Top 10 Best Tents to Buy Online 2020

The 10 models of tents featured below have been selected based on a range of scenarios. It can help you choose the best from affordable options to premium ones. 

While buying a tent, most people should consider the following five questions: 

• How many people will go in? 
• How often do I use it? 
  
• How portable should it be? 
• What weather resistance do I require? 
• How easy is the setup? 

While these answer the basics of choosing a tent, you might have more questions on additional features to ensure supplementary comfort to your camping trips. Read on to find the considerations that matter while buying a tent. 

Single-walled tents are lightweight. the tent body and rainfly are built into one wall. The walls can get dampened by your body sweat, so ensure it has good ventilation for your body vapor to dissipate. They are ideal for camping activities that need less ventilation, like daytime excursions or cooler weather.

Double-walled tents, as the name suggests, have two walls and are more protective. They often come with with a waterproof rainfly outside the tent body. They are heavy and offer better ventilation than the single-walled types, so there's little concern about condensation inside. 

Tents can also be freestanding or non-freestanding types. The freestanding tents need tent poles to support the structure. They are easy to set up and can be moved easily. Non-freestanding tents are attached to tent stakes using cords or ropes. You can also use trekking poles to attach the ropes. If you want security, non-freestanding may be the way to go.

Camping needs vary from person to person. While those frequently indulging in car camping trips benefit from a mansion-sized tent or a cabin tent for more space and comfort, solo backpackers mainly look for portability and durability in their tents. 

The bigger the tent is, the more affected it can be by rain and wind. 

Options are many for those driving to a camping site; weight and size are generally not a concern. Most car camping tents are big since it can comfortably be stored in your car’s trunk. They are freestanding tents that use tent poles to set up. You do not have to carry the camping essentials far from the parking area. 

You can go for a big-sized tent with a lot of headroom that is large enough to accommodate a group of people; this is great for families. Most of these tents are cabin-styled or umbrella-shaped to maximize the living space or to divide the tent into multiple rooms. 

For a serious hiking or hiking trip alone or in groups, a tent that is lightweight and compact is ideal. A bigger tent is great for comfort but can take up valuable space; being heavy, it can disrupt your trekking experience. 

Apart from the tent, you'll be carrying a lot of camping essentials such as food, clothes, cooking tools, water, and more. Also, if you'll be walking through a lot of adventurous and sloppy trails, extra weight could be dangerous. All you need is a lightweight tent that is easy to store and transport. 

For a backpacking trip, an ideal tent should weigh 2 pounds per person. There are also compact tents designed specifically for backpackers, which can be great if you’re traveling solo or if everyone carries their own.

The capability of a tend to withstand challenging weather conditions depends on the quality of the tent fabric, the poles and other items that add to the tent frame, along with its design. Some are designed to stand up to bad weather conditions, making them ideal shelters even in heavy snow and storms. 

Designed for moderate weather conditions during the months of spring, summer, and fall, 3-season tents are lightweight and are easy to transport. 

Most come with a mesh panel called "no-see-um mesh" to encourage air flow inside the tent and to keep insects and flies at bay. If used with a rainfly, they can withstand rain, but not harsh storms or violent wind conditions. Although not ideal for winter, they can also withstand light snow fall. 

Also called extended-season tents, 3+ season tents are sturdier than average 3-season tents. You can use them until late fall when moderate snow is experienced. They are strong and offer enough warmth and ventilation to keep you safe.

Extended-season tents are also equipped with one or two poles more than the 3-season tents and have a few additional mesh panels. They are ideal for moderately-challenging weather conditions and mountaineering trips. However, they are not equipped to withstand harsh winter conditions.

To be able to endure great loads of snowfall, 4-season tents are made with heavier fabrics and feature more poles for support. They often come dome-shaped to eliminate the chances of snow collection on flat roofs. 

4-season tents come with more rainfly and mesh panels to reassure protection during inhospitable weather conditions. Although suitable to use in any weather condition, they can feel stuffy and warm if used in mild weather. 

Next is the issue of shape. Different tent shapes can define a tent's durability, strength, and weatherproofing. Here's what you should know about each type.

