onlytents.com

onlytents.com

A 'tent' is a shelter, consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles and/or ropes. Some tent styles are free-standing, while others are attached to the ground using guy ropes tied to stakes (pegs). Tents were first used as portable homes by nomadic peoples, but today, their main application is for recreational camping. Modern tents are usually made of fire-retardant material. Tents range in size from those barely large enough for one person to sleep in up to huge (circus) tents capable of seating thousands of people. The bulk of this article is concerned with recreational camping using tents capable of sleeping from 1 up to about 10 people. Lar ... (more)

A 'tent' is a shelter, consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles and/or ropes. Some tent styles are free-standing, while others are attached to the ground using guy ropes tied to stakes (pegs). Tents were first used as portable homes by nomadic peoples, but today, their main application is for recreational camping. Modern tents are usually made of fire-retardant material. Tents range in size from those barely large enough for one person to sleep in up to huge (circus) tents capable of seating thousands of people. The bulk of this article is concerned with recreational camping using tents capable of sleeping from 1 up to about 10 people. Larger tents are discussed in a separate section below.

Tents for recreational camping are generally transportable by car. Depending on tent size and the experience of the person or people involved, such tents can usually be assembled (pitched) in between 5 and 25 minutes; disassembly (striking) takes a similar length of time (some very specialised tents have spring-loaded poles and can be 'pitched' in 2 seconds, but take somewhat longer to strike). Smaller tents may be sufficiently light that they can be carried for long distances on a person's back, or on a touring bicycle, a boat, or even a pack animal.

Tent fabric may be made of many materials including cotton (canvas), nylon, and polyester. Cotton absorbs water, so it can become very heavy when wet, but the associated swelling tends to block any minute holes so that wet cotton may be more waterproof than dry cotton. Nylon and polyester are much lighter than cotton and do not absorb much water; with suitable coatings they can be very waterproof, but they tend to deteriorate over time due to a slow chemical breakdown caused by ultra-violet light. Since stitching makes tiny holes in a fabric, it is important that any seams are sealed or taped to block up these holes.


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