Tents

We stock an extensive range of tents suitable for a variety of different uses including backpacking, base camp use, family, festival, touring, mountain & high altitude plus many more.

Whether you're planning an expedition to Mount Everest or just a family weekend away in the English Lake District, we're confident that we have a tent that will suit your requirements.

We stock well known brands such as Vango Tents, Outwell Tents, Terra Nova Tents, SunnCamp Tents, Force Ten Tents, Wild Country Tents, Easy Camp Tents, Coleman Tents & The North Face Tents.

A tent is a temporary shelter, generally consisting of a sheet of waterproof fabric draped over a rigid frame. The frame is usually built using tent poles, which can be constructed of many different materials, including fibreglass, aluminium and steel. Inflatable tents are also now becoming popular. Inflatable tents do not require a rigid pole frame and are also much easier to erect and take down.

Generally speaking, tents for recreational use can be split into two categories. The first is small, lightweight tents. This type of tent is well suited to activities such as backpacking and cycle touring. This is because the tent is small and lightweight enough to be carried. The second category is larger, heavier tents, which are too large to be carried, but can be transported using a vehicle. This type of tent is more suited to family, campsite camping use.

The flysheets on tents can be constructed of a variety of different materials. The most common of which today would be cotton, nylon or polyester. Cotton canvas tents are generally considered to be more robust, but this robustness comes with a weight penalty, as the material is much heavier. The waterproofing of a tent flysheet is known as the "hydrostatic head". This is basically the pressure of water required to penetrate the fabric, measured in millimetres.

• Tents Guide