Tents & Shelters: How to Choose

A tent is a compromise between weight, space, weather protection and price, and you can only pick two and a half. The decision that actually matters is what conditions you will use it in most, because a tent bought for a single hypothetical storm will be unnecessarily heavy for every other night of the year. For most people, a solid three-season freestanding tent covers 90% of real use.

How to choose

The decisions that actually change the outcome.

• Three-season tents handle everything except snow loading and serious winter wind — the right default for most people.
• Four-season or expedition tents add poles and lower profiles to shed snow and wind, at a significant weight and cost penalty.
• Weight matters differently depending on whether you carry it for hours or drive to the pitch. Backpacking grams are expensive.
• Freestanding tents pitch on rock and platforms; non-freestanding ones save weight but need to be staked out properly.
• The stated capacity assumes no gear. Buy one size up if there are two of you with packs.

What to buy, by use case

Matched to what you will actually do with it.

• Three-season backpacking tent

  Use case: Multi-day trips in spring through autumn, up to moderate wind

  The single most useful tent category. Look for a full rain fly, an aluminium pole set and a tub floor that rises well above the ground.

  $180 – 400 Check price

• Ultralight tarp or single-wall shelter

  Use case: Long-distance hiking where grams matter more than comfort

  Saves 1 kg or more over a double-wall tent. Requires skill to pitch well and offers no insect protection unless paired with a net.

  $150 – 500 Check price

• Car camping tent

  Use case: Drive-in campsites where weight is irrelevant

  Standing height and genuine living space for a fraction of the price of an equivalent backpacking tent. Buy the biggest you can fit in the car.

  $120 – 350 Check price

• Four-season expedition tent

  Use case: Snow, high wind and winter conditions

  Stronger pole geometry, fewer flat panels and a lower profile. Heavy and hot in summer — only buy if you genuinely need it.

  $500 – 1,200 Check price

• Footprint or groundsheet

  Use case: Protecting the floor of any tent

  The cheapest way to double the life of a tent floor. Cut it slightly smaller than the footprint so it does not channel water underneath.

  $30 – 70 Check price

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Pitfalls to avoid

The expensive ways to get this wrong.

• Buying on the 'comfort' rating rather than checking hydrostatic head, pole material and seam sealing
• Assuming the stated person capacity includes your packs — it does not
• Skipping the footprint and then blaming the tent for a punctured floor
• Buying a four-season tent for a summer trip and carrying 800 g of unnecessary pole
• Not re-waterproofing the fly after a few seasons — the coating degrades even in storage
• Packing a tent away wet and unpacking it a month later to find mildew

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