The Ultimate Guide to Tents

General Notes

• We choose what we carry based on extensive research on what's the best value to our customers (e.g., price given performance & durability features) across all the top brands. We specifically do not carry every brand & model; for details on why we do/don't carry certain items in the following What To Use & How To Choose section
• Buy prices are MSRP with tax, i.e., what you see is what you pay. Prices may differ in-store due to change in models or discounts, but this is rare. If we don't sell what we rent, we list MSRP value with tax
• Rent prices are the starting prices; enter trip dates on our Catalog to get exact prices (based on total trip length, not per day!). We also don't charge sales tax, an automatic savings of almost 10%!

Type or Style	Technical Specialist	Camping Multi-use
Person capacity	2	1 or 2		2				4				6
Model
	Mountain Hardwear Tangent	Big Agnes Fly Creek	Nemo Hornet	REI Half Dome	REI Camp Dome	Big Agnes Blacktail	Marmot Tungsten	REI Half Dome	Marmot Limestone	Big Agnes Blacktail	Big Agnes Big House Deluxe model	Big Agnes Tensleep Station
Buy MSRP with tax + footprint if sold separate (otherwise included)	$550 +$55 value	$380 +$76	$401 +$54	$250 +$38 value	$109 +$22 value	$260	$217	$357 +$49 value	$391 +$55	$360	$402 +$55	$543 +$60 value
Rent includes footprint (see below)	$40+			$20+				$45+	$30+			$40+
Online rental Catalog name	2-person tent (backpacking) Extremely limited availability, please call to reserve	1-person tent (backpacking) 2-person tent (backpacking)		2-person tent (regular)				4-person tent (backpacking)	4-person tent (regular)			6-person tent (regular)
Capacity Largest mattress that will fit	Twin			Twin				Queen				King
Standing height?											68 in (173 cm) max height
Weight + footprint	5lb 15oz + 10oz 2.7kg + 0.3kg	2lb 5oz + 4oz 1.1kg + 0.1kg	2lb 6oz + 7oz 1.1kg + 0.2kg	4lb 15oz + 9oz 2.2kg + 0.3kg	5lb + 11oz 2.3kg + 0.3kg	4lb 8oz + 8oz 2.0kg + 0.2kg	4lb 13oz + 7oz 2.2kg + 0.2kg	7lb 10oz + 14oz 3.5kg + 0.4kg	11lb 11oz + 16oz 5.3kg + 0.5kg	8lb 4oz + 11oz 3.7kg + 0.3kg	11lb 4oz + 14oz 5.1kg + 0.4kg	18lb + 1lb 7oz 8.2kg + 0.7kg
Carry size & notes	Hiking backpacks at least 50L	Regular backpacks for school or work, or some extra large purses		Hiking backpacks at least 50L					Hiking backpacks at least 70L			Large carry-on luggage

When you rent online, we will pick a model for you. You can change the model if you pick-up in-store, subject to availability. On the Options page of our online order process, you can also select options or write-in any preferences. This section describes the majority of our models & options, but sometimes we carry others. We will only pick something else if it doesn't conflict with your choices indicated on the Options page; moreover, if there's a major functional difference (e.g., capacity), we will attempt to contact you first

Included

Key factors

Cool zippers, new waterproofing, etc... sometimes it's easy to get lost in all the hype (over-spending happens on features). Our guide focuses on the fundamental factors you should always keep in mind (thus, this short list is similar across all items). Then only at the end do we have some questions to get you thinking about other minor features.

• Type or Style
• Price
• Capacity (size)
• Weight & size (for backpacking)

We highly recommend reviewing Type or Style first, where we review what you can use to address the Core function--a regular item you have at home may work! The other factors are secondary & depend strongly on the Type or Style you've picked.

While we encourage you to use regular items wherever possible, as an outdoor gear shop, we only carry outdoor-specific products

Type or Style

We've organized the most commonly used items people use to address the Core function below, with example images, characteristics, features, etc.

