I often have friends ask me what to prepare for an outdoor trip. Outdoor tent choose what kind of better? I often see a lot of people in the field because the waterproof and wind resistance of the tent is not good, resulting in heavy rain outside the tent under light rain, today I will simply introduce to you how to choose the tent, the parameters on the sign how to see.

First, the choice of outdoor tent style?

Tents are designed with different uses in mind and come in different styles. As far as the appearance of the tent is concerned, the common tent is roughly divided into five styles:

① Triangular tent: The front and back of the herringbone iron pipe bracket, the middle frame is connected by a cross bar, hold up the inner tent, install the outer tent can, this is the most common tent style in the early days.

Advantages and disadvantages: The triangular tent has the advantages of light weight, good wind resistance, good stability and so on. It is also very convenient to set up. You only need to fix the corner of the tent and the ground nail of the corresponding wind rope. But the biggest problem is condensation, which can wet clothes or sleeping bags.

Application: mostly suitable for jungle, plateau, high latitude area; Or hiking alone. Purchase skills: when choosing a triangular tent, first consider the space size of the tent according to their own needs; It is recommended to select multiple ventilation Windows and roof vents, which can ensure the permeability of the tent and reduce condensation.

(2) Dome tent (also known as yurt type) : the use of double pole cross support, disassembly and assembly are relatively simple, is the most popular style on the market

Pros and cons: The domes are designed for use from low altitudes to high mountains, and range in size from single-person tents to meetings for a dozen people; The support is simple, so installation and disassembly is very fast; But because its windward side is equal, so the wind resistance is poor. Application: Most suitable for parks, lakeside environment such as shade mosquito or light rain leisure travel activities. Purchase skills: In the purchase of a dome tent, it is recommended to choose a dome tent with high comfort and low difficulty.

(3) Hexagonal tent: the use of three or four pole cross support, and some use six pole design, pay attention to the stability of the tent, is a common style of "mountain type" tent.

Advantages and disadvantages: Hexagonal tents have the advantages of large space, good wind resistance, good rain resistance, but relatively heavy and not very convenient to set up. Application: Most of them are suitable for mountain trekking and inclement weather. Purchase skills: when choosing a hexagonal tent, it is recommended to choose a good air permeability tent. Air permeability is mainly reflected in the height of the inner curtain gauze, the size of the outer curtain breathable window and the height of the outer curtain

The bottom of the boat tent: after holding up like a back buckle over the boat, and can be divided into two poles, three poles of different support methods, generally for the middle of the bedroom, two ends for the hall, in the design of attention to windproof streamline, is one of the common tent styles.

Advantages and disadvantages: The boat bottom tent has the advantages of good warm performance, good wind resistance, rain resistance, large space and so on. It is built against the wind, and the wind can not excessively squeeze the tent pole. But the wind from the side may shake a little. Application: Most of them are suitable for high altitude camp construction.

Selection tips: When choosing a boat bottom tent, it is recommended to choose nylon fabric with coating (that is, PU), the best choice of outer tent PU1500mm, and the PU value of the bottom of the tent needs to exceed 3000mm, so that it is very waterproof.

⑤ Ridge tent: the shape is like an independent small tile house, the support is usually four corners of the four columns, above the frame a ridge shaped like structural roof, this kind of tent is generally tall, heavy, suitable for driving family or relatively fixed field operation camping use, so it is called vehicle tent.

Pros and cons: Ridge tents tend to be tall, but heavy, and often difficult to complete by one person. Application: Most of them are suitable for driving family or relatively fixed field operation camping use. Purchase skills: when choosing a ridge tent, try to choose low brightness green and brown palladium, high brightness tent transmittance is higher, at the same time, the heat will be relatively high; Low-light tents will be less transparent and will block out some of the natural heat that the sun provides.

Second, the choice of tent size

How to choose the size of the tent should not be a problem, need personal space, choose a single account; If you want to experience the outdoors with your lover, buy a double. If you want to go out with family and friends, buy a 3-4 person bill. But remember, the tent is not just for people, it's also for your other belongings, so leave plenty of space. Many tents have foyers, but they vary in size and number, and it's best to take the space items need into account when buying.

Three, the weight of the tent choice

Many people are extremely concerned about the weight of the tent, who all hope to be able to carry a light "house" out, but I do not recommend the pursuit of light, in the south may be possible, but the north of the summer is too short. Tent to do very light, you have to compromise on the material, such as originally to use nylon cloth with gauze, with 210t place with 190t, which directly leads to the decline of insulation. So, when shopping, ask yourself: Is this lightweight tent suitable for my environment?

Four, tent color selection

Most people choose tent colors based on personal preference, but if you want to minimize your impact on the environment, low light shades of green and brown palladium are good choices. In addition to looking bright, high light tents have the benefit of being easy to search for. In addition, the color of the tent will affect the internal light and temperature of the tent, the high brightness of the tent light transmittance is higher, and the heat conduction will be higher; Low brightness tents will be poor light transmittance, will also block some of the sun to provide us with natural heat sources, affecting the individual activities in the tent, especially in bad weather conditions can feel the difference between the two.

