Absolute guide to Tents and Camping

Aftermanyyears experience camping all around the world I decided to write this guide to save you from making some of the mistakes that I have made (and seen other people make).Whether you're planning an expedition to the Himalayas, or a spring weekend break with your partner in the Cotswolds, you cannot afford not toread thru this guide. Some of it you may already know, but I guarantee you will learn something new here.Commonly used definitions:Festival tent : Disposable tent, which would probably be more waterproof if it was made from tissue. (If you want one of these, please go somewhere else, this guide is not for you)Hydrostatic head : The supposed amount of water that can sit on the fabric before the fabric compromises. (leaks) ..... 5000mm looks impressive, but realistically 2000mm is more than adequate in the UK. High number = heavier but more water resistant : Lower number = lighter but less watertight.Goretex : Unless you're going to be camping in exposed sites at high elevation, avoid Goretex. It's too heavy for tent making, and will create huge condensation puddles inside unless you can pitch somewhere very windy.Bivi : Abb for Bivouac .. Tempory shelter traditionally made from locally found materials... More commonly a bivi will be a small shelter made by stringing up a tarp / basha / poncho etc. Bivi bag : A bag that acts as a shell for your sleeping bag. Often these are waterproof, but not always.Hooped Bivi. : A small tunnel tent, slightly larger than a normal bivi-bag - Usually made from Goretex.Ridge Tent : A design that is triangular end on, and supported by 2 uprights (or A frames) .... There may or may not be a ridgepole. A traditional tent design that if well constructed and pitched, is every bit as functional as a modern tent design.Tunnel Tent : A design of tent supported by a number of hoops that do not cross.Dome tent : A design of tent supported by a number (Usually 2 or 3) of hoops that cross in the centre. (This design is inherantly stronger than a ridge or tunnel)Geo : A design of tent which is supported by3 or more hoops that cross in 3 or more places. (Basically The more crossovers, the stronger the tent, and more suited it is to extreme conditions).Snow Valence : A skirt sometimes found on winter tents than acts somewhat like a draught excluder, and helps keep snow (or sand) from blowing underneath the gap below the flysheet and filling up your porch.Double-Poling :The pitching technique of running an extra pole thru each sleeve to dramatically increase stability of a tent. This technique requires that an additional set of poles are carried, and should not be used on lightweight tents, for the average user doublepoling will never be nessecery, but if camping in an elevated (or exposed) location where you expect to encounter storms(force 8+), it is an option.Taped Seams : The contraversial manufacturing feature of running a polymer 'tape' along the seams of the flysheet. The tape will either be attached by welding, or glueing. While welded tapes will usualy stay fixed for longer than glued in tapes, all are likely to come away eventually. Dutch research suggests that taping seams increases the amount of condensation a tent will suffer but does not significantly increase longterm waterproofness, but adds weight and cost. Robert Saunders (A premierUK tent firm) have stopped fitting tent seam tapeson their range altogether, and instead put an extra fold at the fabric joins before stitching which in itself creates more strength and waterproofness.Groundsheet protector : (Sometimes called a 'footprint') ... Sometimes these are sold as an optional extra... (seldom if at all included with initial sale)Usually this is a piece of fabric made of the same type as the regular sewn-in groundsheet which goes under the whole tent to help prevent thesewn-in groundsheet frombeing damaged. (In my opinion, this is just a way for the manufacturer to make more money (and give you more weight to carry - My solution is to putyour sleeping mat beneathyour tent thus any sharp object that you miss during site preparation will damage your 5 mat, not your 300 tent)Tent Pegs : (or Stakes) Pegs essentially hold various parts of the tent to the ground. These can be manufactured from wood, steel, alluminium alloy, or carbon fibre. (Price varies a lot, but generally you get what you pay for)Tent Poles: Constructed from wood, steel, aluminium alloy or carbon fibre, the pole holds the tent off the ground amd gives the tent it's shape. Ridge tents have straight poles (which can sometimes be replaced with walking poles), all other types have curved /shaped poles (or bendypoles which find their own shape when the tent is pitched.) Often the poles are joined with an elastic 'shock' cord. Routine maintainence includes lubricating the joins with a light engineering oil (such as 3in1)Factors to consider. For the average back packer, you'll spend more time carryingyour tentin your pack than sleeping in it, so consider the following to be the correct order of criteria forselecting a tent.weightweightweightAside from that, make sure there is enough room for you to do anything you would wish to do in it.... sleep... read, sitting up .... cooking etc.Like any major purchase, proper research will help make sure that you get the right tent for you at a price thats right. Visit your local camping store. (Preferably on a weekday morning, when the staff have more time to show you their range) Ask to see the tents pitched, and get in them, lie down, move around... get in and out a few times and figure out if it