Our category name		Easy Pop-up	Camping Multi-use	Technical Specialist*	Canvas Luxury
Example qualities & features	Example images
	Example names or uses	Instant tent, quick-pitch tent	Dome tent, tunnel tent, ridge tent	Geodesic tent, mountaineering tent (4-season tent/ winter tent)** See Other products section for more examples	Bell tent, canvas tent, glamping tent, event tent, circus tent, Burning Man tents
	Example brands	Coleman, Quechua, Ozark Trail	Coleman, Quechua, Ozark Trail, ALPS Mountaineering, Eureka, The North Face, Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, Big Agnes	The North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Black Diamond, or more boutique or specialized brands like SlingFin, Tentsile, Tepui	Kodiak, Springbar, Meriwether, Stout
	How to pitch it (set it up)	You know those laundry hampers that just... instantly spring open? Yup, same idea	Build the poles, then run them through connection points on the fabric
			1-3 poles, 1-5 minutes to set up, guying-out may be a good idea	3+ poles, 1-10 minutes to set up, guying-out is a good idea	1+ pole(s), 10-20 minutes to set up, usually requires guying-out
	Set-up size	Designed for sleep only; snugly fits the number of people it's designed for & usually doesn't get to standing height until the capacity is 6+ persons			Can get large enough to fit real furniture inside & be as big as a hotel suite with 10+ft/3+m tall ceilings!
	Performance & durability	Generally not strong or durable, especially in high winds	Strong & durable, but exact specs depend on the product; strongest can be used for easier mountaineering trips	Strong & durable, but exact specs depend on the product	Very strong & durable given purpose as luxurious, outdoor hotel
	Common materials More info about mesh in the Anatomy section	Nylon fabric			Canvas fabric
		Affixed metal poles	Separate metal poles
		No mesh	Generally lots of mesh	Depends	No mesh
Effect on secondary factors	Price	$30-200	$80-700	$400-1000+	$500-1000+
	Size When folded down. Info on weight below	Due to its nature, can't compress down very well; usually cannot fit into a backpack of any size	Usually fits into a backpack, can be small enough to fit into a side pocket!	May be able to fit into backpack	Generally requires a car, largest capacity may need a truck
	Rationale	Less technical, less durable, and/or less material			More technical, more durable, and/or more material
Why we do/don't carry it = we rent = we sell		There may be issues with durability & already at a low price	Standard for most outdoor uses	Mountaineering tents only for rent for people summiting peaks; extremely limited availability, please call to reserve	Much more expensive relative to the improvements in comfort (it's priced like a hotel)

*Our Technical Specialist category is meant to be a catch-all bucket for any number of tents designed for very specific technical purposes, but that still have the general shape of a tent (i.e., an enclosed shelter). For examples, see Other products section

**When you hear 4-season tent or winter tent, you might be tempted to think this is what you need in December. But this is a misnomer, for example, if you're camping in a tropical country in December, it is probably not going to snow. In fact, even in California, unless you're actually going mountaineering, camping in the winter doesn't usually require a special tent. That's why we prefer to call these tents mountaineering tents, to make the difference more obvious!

A tent for Burning Man

For background information, you may want to read our Burning Man policy first, especially if you're considering renting! The needs that people have when going camping or backpacking vs. Burning Man are completely different, resulting in very different feature requirements & ideal tent types (see above for overview of all types).

We know, Canvas Luxury types are pricey! But so is Burning Man... the incremental price of a good tent, split among people, is worth it. If you only plan on going once, it's worth it to give yourself the best experience. If you plan on being a seasoned Burner, it's worth it because you'll use it more times!

You may have noticed that Easy Pop-up tents also have no mesh, maybe that will work? Unfortunately, those tents, as we have noted above, are also not very durable, and the Playa gets very windy! That's why it's not a good strategy to buy something cheap to throw away at the end of the trip--that cheap tent may not get you through the week! And if you get a bunch of cheap tents as backups, you'll probably have spent your share of a nice Canvas Luxury tent anyway. If you're going this route, you may as well check out our Borrow program (at most, you'll lose the deposit).

Capacity (size)

How many people are you going with? Who will share a tent? These questions are important when considering what capacity (measured in persons) you need. Rule-of-thumb: each person is allotted ~25in (~64cm) of width in a standard tent (standard single sleeping pads are therefore about ~20in [51cm] wide)*, subject to a minimum for 1-person tents. On the length side, standard tents are always long enough to fit individuals' heights, at around 7 ft / 2.1 m long.

