Outdoors with Don

Choose a tent wisely before a weekend of roughing it

The Kelty Mantra 7 is Outdoor Life columnist Don Mulligan’s choice for the best family tent. Mulligan says it is an overbuilt dome-style shelter that can take a beating. (Photo by Don Mulligan)

The first time a tent failed me, I was mule deer hunting in the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. The autumn sky dumped 3 feet of snow in 24 hours, leaving my partner and me to dig-out all night to prevent our cheap tent from collapsing.

That was almost 20 years ago, and I’d like to say I haven’t had trouble with a tent since. Unfortunately, I’ve been in even worse jams, the worst of which was just last year.

Sometimes tent failures are the fault of the camper due to improper set-up or site placement, but sometimes they fail because they are simply made poorly. Having owned close to 30 tents of varying size and construction over the years, I’ve made my share of mistakes. Here are a couple things I’ve learned about selecting and constructing a tent that should make this camping season a little more comfortable.

When choosing a tent, first decide when it will be used. Four-season tents are made to endure winter storms. They aren’t a good choice for summer campers, however, since they aren’t vented very well. Two and three-season tents are lighter, and vented a lot. This is critical for summer campers who need to weather both summer showers and the summer sun.

Next, choose a tent based on its size. If a tent is rated for two persons, only two people can fit in it. Space for gear often is not allowed. When I live in a tent for weeks at a time in places like the Rocky Mountains or Alaska, I prefer an eight-person tent for two men.

The drawback is that larger tents are heavier than smaller tents. That may sound obvious, but weight is a critical factor when the tent needs to be packed-in or transported on a two-man bush plane. Take as much tent as possible, but no more than necessary.

Lots of campers like big tents because of the head room they provide. Head room is a nice feature, unless there is a lot of wind. Lower profile tents withstand wind better than tall ones, and dome style tents are always superior to upright frame-style tents in heavy winds. Always build your tent on the downwind side of cover, if possible, to help break the wind.

The tent that got me in trouble last year was a four-season frame-style tent made for wilderness hunts. It blew down one night on the Alaska peninsula in a sustained 50-mph wind that was accompanied by horizontal, 35-degree rain. When we recovered from the ordeal the next morning, we had a dome-style tent flown in and had no problems for the rest of our stay.

Regardless of the season or intended use, I only use tents with a full rain fly that reaches all the way to the ground. The only exception is when I use my one-man pack tent to save weight. A rain fly that only sits on top of the tent is a joke, and should be used only if the camper has easy access to a building if it rains.

Serious campers should avoid fiberglass pole-framed tents as well. Good aluminum poles that are shock-corded and fit into each other are lighter and much less likely to break. Glass poles almost always fail where they couple together, especially if they need to be bent to fit into the tent sleeves.

Here are my best and worst picks for tents in a couple useful categories:

One-person pack tents

Best: The Sierra Designs Baku is a three-season tent that weighs 3 pounds, 7 ounces. It is rock solid, leak-proof and will last for years. It costs around $300.

Worst: Cabela’s North Star Bivy has a two-hoop frame design that sags in the middle when it rains. It costs $60.

Large family tents

Best: The Kelty Mantra 7 is way more tent that anyone needs for a family outing, and I like that. It’s first class from the over-sized, fitted aluminum poles, to the noiseless, tough zippers. The huge, fully covered vestibule is great as well. It costs around $430.

Worst: The Eureka Tetragon 1610 is huge, but supported by over-bent fiberglass poles. Expect them to break at the seams the first time out. The fly also leaves the windows too exposed in a rainstorm. It costs $220.

Wilderness hunting tents

Best: The Cabela’s Outfitter Series XWT is a four-season, dome-style tent. Cabela’s says it will withstand a sustained 75-mph wind. I have lived in one in winds over 50 mph and never felt it budge or leak. Though it is very heavy, this is the only base camp tent I will use on the Alaska tundra. The 10-foot by 10-foot costs $500.

Worst: The Eureka Bomb Shelter is a four-season tent, made specifically for Alaska. It is the tent that blew down on me last year. Its upright frame is too wobbly and unsupported and, I now know, cannot be fixed in a storm if it breaks. This is a regional model and is quite expensive.