-
Experimenting with it to see how it fits
While spending quality time with others can be rewarding, it’s important not to go overboard. Ensure there is sufficient space in the tent for the family, as each person requires roughly 24 square feet (2.2 square meters).
Pick a tent with enough space for one extra person than you anticipate using. When camping with kids, the tent may serve as more than just a sleeping and living space.
Children need room to spread out and do things like play, read, and run about. Data storage capacity may play a role. Think about how small the tent and poles can be folded and whether or not they will fit into your car.
-
Make it easy on yourself
Make things simple for yourself by purchasing a cheap family camping tent. It’s always important to think about quality, even if you only go camping once a year with the family. It’s not good for you to feel bad all the time.
The tent’s poles should be quick to set up and collapse for portability. Shock cables link most segmented poles so that your gear stays there even if the pole breaks.
Power is crucial. Although fiberglass poles with metal tips are less expensive, aluminum poles are more durable and won’t corrode. Nylon is used for backpacking tents due to its minimal weight, however, polyester is preferable for family tents due to its superior UV protection.
Seams should overlap properly or be taped and securely sewn, so give that a try. Look for lots of mesh panels for cross-ventilation when camping in the heat. Extreme conditions favor denser textiles. Silicon and polyurethane are two common materials used to weatherproof tents and rain flies.
-
Take a look at the supplemental materials
There’s plenty of room for the whole family inside the tent. How about all the shoes, backpacks, coats, and boots, though? Like a mudroom or front porch at home, a vestibule is a handy addition.
This storage space can be freestanding or integrated into the rainfly. Camping glasses, books, flashlights, and other small goods can be stored off the ground in mesh side storage pockets.
When camping with children and their toys and other paraphernalia, it can be helpful to have a mesh internal shelf that retains larger items within the tent. The nylon or plastic tent footprint functions similarly to a ground cloth but is tailored to the exact dimensions of your tent.
To prevent water from pooling around the tent’s floor, it should be just a hair smaller than the ground inside. The footprint will serve as a secondary seal against rain. It will prevent the rocks and twigs underfoot and the big and little feet over it from wearing down the tent floor. Even if it’s available separately, the footprint is a must-have.
-
Try it out
If you’re looking to buy a tent for your family camping trip, you shouldn’t go tent shopping without them. Since everyone will be using the tent, everyone should have a say in what gets chosen. A tent can be purchased from any number of retailers, but those catering to campers are your best bet.
Tents of decent quality can also be purchased at your neighborhood big-box or bargain retailer. Don’t only go by the numbers on the tag or box when purchasing a tent.
Still, it’s on you to do your homework before hitting the stores. Trying out a tent before buying it is a must. If you wouldn’t buy a car for your family without first taking it for a test drive, then you shouldn’t buy a tent without first seeing how it performs in the field.
While you won’t be able to take it home for the weekend, you can have the store put it up for you to observe.