Weight & Size (Compactness) for Backpacking

If you're thru-hiking 20+ miles (32+km) per day, every advantage counts! In this case, size refers to compactness. You can carry more gear in the same size backpack if all of it is very compact, or for more weight savings, you can get a smaller size pack.

To reduce more weight & increase compactability, manufacturers reduce the amount of material used (e.g., fewer features, thinner fabrics, etc.) and, where possible, use more technical materials to prevent performance loss. For example, ultralight fabric used in clothing has to still be waterproof. These strategies create 2 general consequences

• Lightweight gear tends to be less durable: Sometimes, light-weight gear is just thinner & so more prone to damage (even a more technical material may not fully offset the loss in durability)
• Lightweight gear tends to be more expensive: While less materials = lower cost, the more dominating effect is often that thinner materials = more technical = greater cost

For these reasons, the lighter the gear, the more you should treat it as an investment! Is the price difference worth the weight or size savings? This depends on you & your trip.

While backpacking tents have the same general dimensions as you see in the Capacity section, they are less voluminous because, in an effort to save weight, the tent body tapers downward more severly, there's more mesh, and less pole support. As a result, even 2 average-sized people may find themselves pressed against the walls of a 2-person ultralight tent, which, depending on conditions, may create issues with water entry (see Usage section). Many people therefore move up to the next person capacity, as long as the weight is not a concern (which also underscores our strategy for carrying 1-person tents, described the above Capacity section).

Minor features that may be important

Here, we give you a list of questions to start thinking about minor features. We hope our approach of savings these features for last gets you to more critically think about what you need & not get caught up in the hype of what's cool and over-spend your budget.

• How many doors are there & what's the placement?
• How much mesh is there vs. solid fabric? If more of the latter, are there windows?
• How well does it ventilate?
• How many internal pockets are there & where are they placed? (e.g., at the ceiling, or on the walls)
• Does the rainfly come all the way to the ground to create a vestibule for gear (see Anatomy section)? How much space is this?

Our anatomy applies to most Camping Multi-use & many Technical Specialist type tents, because we orient around the 3 main pieces of these tents: the body, rainfly, and footprint. You might wonder, why would a tent not have a rainfly or footprint? For some tents, these are integrated with the body, not separate pieces of fabric. Here's a quick overview of why:

• Camping Multi-use: Not integrated for maximum versatility
• Technical Specialist: Depends; if integrated, it's to maximize weather protection
• Easy Pop-up: Integrated for maximum convenience
• Canvas Luxury: Integrated because this tent mimics an enclosed hotel room

If you have a tent with all the parts integrated, the diagram can still apply, just keep in mind there aren't 3 separate pieces! When a rainfly is separated, the tent is referred to as a double-wall system (there's the mesh body, and the rainfly that goes over it); when the rainfly is integrated, the tent is referred to a single-wall system.

Tent body: the main part of the tent you're staying in!

• Mesh: integrated into the body of most tents to increase breathability, minimize weight, and give you that sleep-under-the-stars experience.
• Poles: gives the tent its structure. Made up of metal pieces strung together with elastic shock cord. Can be either clipped to the tent body, or run through sleeves on the outside of the tent body. Some rainflies use poles as well
• Stakes: keeps the tent anchored down & well-tensioned (see Usage section)

Tent rainfly: covers the tent body to provide shade & protection from rain. If your tent has a lot of mesh, it may also offer more wind protection & privacy. Of course, if not needed, you can leave it off entirely (though we do always recommend bringing it on trips, rather than leaving at home or in the car, just in case)

• Guylines: You can see how the guyline is pulling out the rainfly, adding tension, and making the fabric more taut. More info on the importance of guylines below
• Vestibule: This isn't a "piece", it's the space that's created created if the rainfly of a tent goes down to the ground at an angle, such that there's a small covered space outside the tent body but within the tent rainfly. This space, called a vestibule, can be a good place to store gear or shoes. Not all tent rainflies create a vestibule, sometimes the rainfly just creates an awning over the door, or sometimes it goes down to the ground, but flush against the tent body. Generally people like a vestibule, but because it's another door that you have to deal with, sometimes in very basic car camping (e.g., festival) situations, people prefer without

Tent footprint (aka ground cloth): goes underneath the tent (most visible in the last image at far right the 'fast-pitch' mode, see Usage section) to further protect the tent from wet ground or from being punctured or damaged by rough surfaces. Sometimes sold separately (we include these with all of our rentals, or, if not applicable, a tarp).