Dome-shaped tents are ideal for smaller sizes and have two or more flexible poles intersecting at one point on the top; flexible poles are used to define the shape of these tents. The curved walls give enough headroom inside and extend good wind-shielding capabilities to the tent. They can also prevent snow buildup in 4-season tents.

Traditional tents come in the shape of an A, and are also called ridge tents. These A-shaped tents are less expensive, but limit the living space inside due to the steep and sloppy sidewalls. They range from one-person tents to large marquees.

Umbrella tents are the favorite choice for family backpack trips and for camping in groups. They're typically spacious and can be converted into cabins with the use of room dividers. They also feature more windows for good ventilation and views. 

Geodesic is another popular tent shape and are a type of dome-shaped tents. They feature a minimum of 5 intersection poles that crisscross over the tent body and intersect to form triangles. This helps them manages the structural stress of the tent and keep them sturdy. They are great choices for extreme weather conditions.

You shouldn't choose a tent just because it is advertised to withstand all weather conditions. Important features such as the tent materials, its size, set-up time, and accessories it comes with are also great determinants in choosing what is best for you. 

No one on a camping trip would want to spend a substantial amount of time setting up the tent. For hikers, an easy set-up tent is essential as you probably just want to rest after investing your time and energy in a lot of walking. 

Bigger tents generally require more set up time. It would be a good idea to practice setting up your tent before you first use it; this saves you from fumbling around while setting up tents in unfamiliar places. You can also find easy pop-up tents that come with pre-assembled poles and pop out of the bag in a few seconds. 

Most modern tents come in synthetic nylon measured in denier. The lower the denier, the lighter the tent will be. Canopies and rain flies with higher-denier are sturdier and durable than the lower-denier ones. 

Footprints with higher-denier fabrics on the tent floor can reduce the chances of leakage in the event of rain. Go for tents with mesh panels to encourage air circulation inside the tent and to get protection from mosquitoes and other insects. 

For camping in bigger groups, a cabin-styled tent or an umbrella tent would be ideal. These make room for many people and can have room dividers to separate rooms for privacy. They can also have multiple doors, so you don't have to hop over each other for the bathroom breaks you take. Extra doors add more cost to the tents. 

If you only use the tent for sleeping, a height of 42 inches is ideal. For those wanting additional space, standing up or moving around, especially when the tent is a cabin-styled one, a taller freestanding tent would be ideal.

When considering the floor length, add some extra inches to your height. For example, if you are 6 feet tall, go for a tent with a floor length of up to 90 inches. 

Rainflies are waterproof covers that can be used over the roof of the tents. A full-coverage rainfly protects the entire tent, whereas a roof-only rainfly offers limited protection from the rain. The former types offer optimum protection from rain and wind. The latter types, however, allow more light inside the tent. 

To store away your muddy boots or to keep your essentials and personal items out of the rain, look for vestibules. Most modern tents come with vestibules. Some come with add-on vestibules to add extra storage space. Higher-end tents may come with multiple pockets to store away items like your car keys, flash light, or personal items. 

If your tent doesn't have enough storage space, consider adding a gear loft that can hold lightweight items. Just hang it on a wall loop or the lantern loop on the ceiling of the tent. 

A footprint is an essential accessory to go for, especially when you are camping with a lightweight tent. It comes customized to fit the tent floor; it protects the floor from abrasion and leaks due to rain. It is made of high-quality waterproof material. 

If you can do away with a lantern, you can hang a battery-operated one on a lantern loop usually found at the center of the tent ceiling. Advanced models come with built-in lights on the roof poles. For those that don't, you can attach lights of your own in the ceiling hooks. 

Why not have a read about some other items that can make camping fun and healthful?

Understand that a tent should have a good blend of space, comfort, accessories, features, and versatility. Keeping that in mind, finding the ideal one shouldn't be that hard. While budget is definitely a criteria, you might have to pay some extra dollars for a longlasting tent. 

Buying a tent is an investment, so it will be a good idea to own one that fit into your car's trunk or roll up comfortably in a backpack. 

Author: Biji Bella Ravindran

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