offers enough room for your indended use. Do not buy, remember you're just gathering information at this time. Ask the salesman for a tent brochure that you can take away, ask him to mark on it the prices of the models you like. The next camping shop you go to, take the brochure from the first shop with you, and ask the salesman to mark on their shops prices for the same tent(s)... Let him see that you are comparing him to the first shop, and he might even offer you a discount ... still do not buy, we aren't done yet. After a few shops have been visited, youshould alreadyhave a shortlist.Next thing is to talk to exisitng tent owners to narrow your list... If you have camping friends, ask them first if they have any of the tents on your list, and if so what do they think of them... Next on a weekend evening, go to your local camping site... Look around for tents that are on your list... When you find one, try and find the owner (It's evening, so he/she will probably be nearby). Start a conversation, tell them you are thinking of buying the same tent, and they will most likely be happy to talk with you about their findings. Ask them what they consider is the best and worst thing about their tent.If you have followed the steps, you should now have a pretty good idea of your ideal tent, now you can hit the internet to find the best deal ;-) Check the manufacturer website first for up to date product news... (ie specification changes, product improvements, recalls etc), then hit the main retailer sites: (Blacks / Ellis Brighams / trek and field / Cotwolds Outdoor etc) this will give you an idea of the current 'retail price' before you come back to bag your bargain on eBay. :-). If you are buying second hand, be absolutely 100% sure what the conditionof the tent is, ask your seller why they are selling, how many times have they used it, has a groundsheet protector always been used etc etc etc.Pitching your tent.Almost always your tent will come with pitching instructions.. These are for real, someone sat down and wrote them, so follow them.When your tent arrives, unpack it in the living room and check that all components are recieved. Then when you have a nice day take it out to the garden and pitch it following the manufacturer instructions. Choose a flat area free of stones , twigs, thorns. (It is well worth taking a few minutes to check the area thouroughly and clear it of anything that could damage your pride and joy.) Pitch and pack up your tent a half a dozen times in the garden (or local park if you don't have a garden), this will familiarise you with it, how many times you do it is up to you, (I make a point of practicing until I feel comfortable enough to try pitching whilst wearing a blindfold, this way, I know that I can pitch the tent in the dark if I need to). Being able to pitch quickly in bad weather is essential , consider (or even try) pitching wearing gloved hands. any more than 5-10 mins is far too long for a 1-2 person tent, but larger tents may take longer and need help from a friend (Who should have also practised in ideal conditions before you venture into the wilderness). Anyone else (including children) should be kept out of the way... Ifthey want to help, ask them to help by fetching some firewood, or some other innocuous errand. ;-)Pegs should not be put in vertical.. Put them in at a 45-60 degrees angle top pointing away from the tent. Never ever hammer pegs, if you run into a stone, just try an inch or so to the left or right and you'll find a softer piece. If you are travelling over land that is notoriously hard... (stoney ground, or sunbaked mud), carry some 7" nails which can safely be hammered into the ground without risk of bending and can be used instead of pegs.If possible pitch your tent below the snowline, However if this isn't possible, use a shovel or ski to clear away the top few inches of soft powdery snow until you have firm snow on which to pitch.Generally the rule is not to camp closer than 5 metres of another tent or flameable object.. If you are in a 'pay' camp site, the owner will probably insist on this, but if you'rewild camping use your common sense.Camping beneath trees, or in a forest is generally advised against. The reasons are:that in a storm a lightning struck tree could fall on you and kill you,Birds sitting in the overhead trees may deficate onto your tent below, thefaecesare corrosive, and could damage the coating on your tent.Sap may leak from the leaves and fall on your tent damaging the flysheet coating.Insect life is often more prevelant in wooded areas.water will continue to drip from branches long after rain has stopped.Having said all that I sometimes camp in forests if I am unable to find shelter from the wind elsewhere.Pitching in severe weatherWhen pitching in strong wind, you must be careful to peg down at least one (upwind) corner of the flysheet while you work, (this will make it easier for you, and help make sure your tent doesn't blow away).If it's raining heavily, and you have to pitch the inner first, lay the flysheet over the top while you work, this will help stop the inner from getting soaked.. If the wind is blowing aswell, peg everything down by at least 1 corner.If there is a blizzard / sandstorm, be very careful not to put items on the ground as they could quickly be covered and lost. When I take the pegs from the little bag that they come in, I never just dump them out on the ground, I put them into my thigh pocket, and take one as I needwhile I work.Tents and CondensationTo minimise condensation, pitch in a good stiff breeze, remove snow valance, ensure