Finding a site to set up

If you are car camping at an established campground, these steps may have been done for you, but you should still check!

1. Be sure that the ground is durable like dirt, not plants
2. Make sure your campsite is an appropriate distance from water, the trail, and not too close to any perilous cliffs!
3. Check that none of the trees overhead are broken and in danger of falling (these are called “widow makers”)
4. Clear out your space making sure that there are no rocks, pine cones, or glass where you are going to pitch your tent. If you are not in an established campsite you should scatter natural materials back over your spot before you leave (but please pack out or dispose of trash), following Leave No Trace principles
5. Whether flat ground is preferred over a slight slope depends. For example during rain, a slope can direct more water to your tent (bad) or direct water to not collect under or around the tent (good). Look at the other factors of your site to manage your risks. Also some people are sensitive to sleeping with their head downhill (the blood rush may lead to headaches in the mornings). In any case, avoid pitching a tent over a depression in the ground, since that can definitely cause water to accumulate.
6. More tips in the section on Keeping dry at camp if you're worried about rain

Setting up your tent

These are general instructions for most Camping Multi-use & Technical Specialist tents that are freestanding or semi-freestanding (more info on this below) & therefore apply to all the tents we carry. For instructions for your specific tent check the packaging or look up the instructions for your particular model and brand of tent online. If you're renting from us, we can send you a YouTube video we've found online with good step-by-step instructions. Protip pay attention to colors on straps, poles, etc., as tents often use color-coding to help you figure out what goes where. In the example below in the images for Steps 1 & 2, if you look carefuly, you can see that the grommet tabs on both footprint & body are green on one end (lower half of image) & white on the other end.

Step 1

Lay out your footprint (aka ground cloth) or tarp. For footprints, lay the glossy side up (shine to the sky, dull to the dirt!). When using a tarp as a footprint, make sure it is folded to be roughly 2in (5cm) smaller on all sides compared to the tent body's floor side, in other words, the tarp should not poke out beyond the tent floor. If it pokes out or is too large, it can collect water, that then pools underneath the tent. Of course if you fold it too small, it won't protect enough of the floor.

Step 2

Lay out the body of the tent on top of the footprint. The mesh parts, zippers, or any plastic clips (for poles) should be facing up

Step 3

Assemble the poles by putting the metal segments together (they naturally want to stick together!). Lay the poles over the body. The most common set-up is shown: 2 poles cross diagonally & attach at opposite corners. Poles may also need to go through fabric 'sleeves' on the body (not present in this case)

Step 4

Each end of the pole should go through a metal grommet found at the corners (in this type of set-up). Since the poles are so long, they'll curve for this to work

Step 5

Bring the curves upward to form the shape of the tent. Usually there's a main central 'clip' to hold X-pitch tents in place where the poles cross, as shown in the image

Step 6

Clip the remaining clips to the pole. A tent isn't done until it looks very tensioned out! Here you can see it looks a bit flat, and as well we have a shorter pole remaining

Step 7

In many models, there may be another pole that further helps create volume, in the case shown, the pole runs perpindicular to the X-poles

Remaining steps

These last steps vary a bit more based on circumstances:

Set-up the rainfly

• The orientation is correct if the logo faces outward (i.e., it's readable as you're walking by) & the zippers on rainfly are lined up with the zippers on the tent body door
• Some rainflies have grommets that should attach to the tent body poles as well
• Additionally, some rainflies have their own poles to create more volume or support. Remember, generally whenever you see a grommet, it's made for a pole

Anchor the tent and/or rainfly & make sure the structure is taut

• Use stakes or guylines
• A stake mallet may be helpful to drive the stake into ground that's hard, be careful to avoid bending the stake
• In a pinch, you can use heavy objects inside the tent to hold it down, but this will be less effective at providing the tension that you want the fabric to have to keep dry (see below)

