Technical Tent Buying Guide

When it comes to buying a technical tent, there are a number of considerations worth bearing in mind. Here we have put together a guide to try and help you work out which tent is going to be best suited to your needs. Whether you want an ultra lightweight tent for adventure racing, a light weight backpacking tent or a tent to withstand high winds and harsh conditions for expedition use, there is the right tent out there for you.

Types of tent…

Single pole tents:
Popular amongst super lightweight backpackers and those doing adventure races, single poles tents are often the lightest style of tent. As the name suggest, they have just one pole supporting the roof of the tent. As these tents are not free standing, they need to be well pegged out.

Tunnel tents:
Tunnel tents, where two or more poles run parallel across the beam of the tent, are a great way of gaining a great deal of interior space with comparatively little weight. They are also simple and quick to put up. This makes them a popular choice for summer backpacking, hiking, and lightweight travelling. This style of tent is also very popular for those doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition.

Ridge tents:
The Force Ten ridge tent is a modern day classic of the UK campsite. Often made from tough cotton canvas, or hardwearing nylon, ridge tents are made from strong tubular aluminium poles, creating an ‘A’ frame at either end of the tent with a pole running along the top ridge of the tent. This type of tent is popular amongst Scout and DofE groups, due to their ‘bombproof’ build quality and modular construction.

Semi-geodesic tents:
Semi geodesic tents, commonly known as dome tents, have poles which cross over to form the tent structure. Having the poles cross over gives the tent strength, making it a good choice for those who want a tent for use in windy conditions. They also have the advantage of being self supporting, meaning they go up well on pitches where pegging points are limited. The downside of this additional strength is that they tend to be heavier than equivalent tunnel tents.

Geodesic tents:
Geodesic tents, are dome tents where the tent poles cross over each other at multiple points around the tent. This forms an extremely strong tent structure, which can withstand high winds and severe weather. This means that a geodesic tent structure is used for mountaineering tents or expedition tents.

Tent features…

Once you have decided which style of tent you want, there are a number of other features it is worthwhile looking out for.

Flysheet:
The flysheet of a tent is the waterproof outer skin, protecting those inside from wind and rain. On most technical tents, fly-sheets are made from either polyester or nylon. Polyester has the benefit of being relatively cheap to make, it does not adsorb water, and is more waterproof than nylon. Nylon has a better strength to weight ratio than polyester and is a more breathable material, helping to reduce the amount of condensation inside the tent. Polyester is also more resistant to UV degradation than nylon, making it a better material for tents that are going to be used a great deal.
Flysheets are often treated with Polyurethane (PU) or silicon. This often increases the level of the fabric’s water repellency, and helps protect it from UV degradation. The level of waterproof protection provided by a flysheet, or it’s ‘Hydrostatic Head’ measurement is described in as a figure in mm. The higher the number, the better the waterproof protection.

Inner tent:
With most tents, underneath the outer fly sheet, there is a secondary inner tent. This is usually made from either polyester or a mesh fabric, and has a waterproof groundsheet sewn in. The inner tent serves to help insulate you within the tent, and help protect you from condensation.

Inner/outer first pitching:
Some technical tents are designed to be pitched flysheet first, whilst with some you pitch the inner tent first, and the flysheet is then secured over the top. The benefit of pitching your flysheet first is that the waterproof part of the tent is put up first, helping to keep the inner tent as dry as possible if you are putting your tent up in the rain. The benefit of pitching the inner tent first is that if you are using the tent in hot dry conditions, you can dispense with the flysheet altogether for a cool, comfortable and bug free nights sleep.

Single skin tents:
Some very lightweight tents dispense with the inner tent altogether and have just one waterproof outer layer. These single skin tents are great popular for those taking part in endurance races and extreme mountaineers, when keeping weight down is a real issue. The downside of this type of tent construction is that you can find increased levels of condensation on the inside of the tent, and decreased levels of insulation.

Poles:
The poles on most technical tents are made from some sort of aluminum alloy. Alloy poles have the benefit of being much stronger, lighter and more durable than the fiberglass poles used on many family tents. Some tent manufacturers use their own poles in their tents, whilst some manufacturers source poles externally, from people such as DAC. The larger the pole diameter, the stronger (and heavier) the pole will be. Some very lightweight tents use carbon fibre poles, which have the duel benefit of being incredibly light and extremely strong.

Snow valance:
A popular feature on expedition and mountaineering tents, the snow valance or snow skirt is a strip of fabric running around the bottom edge of the flysheet. This allows you to weigh down the edge of the tent with rocks or snow in areas where pegging out your tent is challenging. This helps prevent draughts coming in from the edge of the tent, helping to keep heat in the tent.

Mesh doors:
If you are using your tent in tropical or arid areas, it is certainly worthwhile having a mesh door on your tent. This can come in the form of a mesh panel in the inner tent door, or a double door system, where the fabric door can be unzipped and stowed away completely. This performs two functions; firstly to allow increased ventilation on warm nights in your tent, and secondly to act as a mosquito net, keeping out unwanted insects.

Whether you are looking for a backpacking tent for a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, or a technical lightweight tent for extreme mountaineering, we have the tent for you! We have a great selection of lightweight tents from MSR, Black Diamond, Force Ten and Vango. Our lightweight tents range from ultralite 1 man tents through to 4 person and 5 person basecamp tents. Our lightweight tents come in a number of styles, from single hoop tents, tunnel tents, geodesic tents and apex tents.