There are so Many Camping Tents to Choose From.

If you are going camping for the first time and want to get the right tent for you, the selections out there can be overwhelming. There are all kinds of shapes and sizes and styles like a cabin tent or dome tent and backpacking tent not to mention family tents. So how do you pick the right tent?

First of all, what kind of camping would you like to do? Lets take backpacking for instance, how many people are going to sleep in the tent. Most backpacking tents are for 1 to 4 people, unlike car camping, backpackers use their tent to sleep in only, the rest of the time is usually hiking and exploring new places. Packing a tent in a backpack to carry on your back for miles at a time, weight will be a big consideration, the lighter the better I say. More than likely, because of the weight, the smaller the tent the better just enough room to sleep in. Which brings up the close sleeping quarters, make sure you pick a tent with plenty of ventilation. Most popular backpacking tents are dome tent style, there is also  A-frame styles too.

Car Camping is the most popular type of camping for people that like to camp with friends or families. If this type of camping interests you, first determine how many people you want to sleep in the tent, this will help you decide what size tent you will need. With family camping it is important to understand that elbow room is essential. If you under-size the tent you and your family members will be tripping over each other and probably trampling on your sleeping bags as you get in and out of the tent. Plan on at the very least 30 to 32 square feet per person. Example, if I have 4 people in my party I am going to look for a tent that sleeps 6 to 8 people. The more days you camp out you might want to increase that square footage. The family tents are popular in the dome tent style and the cabin tent styles.

Some of the larger camping tents like the cabin tent are known for their tent walls being more vertical which enables you to have more usable floor space, this means, if you like using a camping cot this is the tent for you, cots will fit close to the tent wall giving you extra space to move around inside the tent and to enter and exit the tent easily. The large dome tents have angled walls making it impossible to get a camping cot next to the tent wall therefore, you loose floor space. In dome tents you will want to sleep on air mattresses or camping mats to get closer to the tent walls so that you can have some floor space.

Most camping tents used by campers today are 3 season tents, this means the tent can be used during the spring, summer and fall seasons. If you are thinking of camping during the winter season you will need to look at a 4 season tent. The 4 season tent is made up of heavier materials and will stand up better in extreme cold and snowy conditions. The 4 season tent can be used year around, although it can be a little warm in the summer, unlike the 3 season tent which can only be used during moderate temperatures.

You could always borrow a tent from a friend or family member your first time out to get an idea of size and the style of a tent before you actually buy one yourself. When you are selecting your first tent just use common sense, ask yourself how many people are going to sleep in the tent, am I going to use cots, air mattresses or camping mats, what season am I camping in the most. Don’t stress, you’ll make the right decision. Have fun and happy camping!