Semi-freestanding tents

These tents can stand by themselves, but they may not fully expand to their entire volume. In the example below, the images are taken from above the tent, the bottom half of the image is the rear of the tent. You'll notice that at the top of the image (the front of the tent), the pole goes down to each corner, anchoring it out. However, the single "ridgeline" pole doesn't go to each corner at the rear of the tent. Therefore the rear looks very "collapsed". This would be an example of a semi-freestanding tent, the fact that the pole doesn't go to all 4 corners helps saves weight & size on this lightweight model. To correct this & expand the tent to its full volume, you need to stake out or guy out each corner, such that the tension helps create structure, see image at right. Thus, these tents may also be referred to as tension tents. Non-freestanding tents completely rely on tension or other structures to be pitched (kind of like how a hammock requires trees or poles)

Fast-pitch mode

This refers to just setting up a rainfly, sometimes with the footprint (see Anatomy diagram, at far right). A fast-pitch tent is primarily used to save weight & size (since the body is not needed), and approaches the territory of tarp tents (see Other products). Be aware, this mode is not possible with all tent models, check yours & practice at home before going outside!

Keeping dry at camp

Site selection & tent pitching

Whether flat ground is preferred over a slight slope depends. For example during rain, a slope can direct more water to your tent (bad) or direct water to not collect under or around the tent (good). Look at the other factors of your site to manage your risks. Also some people are sensitive to sleeping with their head downhill (the blood rush may lead to headaches in the mornings). In any case, avoid pitching a tent over a depression in the ground, since that can definitely cause water to accumulate.

As much as you can, keep the tent dry as you're pitching it. Set up an extra large tarp overhead, preferably over the entire campsite if possible, or hold the tarp overhead. If you don’t have a tarp, do this with the rainfly. Consider tying guy lines in advance, at home, to minimize time exposure to the rain.

Stop water from getting in the tent

The below components of a tent are designed to keep water out:

• Rainfly: The raincover for your tent
• Footprint (or ground cloth) or tarp: Serves as another layer between wet ground & the tent. Generally goes on the outside, however, if it's possible that any footprint on the outside will just trap and pool water under the tent, you may instead want to bring this indoors to use as an extra layer of protection that way
• "Bathtub" floors: The same waterproof material used on the floor of the tent body runs up around the edges, forming a lip to keep water out if it starts to really pool around your tent

Watch out for water transference!

The rainfly, the most important element, needs to be structurally pitched in a way that keeps water out. Specifically it should not...

• Sag: if the rainfly sags, water will just pool in the saggy part (then see below)
• Touch the tent body fabric: if the two fabrics touch, then through the physics of water transference, water will pass from the outside of the rainfly to the inside of the tent body

Both of the above mean that you need to keep the rainfly as taut or tensioned out as possible. This is why sometimes you need guylines to guy-out your tent. What this means is that you take rope, and pull outward on the tent fabric, stretching it to be as taut as possible & not touching the body, then tie the rope off to a stake or tree or other support. Why the fancy name? Imagine the wind suddenly changes direction, and you need to pull on the fabric in a different direction. With rope, you'd have to untie & redo the whole set-up. Guylines have a plastic tensioner piece that you can pull on to adjust the "tension" in the line, therefore making it easier for you to keep your tent taut in changing, inclement weather. For a great guide on how to use guylines, click here.

Don't push out the tent body to touch the rainfly, either! You've spent so much time getting a perfectly taut, no-touch rainfly, don't ruin it by pushing outward against the tent body fabric. This is also we mentioned that in smaller, ultralight tents, people sometimes size down (e.g., 1 person will sleep in a 2-person tent). Sometimes, with the exact capacity of people, it's very easy to push outward on the body when you move.

As we mentioned, the larger a tent gets, the more important it is to minimize water transference and to guy it out, because it starts to pick up wind so much more easily! Here's a good visual example for the theory of water transference and the challenge for large tents (e.g., 6+ person and up).