that the flysheet is well off the ground, keep flysheet partially unzipped, make use of any vents, keep inner tent doors open, and try to minimise your perspiration.Cooking in your tent.Almost all manufacturers and most guide books will tell you not to. (In reality of course this advice is generally ignored at least by every camper I ever met) . But if you're going to do it, .. you might as well know the risks andbe careful .. Make sure that anyone else in the tent knows that you are cooking, and that if there is another door, that it is used by anyone who needs to come in/out. If your tent doesn't have an alternate exit, have a very sharp knife to hand... (If everything goes pearshaped, it is better to cut an emergency exit in the side of your tent than to be burned alive.) Be absolutely certain that your stove cannot fall over, (I have seen this happen, and it is scary). Keep the flysheet unzipped and tied back so that fumes can escape. Do not leave a lighted stove unattended for even a second. If you are using a petrol stove, light it out doors,and bring it in only when the initial flare up has died down.Risk of fire, is not the only reason that it is a bad idea to cook in your tent.Animals may come looking for easy food, and if you have food in your tent, they WILL know about it. In the UK where we tend to think wildlife isn't dangerous, it is possible to encounter badgers, wild cats and stray dogs to name a few, all of which have sharp enough claws to ruin your brand new tent while attempting to steal your 'pasta-n-sauce' .Inplaces such as North America (where bears can be encountered), normal practice is to do all your food preparation / cooking / eating / washing up and storing of food in an entirely seperate area from your sleeping area, at least several hundred metres away.General camp craft.A campsite should be a tidy place. In the military the golden rule is that you only have one thing out of your rucksack at any one time, then you replace it before getting out the next item that you may require. Thismillitary rule is for tactical reasons, but in civi terms, it means that we cannot lose anything if everything is tidyied away at all times. In the outdoors anything lying about is likely to be trodden into the mud, blown away, eaten by a sheep orburied under fallingsnow.In the UK it rains, so pretty much everywhere we're gonna find water.. (Yes, I know the various Water Boards up and down the country would tell you how scarce water is - But believe me it's everywhere). Ideally your campsite is going to be near to a stream. Establish 2 points on the stream and use the upstream point for drawing water for drinking and cooking, and the lower point for washing (Yourself, and your pots) Make sure that everyone in your camp knows the location of the 2 points, and which one is which.If you want to drink straight from the burn (Many people I know do this) thats fine, But I prefer to safeguard myself by either boiling it or treating it with clorine tablets. There are 2 other treatment methods that work, one is microfiltering (These filters are expensive), and iodine (Either tablets or in liquid form from your chemist).Snow should be melted in your potto make water. Never eat snow, as it makes your body spend energy to heat it up.. It also can reduce your body core temperature dramatically and put your life at risk.Going to the loo in the outdoors. Find a place well away from your campsite, and any water supply. Using your spade, cut a turf 1 spade head square, then dig 6-9 inches further down before deficating in the hole, a handfull of moss replaces the need for tissue paper, (But if you must use tissue, please burn it rather than burying it) when you're done, refill the hole and carefully replace the turf. If you don't have a spade, find an area of soft ground and kick a hole with your boot.Foot careWhenI get inmy tent at the end of a day, I take a few minutes to check my feet, wash and dry them using a good footpowder, treat any blisters or abrasions,wash my socks in the stream, then put them in my sleeping bag so they will dry over night from my bodywarmth. In the winter if you leave your muddy boots in the porch of your tent, they will surely freeze over night, and you won't want to put your feet in them in the morning, so I put them in my rucksack, and thats my pillow with my jumper on top.Breaking CampNo matter what the weather, or how quickly you want to get back on the trail, always pack up systematically. Account for every item of equipment, do not assume someone else has it in their rucksack. When everything is packed away, walk slowly around the site looking for anything that may have been inadvertantly dropped. Pay special attention to taking any and all litter with you. (Even if it's someone elses litter.... Lets do the right thing, even if they don't)Getting home.Spread out all your equipment, and clean off any mud, peat etc as soon as you can, before drying your kit, and storing it away in a ventilated cupboard. (not in the loft). Never keep sleeping bags packed up tight, a tip I use it to gently stuff my sleeping bag into an old pillow case for storage.Those self inflating sleeping mats should be stored lying flat with the valve open. (Under you bed is the best place). Remove fuel from stoves before cleaning and storing away from children. If you must keep fuels at home, keep them with your DIY stuff inyour (locked)shed.Enjoy the outdoors and lets leave it so that our kids and grandkids can enjoy it too.Please vote if you found this useful, then I know that I'm helping folk.Also read my guide on campfires