We get so many questions asking about what should be considered when buying a camping tent in Sri Lanka.
This article will provide a comprehensive guide to buying a perfect camping tent.
Purpose
The purpose of buying a tent might vary from person to person. Here purpose means where you suppose to use the tent.
We can divide Camping tents into two categories.
- Open type tents
- Closed type tents
To clarify, a closed tent is well covered for low ventilation with small or no windows.
Open tents provide good ventilation inside the tent allowing heat to go away.
Buying a closed or open tent is depend on your purpose.
If you camping in cold and rainy areas frequently, Closed tents should be the choice and open tents are good for hot and shiny weather.
Eg: Coleman brand two tents made for two purposes.
Capacity
Tent capacity starts from one person. With higher capacity, the tent is getting bigger and heavy to carry. In world, common capacities are 2, 4 & 6-person tents.
Weight
It is a big factor to consider if you are a frequent hiker. Every gram we add to the backpack matters. Tent weight mainly depends on the tent’s capacity. Refer below chart.If you are not a hiker and travelling from your vehicle to campsites weight is not a factor to consider.
Tent Structure
Commonly there are two kinds of poles used for Tent structures.
- Fibreglass poles
- Aluminium poles
Fibreglass Poles
- Cheaper
- Not Strong as Aluminium
- No Corrosion
- Less Durable
Aluminum Poles
- Lightweight
- Expensive
- Strong
- Corrodes easily
Water Resistance
A good tent should stand against rain without any matter and it’s something very important. However, most of the tents in the market are not waterproof though they claim that the tent is waterproof in most cases.
Immediately after the purchase of a tent, check the tent for water resistance including ground later and if there is an issue return the product to the supplier ASAP.
Water condensation is not a sign of water leakage. It can happen and is normal for all tents. Buying a tent which has two layers will avoid this issue.
Image Source – https://www.4x4community.co.za/
Refer below link on how to prevent water condensation
https://www.intentsoutdoors.co.nz/blogs/news/how-to-prevent-and-manage-condensation-in-a-tent
Thanks for the info. Any possibility of expanding on the tents – preferences, brands available in the local market, extras such as quilts etc etc.
Thanks,
Ray
Dear Ray,
Thanks for the comment. Currently in sri Lanka we have Coleman & Quechua (Decalthon.lk) as foreign branded tents and Scan Alpine is the local branded tent we can buy. There are unbranded products too, but the we cannot guarantee the quality at all. Only thing a customer can do is check and buy.
We will add further details to this article. Thanks.
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