Using a tarp to help

Can you use a tarp as a rainfly? Tarps are inherently water resistant or fully waterproof, depending on the model. When you use it as water protection, make sure it has not been used previously as a ground cover, since that could create lots of small holes that compromise water resistance (for this reason, our rental tarps shouldn't be used as water protection, since we can't guarantee that people have not used them on the ground). If you're using a tarp as rain protection for a tent it's best to string it up over the tent using nearby trees or vertical poles, like an umbrella. It's not as good of an idea to drape the tarp over your tent like a rainfly, because it's not cut to the shape & contours of your tent, so draping could leave lots of unprotected areas. Not to mention without the right structural support, a tarp could trap condensation or allow water transference from the exterior.

Can you use a tarp as a footprint? Always worth repeating! When using a tarp as a footprint, make sure it is folded to be roughly 2in (5cm) smaller on all sides compared to the tent body's floor side, in other words, the tarp should not poke out beyond the tent floor. If it pokes out or is too large, it can collect water, that then pools underneath the tent. Of course if you fold it too small, it won't protect enough of the floor.

Manage condensation inside the tent

Ah yes... condensation--that phenomenon where weater vapor in the air condenses upon contact with the cool exterior of a drink glass. Unfortunately, this means you can get wet without actually coming in contact with external water! When water vapor in the air is high, at best you might get that clammy, high humidity feel. At worst, the water vapor actually condenses into real water drops that effectively get you wet. Annoyingly, that water vapor can be generated by you, via your sweat or your own breath (our ultimate guide to outdoor clothing discusses more how sometimes being wet under rainwear is a condesantion problem, not a failure of waterproof effectiveness). There are 2 general strategies to follow:

1. Reduce temperature imbalances, to minimize the likelihood that water vapor will condense
• Open windows, doors, and vents in the tent body & rainfly. This is the most important thing to do to minimize temperature imbalance. Try to face open windows, doors, and vents to the breeze, if possible to maximize internal & external air "mixing". Unfortunately during a hard rain, you have to balance what to open vs keep closed (e.g., to prevent rain from being blown inside)
• Pitch under a tree. (But not a "widow maker" that may break and fall!) A tree keeps the air under it slightly warmer by trapping some heat radiating off the ground (thanks to the physics of insulation). This means your tent will be slightly warmer, which means condensation is less likely
• Pitch on higher ground. Warm air rises, cool air sinks. If you pitch in a higher spot, the tent will be slightly warmer, which means condensation is less likely
2. Reduce water vapor in the air, to minimize the quantity of water vapor that could condense
• Pitch away from a water source. Also important because during heavy rains, rivers or streams could flood!
• Don't leave wet things in the tent. Minimize the water vapor in the tent that could condense
• Don't exert yourself in the tnet. If you sweat & breathe heavily you will add to the water vapor in the tent

A third strategy that is not based on physics but your gear itself: get a double-wall tent. (Defined above in the tent gear guide, basically a tent with a separate rainfly.) With a double-wall tent, water vapor passes through the mesh (inherently breathable) and condenses on the rainfly, and then rolls down to the ground (assuming the rainfly is taut and not touching parts of thet body which can cause water to transfer back in!). Of course, there is a trade-off here as single-wall tents (no separate rainfly) often don't have a mesh layer and are more insulating.

Troubleshooting Set-Up Problems

Shock cord end pulls out of tent pole

The image at far left below is not a broken set of poles. Sometimes the ends of the shock cord get pulled out from the pole. Just "tuck" the knot back in the pole, and continue pushing it in (see images from left to right).

Camping with babies & pets

Babies

If you will be using a Pack 'n Play, be conscious of size dimensions, especially height (i.e., you need height clearance to stand above it). A Pack 'n Play usually takes up the width of at least 1.5 people in a camping setting (e.g., roughly 2 sleeping pads, or 30 in/ 76 cm). For these reasons, we recommend at least a 4-person capacity tent, 6-person capacity for greatest comfort (since these will be standing height).

Pets

Camping with pets can be so much fun, and your pet will appreciate the new environment as well! In addition to checking park regulations on pet permissibility, also consider how your pet may interact with your camping gear. Gear is relatively fragile and we have stories of pets unintentionally damaging zippers, mesh, inflatable sleeping pads etc. when they're nervous or just being playful (those nails are sharp!). These damages can be severe, and necessitate replacement of the item entirely (we have a story of a dog chewing a hole through a tent entirely), so plan carefully to ensure a great time for all.

