wall. The exact space needed at head and foot will depend largely on the shape of the tent, considering nothing should touch the sides of the tent. The straighter the walls, the more useable floor area.
When canoeing or backpacking, it is easier to find 2 small spots for tents than one large one. Especially when Scouter Larry picks the camp spot!

Shape:

The basic shapes are square and round. Pup tents, "A" frame and tourist tents are square (or rectangular), while some dome tents have more than 4 corners. While I prefer some room at my head and feet, some octagonal dome tents offer space to the side for gear as well. The straighter the walls, the more useable floor area.

Weight:

Backpacking tents are made from light weight material and generally have nylon floors. Standing camp tents use a more water resistant woven poly floor. If you are doing both, think about a 3-4 man tent. It generally will be big enough for 2 at a standing camp, but you could cram 3 in on an overnight hike, and share the weight on the trail.

Colour:

This may seem trivial, but the last thing you want to see in the wild back country is another human being. Pick a green, brown or even blue tent instead of scarlet, orange or chartreuse. Then camp well back from the trail or shore.

Price:

The subtle differences that should be noted are the number of clips that hold the tent to the poles, the relative strength of the poles, the number of tie points for guy lines and tent pegs, and how they are attached to the tent, the number of seams, their position in relation to rain and wet ground and the stitching along seams. I have heard it said that the $500 tent and the $30 tent both have the same zipper. I do know that a nylon coil zipper is easily field repairable, and is self healing.
The Warranty or guarantee varies from tent to tent, and from retailer to retailer. Some offer a lifetime warranty on poles, seams and zippers.

Ease of use:

Pitch the tent yourself. I mean one person doing it. Alone, by yourself.
Do you want to do that twice every weekend? Do you think two of your Senior Cubs or Junior Scouts could do it? Why not let them try? Could you borrow/rent one to try out for a weekend canoe trip or overnight hike? If not from the retailer, maybe another Troop has one.

Deciding factors:

The tent must have "no-see-um" mesh for use in Northwestern Ontario. I spent a week at a BSA Scout Camp in a tent with no mesh doors, but really regret not having control over how many mosquitoes I feed overnight.

Large windows, one in the door and one in the other end. Some tents offer 2 doors so when the wind changes...

Storm flaps over the windows are more convenient if you can close them from the inside, to keep out the blowing rain.

The Fly must cover ¾ or more of the walls, and project well over the windows and doors. Better tents have a full fly, and a vestibule for wet and muddy boots, coats etc. You need ventilation when it rains and when it is cold. You will probably appreciate it in hot dry weather as well.

One dimension must be at least 8 feet to sleep without touching the tent head and foot.

A good retailer will let you set your chosen tent up in the store. Kick off your shoes and crawl in. Spread out a couple of sleeping bags and packs to get a feeling of space. First apply the 30 square foot rule, then add one more at a time. Is it still OK with the manufacturer's rated number of Bags and packs? No? Try and look surprised anyway.

Finally:

When you get the tent home, set it up in the back yard and wet it with the hose. The threads will shrink, and the seams will leak a little. When it dries out, seal the seams with tent seam sealer and allow to dry. This procedure will also make sure all the parts are present, and the zippers work.

Cut a piece of 4 mil plastic vapour barrier one foot larger on each side than the tent floor. Place this inside the tent when camping. This will protect the floor from abrasion, and keep your gear dry. Any condensation will run down the side of the tent and under the plastic.

Now that you are prepared, please remember that here in Northwestern Ontario there are lots of Scouts and Scouters that would love to go camping or canoeing with you and your new tent!

Check out our Area & Regional camps and list of contacts.