From small instant pitch tents to large family tents, there is likely to be a tent available to meet your camping needs.Although there are in excess of a dozen recognised styles of tent, we shall focus here on a few of the most popular types found on today's campsites:
Ridge tent
Ridge tents are a very stable, easy to pitch type of tent, having a pole at each end. Occasionally, the poles may be linked by a cross-pole (ridge) that supports the tent shaped roof.
Due to the sloping roof, head height can be limited making them less than ideal if you are a camping family wanting to stand up and freely move around within the tent.
Tunnel tent
Tunnel tents are the most popular style of family camping tents and are available in a wide range of styles and sizes. Typically, the tunnel shape is created by using 2-3 flexible tent poles in parallel, with each pole arranged in a semi-circle to give the tunnel or dome shape.
When compared to the heavy steel poles that are often used in large tents, the flexible material used for dome tent poles is significantly lighter, providing a weight advantage in transport and handling on the campsite.
Combination tents
Modern large family tents are often a combination of different styles, giving the camper the benefit of having the style best suited to each area of the tent. For example, a number of major manufacturers produce tents that combine a domed living area with tunnel shaped sleeping accommodation.
Geodesic tents
These tents are normally produced in small sizes, are very stable and well suited for extreme weather conditions. They are popular with mountaineers who need a tent that can be quickly pitched on an exposed and windy mountain side. Extreme camping!
Quick-pitch tents
Quick-pitch tents erect themselves and are manufactured with a coiled, sprung frame. The frame is permanently fitted into the fabric of the tent and when twisted forms a circle. This circular shape when packed can be a bit of a problem if you are trying to transport it in a shallow rectangular car boot or roof box.
To pitch the tent, the sprung frame is unleashed and the package opens out into a tent. Simply peg in the tent and you are camping within minutes.
Dome tents
A popular choice with campers, the dome tent consists of a square shape (two flexible poles in a semi circle crossing in the middle) or hexagonal shape (three flexible poles).
The ends of these poles are typically fixed to a metal pin at the base of the tent (often the fitted groundsheet) connected to an adjustable webbing strap. Dome tents give good headroom across a broader area due to the more vertical sides; however this advantage is countered by the fact that the largest dome tents can have stability issues.
Frame tents
These are traditional tents, offering lots of space, headroom and stability. The steel poles offer a rigid frame but make the tent considerably heavier than the tent types described above and they can also take longer to erect.
Other types of tent that you may like to investigate are pods, vis a vis and trailer tents.
