The tent is a portable shelter that is a canvas stretched on a support frame made up of poles, ropes and pegs. It serves as a temporary refuge in the field and is widely used in various outdoor activities - camping, hiking, mountaineering, mountain trips, hunting and fishing, emergencies, scientific expeditions, festivals, protest movements, as well as for military purposes. The fact that the tents are easy to carry and install makes them a preferred and especially useful camping equipment for every tourist.
What was the purpose of the tent in the past?
The earliest information about the use of tents as homes dates back to the early Iron Age. They are also mentioned in the Bible - Genesis 4:20 speaks of Jabal, presented as the first person to live in a tent and raise sheep and goats.
Later, the tents served as a temporary shelter for the soldiers of the Roman army - they used leather tents, copies of which are reproduced today as modern tents. The military tents had a relatively simple design and their application can be compared to today's one to provide temporary shelter for a small number of people.
The model of traditional nomadic tents, better known as yurts, is still inspirational nowadays - elements of it are being revived in some modern types of tents. In the past, the yurts were an important part of the nomadic tribes' lives, who were known for the fact that they did not lead a sedentary life but were constantly on the move. They moved from one region to another without stagnating for a long time, and to do so, they needed a "mobile haven" for their home, wherever they were. This makes the yurts particularly useful. They were a portable dwelling made up of a round wooden structure covered with a sheep's wool. It was the perfect mobile home for them as it was easy to carry, assemble and disassemble, protect from rain and wind, and provide cool interior space on hot days.
Native American tribes from North America used another type of tent for their asylum - the so-called tipi, which in Sikh language means "home." The tipi is conical in shape and is a scaffold of bars with a cover made of bison or deerskin. The rods are arranged in the form of a cone, with the upper part tied. A large half-circle cover is placed over them, and a smoke hole is left at the top. The tipi floor is covered with skins and the size depends on the needs and preferences of each Indian family. An interesting fact is that such dwellings are found in the Paleolithic.
Tents have been used for centuries, and the creativity in terms of their design and construction does not stop growing. As shelter is a necessity for every person under certain conditions, the need for tents does not diminish. Everyone who is away from home and has no place to spend the night needs a tent - the soldiers of the Roman army who need shelter during hostilities, the shepherds who have to spend the night in the open air, to modern tourists who love camping and wants to be close to nature.
What are the main components of a camping tent?
Main exterior of the tent
One of the most important components of any tent is the canvas - this is its roof part. It's also called a tent cover. Its purpose is to protect the interior from external conditions - rain, wind or sun. The coating is best made of waterproof polyester (a synthetic fibre platform that is non-crushing, dries quickly when frozen, is easy to clean and protects against harmful UV rays). Another option is a polyethene tent cover, which also protects against rain, but does not support at its best. For the two-layers tents, only the outer part is made of waterproof material.
Inside of the tent
The sleeping and living area needs to be well kept and comfortable. This means that the two-sided tents provide the best protection against the weather. On one side are the outer parts, and inside - sleeping (protected) room. Such a room is missing in one-sided tents, that are also insulated from the outside world and provides only one cover.
Other components of a tent
Poles are another major component of the tent – they are its structure (skeleton) and distinguish its shape. When assembled with thе elastic cord the structure is created. The materials used to create the poles are fibreglass, steel, aluminium or carbon. Fibreglass poles are also sold separately - they are a cheaper option that is not 100% reliable. Lighter and more durable aluminium poles provide maximum resistance to rain and strong wind.
The floor is the base of any tent. This base is a waterproof barrier between the ground and the sleeping bag. In the two-layer tourist tents, the floor is sewn to the sleeping quarters, and the one- layer tents it's purchased separately - it can be joined to a flatbed, fastened with hooks. The most popular tents come with a polyethene floor that is lightweight, abrasion-resistant, and coated with a polyurethane coating.
A compulsory component for each tent is the bag for transport and storage, and as such, it provides safe storage for the tent to be transferred from one location to another without the risk of losing some of its components.
Types of tents
According to weather or season: winter tents, bad weather tents, windy weather tents, warm weather tents
An important feature of the so-called winter tents (tents adapted for very cold weather) is their size. The need for wide space in this type of tent is particularly great - it also needs good ventilation to be able to cook inside. They are made of the best possible materials, as they are designed to withstand any conditions. The safety rings must be made of higher quality material, such as aluminium, and the cover is made of waterproof polyester. Winter tents are necessarily two-layer, and the outside layer should cover the whole space without gaps.