Repairing

We can either provide parts or repair services in some capacity for the following; check our Gear Repair page for details:

• Zippers
• Grommets
• Holes, rips, or tears
• Poles (shared shipping only)

Waterproofing: There are 3 components to waterproofing. It is entirely possible to buy these items & repair yourself, however unless you're treating a spot (in which case Tenacious Tape can work just as well), it can be difficult to get a large piece of fabric back to original performance integrity. (Honestly, this is true even for most manufacturers, who will often ask you to replace the piece that's no longer waterproof.) Rainy Pass Repair can help re-waterproof. As a benchmark, tent-sized fabrics may cost up to $100

• Seam sealant: The seams where the fabric has been sewed together are water-proofed either by a seam tape, or a liquid seam sealant that's applied. With a tape, you may be able to visibly see it peeling away. While you can buy either to do at home, liquid seam sealant is more readily available & easier to use. Seam tape, which is more prevalent in clothing, requires you to match the exact fabric you're repairing, and each fabric has different application settings (e.g., appropriate temperatures to help the tape stick)
• Waterproof coating: Sometimes, the seams are fine, but the fabric fundamentally is losing its resistance to water (you can tell if it's shedding or flaking out white stuff), which is derived from a polyurethane or silicon based coating treatment (different from the coating treatment below)
• Water repellant coating: Called DWR (durable water repellancy), this is a coating treatment (different from the treatment above) that causes water to bead up & roll off the fabric. It can often be applied either as a spray or a detergent that is washed-in (we like products by NikWax or Granger's)

Cleaning & Storing

Gear not in use should be cleaned & dried and then stored loose & in a dark environment, check out our entire protip on the topic here.

We have a general protip on how to store & maintain gear that we highly recommend reviewing as well. If you send us video or a good photo series, we may be able to help you evaluate your repair needs.

There are always novel innovations in the world of tents, because these are the primary gear item underlying so many outdoor adventures. Our Technical Specialist category is meant to be a catch-all bucket for any number of tents designed for very specific technical purposes, but that still have the general shape of a tent (i.e., an enclosed shelter). Most people will not use these tents because they're very specialized & therefore often very expensive. Below are some examples

Tree tents are non-freestanding tents (you can see they're fully based on tension, like a hammock) pitched between trees that hover above ground; sometimes they can be pitched on the water as a tent-raft hybrid as well

Overland tents belong to the field of overland camping, where you're often driving in a 4x4 to a remote wilderness area, and pitching the tent on the roof of the car itself

Portaledges hang off the side of a cliff. Who wants to do this, you ask? Rock climbers!

You may also see shelters that are completely divorced from the shape & form of a traditional tent. The most common examples of this (below) are dreamed up by ultralight hikers with specific needs & concerns around weight & size. (The picture shows them both in action, a tarp tent over a bivy sack.)

Tarp tents: The name draws inspiration from the tarp but this is a different product entirely. For the diehard ultralight hiker, the smallest tents are too heavy. Thus, all they have is a special tarp (using a material much lighter than the traditional tarp we have a gear guide on) as a rain cover. These tarp tents (sometimes referred to confusingly as just tarps) require guying-out as tarps are non-freestanding & may require trekking poles to be set-up. Keep in mind there's a learning curve to pitching them well.

Bivy sacks: Have you ever thought, gosh why don't I just sleep in my sleeping bag outdoors, with some kind of covering against water or bugs? A bivy sack is exactly that! You can stuff a sleeping bag inside or just use the bivy shell on its own.

A hammock can potentially substitute for your entire essential set of tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad! Substitutability depends on the model of hammock, so do your research thoroughly to see if the hammock has rain protection or mesh (to simulate a tent), and any built-in padding or bedding for warmth & comfort. You'll also want to ensure there are plenty of trees where you're going. Finally, you might want to try taking a nap first, hammocks result in back pain for some & back pain relief for others, the last thing you want is to wake up after a long night in pain!