How to Choose the Right Tent for Camping

By Kenny Stocker 12 min read
Lightweight backpacking tent

How to choose a tent by season, size, weight and shape, and which of ours fits: Ultra and Polestar to go light, Kangri for winter, Roundhouse for families.

Choose a tent by three things: the worst weather it has to stand up to, how many people and how much kit it has to fit, and how far you'll carry it. Get those right and the type of tent follows. Our range runs from the 900g Ultra for bikepacking and backpacking to the Roundhouse bell tents for family camping weekends.

Alpkit tents and what each is for

Start with the trip you do most often, not the hardest one you might do once a year. Our range splits into six groups.

  • Solo and going light. Ultra 1 is a 900g freestanding tent that packs small enough to sit between your handlebars. Polestar weighs 980g and pitches on your trekking poles. Soloist (1.2kg) gives you room to sit up and a big porch for multi-day trips, and there's a Soloist XL at 1.31kg.
  • Two or three people backpacking. Ordos 2 is our lightest 2-person tent at 1.4kg, and Ordos 3 our lightest 3-person. Jaran 2 and Jaran 3 have two doors and two porches, so they're easy to share. Tetri is a classic geodesic 2-person tent for three seasons.
  • Space at a base camp. Viso 2 and Viso 3 are tunnel tents with more headroom and a porch big enough to sit in when the weather turns.
  • Pyramid tarp tents. Tarpstar 1, Tarpstar 2 and Tarpstar 4 pitch on trekking poles. Go outer-only to save weight, or add the inner and footprint.
  • Winter and the mountains. Kangri is a 4-season 2-person geodesic tent. Zhota sleeps 3 to 4 with a porch at each end, and Heksa is a hexagonal geodesic tent with snow valances, made for extreme environments.
  • Families and groups. Axiom is a 4-person tent with standing room to get changed and a freestanding frame. Roundhouse 4 and Roundhouse 6 are polycotton bell tents with 2m of headroom.

There is nothing like putting a tent up and getting inside to see if it is your perfect small home away from home. With around 20 tents in our range, a visit to one of our stores will help you appreciate the subtle differences between minimalist models such as the Polestar, Soloist, Ultra and Ordos. We also have a tent show in Hathersage every May where you can see the entire range, pitched in one place.

Types of tent compared

A tent's shape decides how it handles wind, how much room you get for the weight and how quickly it pitches. Geodesic tents are generally the strongest. Semi-geodesic and tunnel tents trade some of that strength for less weight and more space, and pyramid tents are the simplest. To go lighter still, you can do without a tent altogether: our guide to bivvy bags covers bivvy and tarp camping.

Geodesic tents

Geodesic tents are about efficient strength, creating structures that can stand up to the worst weather. Typically constructed of multiple criss-crossed poles, geodesic tents distribute stress across the whole tent. This forms a stronger, more stable overall structure, like our Kangri and Heksa mountain tents and the 3-season Tetri. Strength and stability are super important for the ever changing nature of storms and winter weather.

Choose a geodesic tent for the worst weather and environments.

Semi-geodesic tents

Semi-geodesic tents use fewer pole crossings than a full geodesic, often with a hub or a short crossbar, which saves weight while keeping much of the stability. Some are freestanding, like our Axiom, so you can pitch it and move it before you peg it out. Others need pegs to stand. Our Ordos, Jaran and Soloist are semi-geodesic. This balance between strength and weight is ideal for bikepacking and backpacking adventures.

Choose a semi-geodesic tent for a reliable and solid pitch with a quick setup.

Tunnel tents

Tunnel tents use parallel hoops of pole, so the walls rise steeply and you get more headroom and a bigger porch for the weight. They aren't freestanding: they rely on pegs and guylines, and they're steadiest pitched end-on to the wind. Our Viso 2 and Viso 3 are tunnel tents, made for a base camp where you want room to relax.

Choose a tunnel tent for headroom and porch space when you're staying put.

Air pole tents

This design of tent uses a durable inflatable tube in place of a flexible tent pole. Great for lightweight bikepacking, kayaking and hiking trips, air pole tents pitch in seconds and are even quicker to put away. An inflated air pole is tougher than it looks, and if it does puncture you can fix it with a standard bike tube patch. Read how we developed our pole-free backpacking tents.

Perfect for when simplicity, space and weight is of premium importance. They can be easily stowed into a seat pack or backpack.

A-frame tents

If you're pitching up at Font for a week's worth of warm weather climbing, then pack size and weight aren't as important as comfort and liveable space.

Choose an A-frame tent for more liveable space and camping in comfort.

Pyramid tents

These tents use a single pole, normally in the centre of the tent, although it can be offset to create more useable space inside. The outer is suspended from the pole under tension to create a very stable structure, even in high winds. Pyramid tents have a beautiful simplicity and can scale up from being ultra lightweight backpacking tents to full size family tents. Bell tents are a form of pyramid tent. Our Tarpstar tents pitch on trekking poles or a Vertex tarp pole, and the Roundhouse bell tents on one steel centre pole.