Bad weather tents (rain, snow, high wind) are constructed in the same way. It is also important for them to have sufficient interior space to cook, for the outer tent to reach the ground and to have as few gaps as possible (the same applies to the bottom), and to have at least a 10 cm distance between the inner and the outer layer. It is also important that the entrances are adjusted so that no water or snow gets inside when opening them.
Every tent for windy weather must have solid poles of good quality materials, as well as sturdy zippers that do not open easily. Size is also important in this type of tent, but in this case, it is important to have small tents as they withstand high winds. The entrances must be two opposite each other, with one always on the leeward side. More and longer tension ropes are needed to hold the poles.
Warm weather tents are especially needed when camping in the summer. It is important, if it is a double layer, that the outer layer can be removed at higher temperatures. Insect protection is also important during the summer season - so these types of tents often have a mosquito net that also serves for better ventilation. In this case, the outer tent does not need to reach the ground, even gaps are recommended, for better ventilation. Summer tents are usually available in light colours.
According to the layers: single-layer tents and double-layer tents
By weight: ultra-light tents, heavy tents (family tents), multifunctional tents
Ultra-light camping tents are made of ultra-lightweight materials. The poles are either made of carbon or lightweight aluminium alloys. Accordingly, their weight is minimal - between 1 and 3 kg. They are mainly used for tourist purposes as they are easy to carry in a backpack. They consist of one bedroom suitable for one or two people. They assemble quickly and easily - in about 5 minutes.
Family camping tents are significantly heavier - over 10 kg. They can have both one large and several smaller rooms, suitable for more people - between 3 and 8 people. The poles of this type of tent are stable, most often made of aluminium, steel or fibreglass. Due to the larger weight of the family tents, they are used by people who go to a longer camping or events that they reach by car. Assembling them takes longer (between 10 and 30 minutes), so they are best suited for long stays in the same place.
Multifunctional camping tents are a cross between lightweight and family camping. Their weight varies between 4 and 8 kg, their stretching takes between 10 and 20 minutes, and the number of people they fit is from one to four people. Most often they have one bedroom plus an entrance hall.
By design: dome tents, tunnel tents and tent hybrids between dome and tunnel
In the tent domes, the main rails start from the ground and bend, and at the highest point, they cross and form a dome. They are also known as igloo tents. They are available in different sizes - from light tents for two people to tailored (over 180 cm) heavier ones, accommodating between 6 and 9 people. They can be either two-layer or single-layer, with the possibility of adding floor or wall cover. Couplings and securing pins are not included in the construction of the tent boxes, as they are considered "free-standing", but in strong winds, additional support is required.
In tunnel tents, the main poles also depart from the ground and bend taking the form of an arch. The poles do not touch and are located behind each other, thus forming a tunnel. These types of tents offer more usable interior space than you buy with the same size, but they almost always need tensioners and securing pins to be more durable. In most cases, tunnel tents are two-layered. Their sizes vary between a single tent and a tent for 8-10 people, whose height reaches 180 cm. The most common models have a sleeping area at one end and an entry area in the other or two bedrooms and a lobby in the middle.
The third type of tent by construction is a combination between a dome and a tunnel tent. One option for them is to have the main dome as a sleeping area - one or two of the rails forming a hoop are connected through a tunnel to the dome part, which forms the porch. Another option is for the large dome to be used for the living room and 4 tunnel extensions to make up the sleeping area.
Other types: tents, festival tents, children's tents
Fast-expanding tents, also known as pop-up tents, stretch without assembly. They are a relatively new type of tent made of flexible fibreglass poles (most commonly) that bend and form a round shape of the tent. The only effort required to adjust the tent is to place it on the ground and to stretch the tensioners with the pegs. Most tents of this type are single ply, not adapted for windy weather due to the high flexibility of the rails.
Festival tents are suitable for beginner campers or generally for people who rarely need a tent. They are suitable for one or two nights and are made of relatively inexpensive and not very high-quality materials, which is why they are not suitable for rain and strong wind, and sometimes even their cover is not made of waterproof material. They are suitable for one to two or three people.
Children's tents are significantly smaller than single camping tents. They are lightweight, easy to carry and assemble, but they are not suitable for tourism, but rather for children's play - they are placed in the garden, they are also suitable for a nursery. The structure of children's tents is simpler - thin plastic rails and vinyl cover (a material that allows high quality to display colour pictures on it and preserve colours for a long time, as well a smooth, easy-to-clean surface).
