Most tents now come with bathtub floors, which keep seams several inches above the ground, and "no-see-um" mesh to keep out the tiniest insects. Double-track door zippers let you unzip the fabric door while leaving a screen in place for insect protection. Color-coding makes setup easier, though experts still recommend practicing with a new tent at home before taking it on a trip. Reviewers say to look for the following additional features when buying a tent:
Consider your priorities. For family camping, allow plenty of space for playing inside on rainy days, and look for good storage to keep everyone's belongings neat. For backpacking, balance light weight with size; a tent that's light but cramped may not provide a good night's sleep.
Bigger isn't always better. A tent that's too big or too oddly shaped may not fit onto the tent pads at many campgrounds. Also, the bigger the tent, the harder it may be to stay warm during cool weather.
Full-coverage rain flies are best. Quite a few tents increase ventilation by providing only partial-coverage rain flies that include little awnings over the windows and doors. Reviewers say these are adequate in a light rain, but can let in driving rain. It's better to have a rainproof tent that increases ventilation with cleverly placed vents.
Factory-taped seams are important for rain protection. However, tent experts recommend using seam sealer on a tent periodically anyway. Some inexpensive tents need seam sealing before the first use.
Look for plenty of storage pockets and loops. Both owners and professional reviewers say that built-in storage makes a big difference in tent livability. Some tents come with plenty of interior storage, while others make gear lofts available only at extra cost.
Ventilation is crucial to minimize condensation. Look for mesh placed both low on a tent wall and high in the roof for good airflow. Ideally, you can open and close vent covers from inside the tent even with the rain fly on. Tents with a rain fly, known as double-wall tents, usually provide the best combination of ventilation and storm protection. Single-wall waterproof fabric is usually used only on tents designed for ultralight backpacking, where a little condensation isn't as important as light weight. Some hybrid backpacking tents are partly double-wall, partly single-wall, to balance these factors.
Double doors are a big convenience. They add ventilation and minimize having to climb over someone else to enter or exit the tent. They also make it easier to decide how to pitch the tent to get good views, privacy and resistance to wind and rain.
Two vestibules are better than one. You can store gear on one side and cook on the other if it's raining outside. Large vestibules also let a dog sleep in protected space, yet outside the tent. Experts recommend a vestibule of at least 6 square feet, so you can store a pack in it as well as boots.
Shock-corded poles, color-coding and quick clips make for fast setup. Shock-corded poles fold into sections for compact storage, but unfold quickly to full length. Clipping the tent to the poles is faster than having to thread the poles through sleeves. Color coding means that the pole tips are matched to specific tabs around the grommets where they're supposed to go. Some tents have the setup instructions printed right on the carry sack, especially useful for large family tents with lots of pole parts.
Even lifetime tent warranties don't cover sun degradation of the fabric. To prevent sun degradation, canvas is the best tent material, polyester next. Plain nylon has the least resistance to ultraviolet rays. If a tent is used only a week or two a year, pitched mostly in the shade, this is less important.
Aluminum poles are stronger -- but heavier -- than carbon-fiber poles. Some family tents use steel poles, which are heavy and eventually rust. Reviews don't recommend tents that use fiberglass poles, because they're prone to splintering. Variable-diameter poles are designed to minimize tent weight, putting the largest diameter where the most strength is needed.
Single-wall backpacking tents are lightest. These eliminate the rain fly, making the tent body either from breathable rainproof fabric or from silicon. Most breathable fabric tents can't be treated with fire retardant, so they can't be shipped to some states or to Canada. Silicon fabrics have an electrostatic attraction to pollen, sand and dust.
Square footage doesn't tell the whole story. This measurement is a starting point to help you decide if a tent is big enough, but also check length to be sure your sleeping bag or cot will fit. Total interior space (measured in cubic feet) depends on the tent's shape. A-frame tents less interior space than hoop, dome and umbrella tents. Within types there's still variation in available space, so look for a design that maximizes it.
Headroom is important. For a family tent, make sure the headroom allows the tallest person in the group to stand up inside. For a backpacking tent, make sure there's space for everyone to sit up. It's possible to get dressed without sitting up, but it's not comfortable. Being able to sit up comfortably also makes rainy days inside the tent much more tolerable.
Stakes and guy lines that are brightly colored are easier to see. Some tent stakes even have a reflective coating so you can move around the tent site with a flashlight without tripping over guy lines. Colored stakes also make it easier to avoid leaving some behind when you pack up to leave. We found many owner-written reviews recommending replacing cheap metal stakes (which are prone to bending) with heavy-duty plastic stakes.
A footprint or groundcloth protects the tent floor. Most tents have an optional footprint you can buy, that's already shaped to fit under the tent with a margin of a few inches all around. (Counter-intuitively, the tent footprint must be a little smaller than the tent, not larger.) To save money, you can make your own out of Tyvek or 4-mil black plastic.
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