subject: Best Camping Tent – How To Determine Which Basic Camping Tent Design Is The Right One For You [print this page] Best Camping Tent How To Determine Which Basic Camping Tent Design Is The Right One For You
There are many factors to consider when buying a camping tent, like size and cost. But design is certainly another factor you should think about. Each camping tent design has its advantages and disadvantages, so it's very important to find out which design is the best for your planned trip.
There are generally three basic camping tent designs
Ridge tent
Cabin tent
Dome tent
Let's take a look at their strengths and weaknesses.
Ridge tent
This camping tent design pretty much resembles the traditional tent shape. It's basically a pole supported, roof-shaped tent, kept upright by external guy ropes. Ridge tents show a simple structure and are usually very easy to set up which makes them convenient for backpacking or other tours where your camping tent is erected every evening in another place and merely a place to sleep and store your stuff. They are available for 1 to 3 sleepers and are fairly lightweight. However, this camping tent design is not the most suitable for heavy weather conditions.
Cabin tent
This is the ideal camping tent for families or larger groups spending a longer time in one place, for example on a campground. Having nearly vertical walls, a cabin tent offers large headroom which allows you to walk around inside and set up camping furniture anywhere you like. This makes indoor entertainment on rainy days or in the evenings easy. Some cabin tents can be divided into several rooms, which allow more privacy.
The cabin tent is the design that uses the ground area most efficiently and provides the most usable space inside. If you want a maximum of comfort and space, this is the camping tent of your choice. However, a cabin tent takes up more pack space and is heavier than similar sized ridge or dome tents.
Dome tent
The traditional shape is a single dome, but you also find camping tent designs made up of several domes. Another style is the half dome or tunnel design which is a great camping tent for backpacking. A dome tent offers large floors space, but less useable space than a cabin tent of the same size. However, it's much lighter than a cabin tent, and thanks to its rounded shape and flexible poles it's very wind resistant and highly sturdy even in extreme weather conditions.
A dome style camping tent is not the best option when you have lots of equipment, want plenty of space and comfort and are likely to spend much time inside, but it certainly is a great choice for travelling with a tent (which means you basically just sleep in it), especially when you expect rough weather conditions.
In general, the best camping tent for a family campsite holiday is usually a cabin tent, whilst ridge and dome tents are stronger candidates in travelling tours. For good weather trips, a ridge tent is most likely sufficient, but for rougher weather you will be better off with a dome tent. But it's also a matter of your personal taste, and the world is not only black and white. There are many hybrids on the market, too, that have features of different camping tent designs. If none of the basic designs seems to be really right, those hybrids may be the solution for you.