Roof tents

Another alternative that is becoming increasingly popular is the car roof tent. These attach to your roof rack in a streamlined hard case saving you space inside your car. When you arrive at your campsite, find a flat area and simply unfold the tent from its shell. A ladder drops down to provide entry and exit to your little roof top home, no messing around with poles and you get a great view from your high vantage point!

Roof tents work equally as well on a van and are a great option if you are not ready for the commitment or expense of a pop top van conversion.

Other things you might want to consider

Once you know the type of tent, three details make the biggest difference day to day: where the door is, which part pitches first, and how it packs.

Side-entry vs. front-entry tents

When you’re making yourself at home in your portable home, you need to consider the little-known art of tent feng shui (we’re just joking - well, maybe it’s a little bit important). Side-entry tents are great for once you’re inside. You can lean out into the porch and sort your kit out. You can pop your shoes on under canvas cosiness. But they’re not the smoothest of entry options. Ultra and Polestar are both side-entry.

Front entry tents, on the other hand, are much easier to get into. But you pay a price for the ease of entry. You have a smaller porch, meaning your in-tent experience is a little more limited.

Inner vs. outer pitch first tents

There’s a widely accepted belief in the UK that, if you’re camping, it’s going to rain. And if it’s going to rain, most campers want an outer pitch first tent. This means that you keep your stuff dry and get the main structure of your portable home ready first.

But inner pitch first tents are often lighter, and simpler to pitch well. They also create more living space, rather than erecting a structure and pinning something up inside it afterwards.

Axiom and Polestar pitch outer first. Heksa and Ordos pitch inner first, and Ordos can also go up as an inner on its own on warm nights, or as just the outer and footprint to save weight.

On any trip you may spend 60% of your time carrying the tent, 35% in the tent and less than 5% putting it up and taking it down. So, while there are some key differences between inner and outer first tents, how easy it is to put it up is a very small part of your camping experience.

Weight vs. pack size

Putting your tent in between your handlebars is a whole different ball game to putting it in your boot. You need to decide what’s most important: pack size and shape, weight, or overall tent strength?

If you’re bikepacking and you’re planning on putting your tent in your handlebar bag, then pack size is going to be top of the list. Pack size is mostly set by pole length. Shorter pole sections mean more joints, which add weight and give the pole more places to fail. Ultra packs small enough to sit between your handlebars, or you can skip tent poles altogether with Polestar, which pitches on your trekking poles. For a deeper look at choosing a shelter specifically for riding, see our guide to tents for bikepacking and touring.

Ever heard the saying: “variety is the spice of life”? Well, we think this is true for tent pack shapes. With a longer tent shape, you can pack the rest of your backpack around your tent, whilst maintaining flexural strength when pitched and a low weight when carrying.

Tent season ratings explained

Tent season ratings tell you the range of seasons your tent is suitable to be used in. It kind of does what it says on the tin. We always advise that you pick a season rating that matches your expectations - rather than the season. Especially if you’re camping in the UK, you might have conditions that require a 3-season tent in the height of summer so it’s best to choose a tent for the conditions that could occur regardless of the season you’re camping in.

1-season tents

These lightweight tents offer little protection in poor weather, but they excel in warm, dry climates. They’re the most breathable and comfortable in heat.

2-season tents

2-season tents are great for UK summer. They’re lighter and suit warmer temperatures because they have more breathable mesh in their construction. They handle low-mid wind speeds well and keep you comfortable overnight.

3-season tents

A 3-season tent is suitable for fair weather from spring to autumn but can also ride out a heavy shower if it needs to. Our 3-season tents include Ultra, Soloist, Polestar, Tetri, Jaran and Axiom. Think changing seasons, leaves falling, freezing mornings and sweaty afternoons. From sunny to stormy in the blink of an eye: a 3-season tent will cover all of this. See how the Soloist works as part of a complete lightweight multi-day camping system.

4-season tents

For chilly temperatures, snow dumps and gale force winds, 4-season tents are strong tents for year-round UK conditions. Our Kangri, Zhota and Heksa would be perfectly comfortable camping on Ben Nevis during winter. Find out more about this category of tents in our guide to choosing a 4 season tent.

5-season tents

5-season tents are expedition tents. For the Antarctic and the Arctic. For the high Himalayas. Heksa was designed with places like Everest base camp in mind, and Kangri for the most remote camps. 5-season tents are strong, warm and capable of withstanding extremely high winds and significant snow dumps.

And talking of bad weather.

Tent waterproof ratings and what makes a good level

A good waterproof rating for a tent flysheet is 2,000mm hydrostatic head (HH). Hydrostatic head measures waterproofness in millimetres: the height of a column of water a fabric holds back before water comes through. A tent fabric is commonly described as waterproof from 1,000mm HH. Groundsheets need a higher rating than the fly, because your weight on wet ground pushes water through. Polestar's fly and groundsheet, for example, are both rated to 3,000mm.

We’ve written a whole blog on waterproof ratings if you want to find out more about waterproof fabrics.

