Choosing a Backpacking Tent
With the vast amount of tents available to backpackers, choosing the right tent to fit your needs can be a daunting task. When choosing a tent for backpacking, it is helpful to narrow your choices by focusing on your specific needs for your tent, along with a few items that will enhance your camping experiences. Be sure to check out the TrailsNW Backpacking Tent Search Tool, which makes it easy to narrow find the tent that meets your exact specifications.
Capacity & Size
How many people will be sleeping in your tent? This is perhaps the easiest item to decide on, which will dramatically cut the list of options down.
Closely related to the tent's capacity, the size of the tent affects how comfortably you and your backpacking partners will find the tent. You will obviously want to get a tent that is big enough to fit in, so be sure to add additional length to be sure you fit, as well as room for miscellaneous gear that is sure to find it's way into the tent (books, headlamps, extra clothes, etc...). The width of the tent is also important. Sure, you picked a two person tent, but two people in a tent can feel drastically different if it's you and your spouse, or if it's you and your best friend. My current tent happily houses my wife and I comfortably, but bringing along one of my other friends makes it seem a little crowded.
Season
Three-season tents will keep you comfortable for most of the year, but if you are going to do any winter camping, you will want a four-season tent which are built tougher to handle the extra stresses of snow and wind. Because four season tents have additional strength built in, they are also generally heavier and more expensive than three-season counterparts.
Doors
After tossing and turning for an hour in the middle of the night to see if you can make it until morning to utilize the nearest bush, it's nice not to crawl over your hiking partners as you make your way out of the tent. The more doors you have, the easier it is to get in and out of the tent and you don't have to worry about stepping on anyone. The downside is that additional doors add some amount of weight (generally this is pretty minimal, and the ease of having additional doors far outweighs the weight issue), and adding more zipper to the tent just means something else can break (which they do over time).
Vestibule Space
Vestibule space (the area outside the tent, but covered by the rainfly) is very handy for storing your backpack and other gear during the night. They also protect your shoes from the weather, and make for a good area that is dirty, but still covered from the weather (you generally don't want to put your boots on inside the tent!). Most tents these days have some amount of vestibule space, and I'm personally always a fan of having the most vestibule space as possible.
Weight
As with all backpacking gear, weight is an important consideration. Obviously go with the lightest tent that meets your other needs and desires. The tent search tool helps to make this easy.
Price
Price plays a role in everything we buy, and backpacking gear is no different. Generally quality goes up the more you spend (you get what you pay for). Since a high quality tent will provide enjoyment for years to come, it's advisable to spend as much as you can to get the tent that meets your needs and makes you happy.