Five, the selection of the tent pole

There are four common types of support frames (commonly known as tent poles) :

1, steel pipe: also known as high-frequency welding pipe, mainly used in military tents, disaster relief tents and other large tents above, the surface are sprayed with plastic or galvanized treatment, there are round pipe and square pipe, pipe diameter generally in 19~50mm, wall thickness in 0.8~3mm.

2, elastic: this kind of general children's account or beach game account.

3, glass fiber rod: there are 6.9/7.9/8.5/9.5/11/12.5 series. The rougher the stronger the rigidity and the weaker the softness. Therefore, the selection of fiber pipe support is reasonable according to the size and height of the ground, too thick and too fine are easy to break. For example, 210*210*130 is a classic size with 7.9 or 8.5 pipes.

4, aluminum alloy skeleton: relatively high-grade, according to the ratio of alloy test is also difficult, generally the original support of the overall curvature curve, are first calculated and then hot pressing setting treatment. It is characterized by light portability and easy to break, but the quality is not good and easy to bend and deform.

A lot of people think that aluminum pole tent is lighter than fiberglass pole tent, in fact, the weight of a tent does not depend on what it is with the pole, the same double fiberglass pole tent replaced with aluminum alloy pole, about only 150 grams light, many fiberglass pole tent can also do very light. The real advantage of the aluminum alloy pole is its durability. The FRP pole will break when it is used frequently, making it impossible to build a tent. This problem also occurs at low temperatures. In addition to bending, aluminum alloy rod will not break in normal use, and the integrity of aluminum alloy rod is better than that of fiberglass steel rod. Aluminum alloy pole tent is more expensive than fiberglass pole, but not unreachable, there are a lot of 600-1000 aluminum alloy pole tents.

Six, the tent rain, wind resistance outdoor camping, hiking tents using light polyester, nylon fabric, so that it will be portable, and the fabric of the warp and weft density is higher. Tent material to choose good air permeability cotton nylon silk, from the use of the point of view, nylon silk performance is better than cotton. PU coated Oxford cloth as the base material, whether it is strong, cold resistance, or water resistance are much more than PE.

Waterproof 300MM is generally used for beach tent/sunshade tent or cotton tent with drought and less rain waterproof 800MM-1200MM for conventional simple camping tents.

Waterproof 1500MM-2000MM for more mid-range tents, need to travel for several days.

Waterproof 3000MM above the general is a professional tent, take high temperature/cold resistance and other technology treatment.

Bottom material: Generally PE is the most common, quality mainly depends on its thickness and warp and weft density. Better high-grade Oxford fabric, waterproof treatment should be at least 1500MM above.

The interior fabric is usually breathable nylon or breathable cotton. Mass depends mainly on its density.

The rain proof performance of the outer tent cloth, this index is still calculated by how many mm of water column per square centimeter.

The general tent waterproof in 1500mm water column above, can prevent medium to heavy rain; Individual up to 3000-4000mm, can prevent continuous rainstorm. Excellent quality waterproof tarpaulin, not only high waterproof index, and in the tarpaulin seam joint and wide and thick pressure strip, to line seam seepage.

Consider whether it can withstand wind, rain and other conditions. The first is the coating, generally choose PU800 coating, so that the coating is not leaking under the static water column of 800mm, can prevent small to moderate rain; PU1000-1200 coating can prevent medium to heavy rain, more than 1500mm coating can basically be used in a variety of environments. The number of aluminum poles should also be considered. 2 groups of ordinary aluminum poles can resist the wind of about 7-8, 3 sets of aluminum poles can resist the wind of about 9, and 3-4 sets of 7075 aluminum poles can be used in the blizzard environment of about 11. At the same time, but also consider the tent cloth, generally choose 420D wear-resistant Oxford cloth.

Seven, the choice of tent season

Now on the market for the outdoor tent for three seasons or four seasons, but the four seasons here refers to not extremely cold weather, if you want to winter camping in the snow or need to choose a professional tent with a snow skirt. Winter camping must choose a good sleeping bag is the most important. The four seasons tent in the inner tent has full gauze net and half gauze net, it is recommended to choose half gauze net should be used in summer is better, but the outdoor is wet and cold, so the heat preservation needs to be put in the first place, followed by the consideration of ventilation.

Recommended brands: Sanfeng, Kellestone, Mugao Di, Decathlon, etc., relatively high cost performance.

Random to find a few outdoor tent tag, you can follow the above introduction to see the relative parameters of the tent.

What do 210T and 190T refer to in the tag? T is the sum of warp and weft threads per square inch. 210T means that the total number of warp and weft threads per square inch is 210. This expression is generally used for pure polyester fabrics. The larger the number in front of the T, the higher the density, the thicker the cloth.

Summary: When choosing a tent, first consider the use, the number of users, wind and rain resistance, use season, weight and other conditions. Each brand has a lot of tents, the performance and function of each tent are not the same, in the choice of not only choose the brand, but also look at the parameters of the tent manual or tag certificate. According to their own requirements for windproof, rain resistance to choose their own tents. If you are just shading or going to the park, you can choose automatic tents, which are easy to install. However, if you want to go to outdoor camping, do not choose this kind of tent, this kind of tent is very poor rain and wind resistance, outdoor often encounter 5 or 6 wind, such tents are easy to blow down. If you are not a traveler who needs extreme sports, it is recommended to choose aluminum pole, 1500MM water column proof level 4 tent is enough.