Camping Tent Designs

There are many factors to consider when buying a camping tent, like size and cost. But design is certainly another factor you should think about. Each camping tent design has its advantages and disadvantages, so it's very important to find out which design is the best for your planned trip.

There are generally three basic camping tent designs

Ridge tent
Cabin tent
Dome tent
Let's take a look at their strengths and weaknesses.

Ridge tent

This design pretty much resembles the traditional tent shape. It's basically a pole supported, roof-shaped tent, kept upright by external guy ropes. Ridge tents show a simple structure and are usually very easy to set up which makes them convenient for backpacking or other tours where your camping tent is erected every evening in another place and merely a place to sleep and store your stuff. They are available for 1 to 3 sleepers and are fairly lightweight. However, this camping tent design is not the most suitable for heavy weather conditions.

Cabin tent

This is the ideal camping tent for families or larger groups spending a longer time in one place, for example on a campground. Having nearly vertical walls, a cabin tent offers large headroom which allows you to walk around inside and set up camping furniture anywhere you like. This makes indoor entertainment on rainy days or in the evenings easy. Some can also be divided into several rooms, which allow more privacy.

The cabin tent is the design that uses the ground area most efficiently and provides the most usable space inside. If you want a maximum of comfort and space, this is the design of your choice. However, a cabin tent takes up more pack space and is heavier than similar sized ridge or dome tents.

Dome tent

The traditional shape is a single dome, but you also find designs made up of several domes. Another style is the half dome or tunnel design which is a great camping tent for backpacking. A dome tent offers large floors space, but less useable space than a cabin tent of the same size. However, it's much lighter than a cabin tent, and thanks to its rounded shape and flexible poles it's very wind resistant and highly sturdy even in extreme weather conditions.

A dome style camping tent is not the best option when you have lots of equipment, want plenty of space and comfort and are likely to spend much time inside, but it certainly is a great choice for travelling with a tent (which means you basically just sleep in it), especially when you expect rough weather conditions.

In general, the best camping tent for a family campsite holiday is usually a cabin style one, whilst ridge and dome tents are stronger candidates in travelling tours. For good weather trips, a ridge tent is most likely sufficient, but for rougher weather you will be better off with a dome tent. But it's also a matter of your personal taste, and the world is not only black and white. There are many hybrids on the market, too, that have features of different camping tent designs. If none of the basic designs seems to be really right, those hybrids may be the solution for you.

Frame tents are very popular family camping tents, since they come in larger sizes and can accommodate more people than classic dome tents. They do have great features, but they also have their disadvantages. When considering these camping tents, you need to think carefully about your priorities. Is the bigger comfort worth it to put up with the disadvantages of a frame design?

Frame tent styles

One room camping tents
More room camping tents (usually 2 to 4 rooms, created by sewn-in room dividers)
Main strengths of frame tents

Larger living area - Frame tents can accommodate anything from 3 up to 12 people. They provide more living space than other camping tents, which makes them great for family camping. Besides storing all your stuff, you can comfortably spend time inside, in the evenings or on rainy days. If you have a large frame tent