But it’s not all just about hydrostatic head. Materials make a huge difference to the waterproofness of a tent. Some have lower stretch, which means water is less likely to pool on them. And the tauter you can pitch a tent, the better surface run off you can have. The coating matters too: the 10D sil/sil nylon on Ultra sheds rain and resists hydrolysis and UV better than a PU coating.

Tent materials explained

Tents are typically made out of nylon or polyester, but we also make organic polycotton canvas tents, which last longer in the sun. Tent inners tend to be made from mesh to give better breathability and insect protection. All our tents are PFAS-free, and we don't treat them with fire retardant chemicals, which can harm the people sleeping in them.

Let’s explore a bit more about the materials tents are made from

Nylon

Oh, Nylon. The king of fabrics. Or at least, for a long time, this is how it was hailed. It’s super strong for being lightweight. And it's tough and resistant to abrasion. Kangri's fly is 40D silicone-coated nylon, and Ultra's is a 10D sil/sil nylon.

Choose a nylon tent when you want a strong tent, without the weight penalty.

Polyester

Man-made fabric polyester is competing with King Nylon. It has lower stretch, which is super handy for when it gets damp. That’s why, in tents with big panels, you’ll typically find polyester because it resists the dreaded tent sag after a rain shower. Polestar's fly is 20D ripstop polyester, and Tetri has a breathable polyester inner.

Choose a polyester tent when you need a durable tent in bad weather.

Two campers eating outside a Roundhouse polycotton bell tent on a sunny day
A Roundhouse bell tent with the door open on a summer afternoon. Polycotton breathes, so it stays cooler inside than a nylon tent in the sun.

Polycotton

Our Roundhouse bell tents use a polycotton canvas made with 35% organic cotton. It's much more breathable than nylon or polyester, so it stays cooler in summer and you get less condensation. It also resists UV damage much better, so you can love your tent for longer. The trade-off is weight and drying time: canvas is heavier and slower to dry, which is why it suits car camping rather than carrying.

Choose a polycotton canvas tent for summer camping when breathability is important.

Mesh

If you’ve ever camped in Scotland, you’ll know about midges. They make themselves known. Mesh panels in the inner let air through and keep bugs out, as on our Jaran and Ordos. On Zhota and Heksa, the inner doors are mesh and nylon, so you can open them up for air or zip them closed when it's cold.

Choosing the right size of tent

The size of your tent depends on a lot of factors. How long is a piece of string? Here are some things you might want to consider when choosing the size of tent you need

Person ratings

This one seems pretty simple. You should choose a person rating equal to the number of people that will be sleeping in the tent. 2 campers? 2-person tent.

We categorise our tents into person ratings. But, again, these aren't the be all and end all. A 2-person backpacking tent like Jaran 2 will be a lot smaller (and lighter!) than a 2-person tent designed for pitching up at a campsite. And if you're as tall as Rowan, our 6ft4 Equipment Product Manager, you might have a different idea of what spacious is.

Allowing for the kit you are taking

On winter epics, you need a lot of kit. And that kit has to go somewhere. The bigger the tent, the more spacious it is for your bits and bobs.

Get your measuring tape out

Most tent manufacturers (us included!) will specify the internal dimensions of the tent. You can compare this to the length and width of you, your mat and all your kit. Then you'll know how much space you've got.

Tent weight and what to aim for

How heavy your tent should be depends on what you’ll be using it for. For ultralight backpacking, the lighter the better. Ultra is a 900g freestanding solo tent, and Polestar weighs 980g pitched on your trekking poles. For two, Ordos 2 is our lightest at 1.4kg. Jaran 2 weighs 2.04kg but gives each of you a door and a porch. If you bivvy you can go lighter than this. The less you carry, the further you go. But there is a trade-off to be made. Saving on weight generally means skimping on space. That’s why liveable space is in our design ethos. For guidance on wild camping and choosing the right pitch, our wild camping guide covers what to look for.

Choosing a tent for family car camping

For your summer family car camping trips a cotton bell tent like Roundhouse 4 or Roundhouse 6 can provide a light, liveable space that stays nice and cool during the day. At night it transforms into a space that you actually want to spend time in - somewhere cool and shady in summer and warm and cosy for the rest of the year.

We have written more on the advantages of upsizing from a backpacking tent to a bigger family tent, and have a guide to family camping equipment that works. For tips on staying cool while camping in hot weather, polycotton tents are a great choice.

If you'd rather have something lighter that pitches quickly in the rain, Axiom sleeps four with standing room to get changed. Its freestanding frame pitches outer first, so the inside stays dry.

Our design ethos

  • Design for purpose - we make design choices tailored to the customer's use. For example, that's about choosing discreet colours for wild camping, giving the Ultra a pack size that fits between your handlebars, and choosing two doors for the Jaran, for ease of sharing.
  • Liveable space - all our tents are designed with 'real' space built in. They're lightweight. But you can still live in them.
  • Value - our tents use quality materials and clever design at a fair price, so you've still got money in your pocket to complete your kit list.

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