Buying A Tent Tips

When you are buying a tent a good tip to remember is you don’t want to take hours setting it up, especially if you are only going away for a short trip or always on the move. So look around shops, do some research and find a tent that suits your family. Unless you are staying put for a month or so, and making your campsite into a temporary home, then a 3 or 4 room tent would be excellent.

• Tents are usually defined in size by how many people can squeeze in. A three person tent is good for 1 or 2. A four person tent is good for 2 or 3 and so on.
• The bag that the tent came in from the factory is sometimes can be a tight fit when trying to get the tent back in. If necessary you may need to find another bag.
• The pegs that come with the tent are usually very pathetic and bend first time you hit them, buy some good strong steel pegs. If you are camping in sand buy some sand pegs, these are usually solid plastic and yellow or black.
• If you have a low tent that you can’t stand up in, there is pop up change/shower/toilet rooms available, usually very easy to setup in various styles and sizes.
• Remember to keep zips shut on tents to keep the crawly things out, big or small.
• A strong ground sheet/tarp under the tent is always a good idea, helps stop the ground moisture rising and keeps the tent cleaner and drier for packing up.
• If you have to fold up your tent when it is wet. Get it out again as soon as possible to dry, it may become mouldy if left packed up wet.
• If you have a dome tent, make sure the elastic in the poles is in good condition. buy a few metres and take it with you. Keep a container of spare parts you never know when you will need them.
• Take a spare guy rope and pole along if you can, if you have a dome tent take a spare pole if you can or some strong wide tape in case a pole breaks.

 Can you add any more tips about buying a tent to this list?