5 Tips for Buying Family Camping Tents

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Buying a family camping tent is like buying a vehicle: You should think about your family's needs and wants.

When it comes to vehicles, if you're going to be hauling children and their gear, you go for the minivan or SUV rather than the small, sporty car.

With tents, if you'll be backpacking your equipment long distances, you'll need the lightest-weight tent that will still protect you from the elements. You might choose one- or two-person tents, and let each camper carry his or her own shelter.

But if you're driving to within a few yards of where you'll pitch your tent, and you want adults and children together, then you want a family camping tent.

Then, other questions arise. Will you be camping only during the summer? If so, you will be interested in a tent with plenty of mesh windows and vents. Most tents are made of some combination of mesh and nylon or polyester, with different combinations for different seasons.

Are you more interested in having an inexpensive place to stay near vacation destinations, or in having a back-to-nature experience? Will you break camp frequently and drive to new destinations, or will you pitch the tent once and spend the whole vacation there? The answers to such questions might help you decide whether you're more interested in how easy the tent is to pitch or in how spacious it will be.

Even if you're likely to use the tent only once a year, it's important to choose one that will make camping a pleasure for the whole family. Read on to learn more about your choices.

Here are some other ways to make camping easier:

• Easy access is important. Somebody will have to go to the bathroom at night. Someone will wake up early and slip out to watch the dawn. Do you want one door or two? How easily do the zippers work? How noisy are they?
• Letting moisture out of the tent is vital. Condensation from people's breathing and wet clothes and gear can gather inside a tent, with drenching results. Ventilation is important, especially in summer. Look for ceiling vents and plenty of mesh panels in doors and windows.
• Buy a rainfly. You'll need a separate, waterproof cover that goes over your tent but doesn't touch it. If your tent doesn't come with a rainfly, you will need to buy one. Even if it doesn't rain, the fly is important for keeping out ultraviolet rays. If you'll camp only in summer, you may want a fly that covers the tent's roof but doesn't come all the way down the sides, so there's more ventilation. The fly should be quick and easy to pitch.