Types of Tents
If you’ve ever gone to an outdoor equipment store or
shopped online for a tent, you would discover an impressive range of tent
shapes and designs to cater to your need for basic shelter on your next
camping or hiking trip. Whether
domed, rectangular, pyramid or the traditional double A-frame, the style you
choose is much more than a simple matter of taste or personal preference.
The tent that you choose should be able to accommodate the climate,
terrain and other demands that you will force it to endure during your
personal adventure.
Teepee Style
Perhaps the most basic tent design, reminiscent of the
housing used by the Native Americans centuries ago, the teepee style tent is
shaped like a cone or pyramid, with a single pole in the middle holding up
the fabric and the sides securely posted to the ground.
It is the easiest to set up, and the center pole can actually double
as a walking stick. The tent has
no floor, and as such, it is used often as a secondary tent for equipment
and gear, and in other instances, it is utilized for showering or other
bathroom activities. Whether you
use it for these purposes or as a regular sleeping facility, you should be
aware that this tent is rather frail and will buckle under all but the
mildest of weather conditions.
A-Frame/ Wedge
A classic tent design from the 1960’s, this standard
tent is supported by sturdy end frames that form an “A”, with the canopy
fabric held up by a single ridge pole between them.
The sharply sloping sides of the tent do not provide much space for
maneuvering, much less head room, so the tent is almost exclusively used for
sleeping purposes. It fares
better than the teepee tent against wind and rain, but not by a lot, and is
susceptible to sagging in these situations.
Modified A-Frame
The feature that distinguishes this type of tent from
its ancestor, the A-frame, is its curved pole along the ridgeline in the
center, giving it the appearance of a hoop tent.
This version provides more head room and stability, without
sacrificing the efficient rectangular floor space of the older A-frame, and
in some models, one end is smaller than the other to save on fabric and make
the overall tent lighter.
Dome
Shaped like the top half of a ball, the dome tent is
the most common camping tent style today, utilizing a hexagonal pole
arrangement that provides excellent stability and space.
Dome tents are easy to set up, and some have their tent poles built
in for added convenience. The
tent also folds up easily for swift transport, though it may be heavier than
other tent styles. The dome tent
is quite durable against rain, wind and snow, but in snowstorms or
considerably heavy downpour, sections of fabric may collapse due to lack of
adequate support.
Tunnel/Hoop
A prime choice of backpackers due to its lightweight
design, the tunnel or hoop tent looks like the top half of a covered wagon
from western films, sporting a tent fabric that is supported by a series of
hoop-shaped poles, which form a tunnel.
This style is good for summer camping and mild weather, as it does
not hold up well against wind and snow, although there are some variants of
the tunnel tent that are specially reinforced to withstand harsher
conditions.
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