RV and Camping Tips and Articles

How to Buy a Tent

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Yellow Dome Tent

As with every product available to man today, tents come in all shapes, sizes, price ranges and varieties. With so many different tents available in the market, it becomes more difficult to choose the right type of tent for you. So when shopping, consider the following factors:

Before Buying

Do you know the type of tent you are looking for? Check out our article on How to choose a tent to help you become more acquainted with tents, in particular the types, characteristics and materials available to suit your needs.

Once you match your intended purpose to the right tent features, we recommend that you visit a nearby sporting goods store where they have a variety of tents setup for you to check out. This way, it saves you time sifting endlessly online and instead your questions are answered and met face-to-face by the sales representative.

Another benefit to doing this is that this gives you an opportunity to get a feel for the different types of tents, sizes, brands and materials and to identify which tent is best to setup and fold away. Who knows, the requirements you thought were right previously, may not suit anymore after seeing it firsthand.

So while in store, ask as many questions, look at as many tents, find out the types of accessories you could need and look inside each display tent.

Shortlist no more than five tents, go home and start to investigate prices and further information online:

If you do not mind a second hand tent then also try Ebay. Use Google to look for any online reviews of each tent to see what others think.

When Buying

Decided on a tent? If in store or online check the fine print and make sure that the tent you choose comes with a warranty. Find out the returns policy. A truly dependable tent will have a life-time warranty or will not need to be returned at all. Remember to save the company information and receipts when you buy the new tent so that you can contact them if necessary.

If in store, don't be oversold to by sales representatives. What you need is what you need - nothing more, nothing less. However, if you think they may have a point, then there is no harm in listening.

Make sure you know how to set up your new tent before you leave the store or take it into the wilderness. Try to get a hands-on demonstration from the sales representative and then practice in your backyard.

Don't Get Out Your Credit Card Just Yet!

If you are a new comer to the camping world, would it make better sense to rent? A kind of try before you buy but for longer...

Read through our When to rent a tent article to be better equipped.

Happy Tenting!

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1 comment(s) so far...

When I looked to buy a tent I was looking how it will stand under heavy rain. Our tent is great. Two seasons and we have no any problems in rainy days.

We do have other problems.
Our tent ,Kelty, is three person tent, there are two of us. I was sure it is big and I do not need it bigger. Wrong. We do not go backpacking, we camping with car, so there is no big difference in sizing. But on site it is very important. Also our tent is too low, so we can only sleep in it. we cannot stand in it. It is good in cold weather but in hot Summer it is too how inside. Fly goes down for the ground so it is good in rainy time, but it is poor ventilation in hot days.

I was sure I can buy the tent for all three seasons, but it looks does not work this way. Now I am looking to buy another tent, bigger and higher. There is not too much rain in Summer in NY. I always can put on something to p[protect myself from rain. My small tent is good for Fall and Spring, we do not camp at that time, but it is not so good for Summer.

I ordered it in Campmor. There is no any problems with return. Right now I returned Rain-Shade house. It does not work very well, so I did not want to keep it.

By Nightstar on 7/25/2013 6:39:51 PM
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