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Camping Tents

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Selecting a camping tent

When you’re in the great outdoors, the right shelter can make the difference between a delightful outing and a miserable ordeal. Before making a purchase, make sure you know the seasonality and size that works for your intended adventure.

Tents can be rated anywhere from 1 to 5 seasons, though the most common options are 3- and 4-season tents.

1-season Thin, lightweight, little protection from rain or elements, summer only
2-season Thin, lightweight, often comes with rainfly, summer and warm environments only
3-season More durable, hold up to storms, use in spring, summer, and fall
4-season Primarily used for winter and cold fall, thicker walls for insulation and storm protection
5-season Intense conditions, most durable option for worst weather, often used by professionals

The most popular tent for recreational campers is the 3-season tent. While a 4-season tent can keep you warmer in the winter, many recreational campers find them too hot for the summer, when you need a tent with better ventilation that can also keep you cool. 3-season tents provide protection from most wind and rain and trap in heat well enough for spring, summer, and fall camping.

Next, you’ll need to choose how large you want your tent based on the number of people (and pets) you’ll be sleeping. Tents are rated per-person, but they can be a tight fit—so for example, if you’ll actually be sleeping three adults in your tent, you may want a four-person tent.

Sleeping Capacity (number of people) Estimated Weight (lbs) Estimated Pack Size (inches)
1 4.5 19 x 5 x 5
2 5 20 x 6 x 6
3 7.5 19 x 7 x 7
4 19 30 x 8 x 8
5 22 28 x 9.5 x 9.5
6 30 30 x 12 x 12
8 60 32 x 14 x 14
10 70 35 x 14 x 14
12 80 36 x 16 x 16
16 110 40 x 17 x 17
*These values are averages of 3 to 5 tents in each sleeping size from Sportsmans.com.

Consider how many people you’ll be sleeping, the size of those people, the space between sleepers you’d like, and the gear that you’ll be storing in your tent to determine your ideal size. Then, balance this against how quickly you need to set up your tent, as smaller tents can have easier setup.

Additional Features

Once you have seasons and size figured out, you want to consider the following features of your tent:

  • Durability (higher denier means stronger fabric).
  • Water resistance (get a rainfly if it’s going to rain).
  • Ventilation (mesh paneling and cross-ventilation).
  • Clear/easy setup (make sure you have enough people/time to set up your tent).
  • In-tent pockets and number of doors.

Expert advice