At Snowcountry, you'll find the best tents for trekking or camping in extreme conditions. But which tent is best for your outdoor adventure? With our buyer’s guide, we're here to help you make the right choice!
When buying a tent, it's important to consider the conditions you'll be facing. Depending on the circumstances, you'll choose a 2, 3, 4-season tent, or an expedition tent.
If you're camping or trekking in the spring or summer with warmer weather conditions, you might be fine with a 2-season tent. These tents offer plenty of ventilation and good protection against insects. However, they provide less protection against changing conditions like rain and wind. Therefore, in many cases, we recommend a 3-season tent. If you're certain you'll only encounter warm and dry conditions, you might also consider a tarp.
Looking for a tent for almost all conditions? A 3-season tent provides protection against rain, wind, and cold temperatures, making it suitable for camping in spring, summer, and autumn. They're also suitable for winter camping in mild climates. However, they're less suitable for truly cold winter conditions.
If you're trekking in colder temperatures, it's important to consider condensation in your tent. For example, it's wise to choose a tent with an inner tent and a footprint. Read all our tips to prevent condensation in your tent.
The 4-season tent is suitable for all seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. These tents offer extra insulation and durability, protecting you against heavy rainfall, strong winds, and snow. They're ideal for winter camping or ski touring expeditions.
An expedition tent is for the most extreme conditions. The materials are even sturdier and more robust than those of a 4-season tent, making the tent almost resistant to everything. Expedition tents are used, for example, when camping in high mountains or embarking on expeditions to the polar regions.
The capacity you need depends on what you'll be doing and how many people you'll be with. If you're camping lightweight, you prefer to carry as little as possible. Choose a tent that matches the group size. If you're alone, choose a one-person tent, if you go with two, a two-person tent, and so on.
If you prefer more comfort, choose a tent for one person more, so you have extra space for luggage.
| Number of People | Lightweight | More Comfort |
| 1 | 1-person tent | 2-person tent |
| 2 | 2-person tent | 3-person tent |
| 3 | 3-person tent | 4-person tent |
| 4 | 4-person tent | 5-person tent |
| 5 | 5-person tent | 6-person tent |
It's logical not to choose a tent that's too small because you won't have enough space for the number of people you're camping with. But why is it also not wise to choose an excessively large tent? Especially in lower temperatures, it's not advisable to bring a tent that's too big. Ultimately, this is extra space to heat up.
For example, if three people sleep in a three-person tent, the temperature inside the tent is 5 to 7 degrees higher than the outside temperature. If two persons lie in the same tent, the inside temperature is slightly lower. And if you're alone in the tent, the temperature is even lower. So it becomes more and more challenging to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the tent, especially when the outside temperature is low.
If you still decide to go camping with a tent that's too large or if you'll be encountering extremely cold temperatures, make sure to consider this in your choice of sleeping bag and sleeping mat.
In our webshop, you'll find dome tents and tunnel tents. Both types of tents consist of curved poles. In a dome tent, two or three poles cross each other at the center, while in a tunnel tent, the poles are arranged in a row, forming a tunnel. Nowadays, many tents are hybrid variants, combining the advantages of both designs.
Generally, a tunnel tent is quick and easy to set up. You slide the poles through the sleeves in the outer tent, then secure the tent firmly with pegs and guy ropes. Always position the tent with the lowest side facing the direction of the wind to ensure maximum stability. The inner tent of a tunnel tent is often attached to the outer tent, keeping the inner tent dry during setup. Additionally, tunnel tents are lightweight and provide ample usable space due to their shape.
The construction of a dome tent is sturdy and self-supporting. This latter feature makes it easy to move the tent around once it's set up. The poles of a dome tent usually sit inside the inner tent. The downside is that the inner tent gets wet during rainy weather because you put the outer tent over it last.
The strongest tents have a geodesic construction. In this design, the poles don't intersect at one point, like in a dome tent, but at multiple points, creating a very sturdy structure. Like the dome tent, a tent with a geodesic construction is self-supporting and movable after setup.
Many tents feature a pole construction, but there are also inflatable tents. With these, you pump air into the tube structure, making it quick and easy to set up the tent. The downside is that you always need a pump on hand to set up the tent.
The tents in our webshop are made of polyester or nylon. To make the tents waterproof, the fabric is treated with a PU or silicone coating. The most durable combination is a nylon fabric with a silicone coating. Nylon is strong material, allowing the tent fabric to be thinner and lighter. However, a nylon tent fabric is sensitive to temperature changes. Therefore, you may need to adjust the tent's tension with the guy ropes in the morning and evening to prevent sagging. In short, the tent requires some extra attention during use.
Polyester is less sensitive to temperature changes but cannot be combined with a silicone coating. These tents have a PU coating, which generally doesn't last as long as a silicone-coated tent.
A footprint is an underfloor placed beneath the tent for additional protection. With a footprint, the tent stays cleaner and gains an extra insulation layer. What many people don't know is that a footprint also helps to prevent condensation inside the tent.
The footprints on our website are custom-made. Therefore, ensure you select the footprint that matches your tent. If you buy a tent from the Snowcountry webshop, you can add the corresponding footprint. Note: A footprint is always slightly smaller than the tent's groundsheet. This is necessary to prevent moisture between the footprint and the tent.
Instead of a footprint, you can also use a ground sheet or tent ground cloth. Ensure that the material does not contain plasticizers, as they can damage the coating of the tent floor.
If you're looking for a lightweight tent, you'll find a minimum and maximum weight in the product description for the tents. The minimum weight refers to the tent without accessories such as pegs and guy ropes. And the maximum weight includes the tent plus all associated accessories. You may be able to save weight by replacing associated parts with lighter materials, such as carbon pegs instead of aluminum.
What is a tarp? And what is it used for? A tarp is a versatile cloth used for shelter against sun, wind, and rain. It looks like a shade sail, but a tarp offers many more possibilities. Here are some uses of a tarp:
