Camping Tents-They Are Not Your Old Scout Tent Anymore



Posted: Saturday, August 29, 2009

by Michael Shappell

The advances in something as simple as a camping tent are absolutely amazing. The comfort and conveniences provided by many of the new camping tents available on the market makes a night in the rain while camping almost like sitting in your living room.

When the weather forces you inside on a family camping trip, the stress level can get high. If the tent gets wet, it makes using electricity dangerous and it leaves the family uncomfortable and tempers can start to flare. I know this because I have been tent camping with my family for over 20 years. With two boys, two dogs and the leader of the pack, my wife, I have trudged off to many different places across the United States . I always camp green to leave the ecology of the outdoors intact, but I also like to be comfortable. Our tent has made some rainy trips not only more tolerable, but more enjoyable.

The biggest improvement in tent is the materials making up the structures. First are the aluminum and fiberglass poles that make the frame of a tent. They are now dipped or coated in polyurethane to make them bendable with the wind but keep them from breaking. Most four season tents are made of aluminum and are usually more expensive. The tent and weather fly materials are usually made of treated polyester materials. All the reputable tents these days are treated with a chemical to retard flame. They also all have treatments for waterproofing. Giga Tents has Giga Shield, while Eureka has Stormshield as weather protecting agents on their materials. Another great feature a tent may have is inside sewn, seam taped or seam sewn where two pieces of polyester come together. This is a life saver in a big rain storm as the seams are where the water first seeps in on a tent.

The next new feature in the past tent years are the improvements to the tent floor. Poly-tarp and reinforced nylon were the first new improvement to the floors. Most new tent lines from Chinook, Big Angnes, Swiss Gear and other tent manufacturers have "bathtub floors" made of rubber and polyurethane. Although the improvements here are great, I would still recommend using a tarp or a footprint under my tent to save the floor and guarantee dryness.

The person who invented the "no-see-um" proof mesh should be up for a Nobel Prize. It is used to provide a variety of ways to ventilate the tent without having to open the tent door or a window. Keeping the air flowing without the bugs or rain coming in has really helped me sleep on some hot summer nights.

Storage compartments and tent bags or duffels to transport the tent are two other convenient features of the new generation of tents.

Lastly and probably one of the best new inventions is a way to add power to your tent. Swiss gear has a feature called Eport that has a place on your tent for electrical access. N!ergy is a line of camping tents and canopies by Eureka with a built in power source.

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