Dome Tents

If you are looking to add a new tent to your camping and outdoor equipment then you should really consider adding one of the many dome tents that are out there in the market place today. But as with most purchases of camping equipment, before committing yourself there are a number of factors that you must consider. With a tent such things as how many people will be sleeping in it, when, where and how will it be used and of course the price have to be thought through.

Dome tents nowadays are probably the most popular design for the tent used with camping. They are produced by numerous camping equipment manufacturers and come in a vast array of designs, shapes, colours and sizes. The range is huge from dome tents with rather simple shapes to dome tents with a combination of multiple domes of varying sizes and angles. But what really sets a dome tent apart from any other type of tent is it’s use of geometric design where the tension in the flex poles of the tent are combined with the attachment of a sturdy type of material to those tent poles to create a living space within the tent.

Camping and Outdoor Equipment

Dome Tents

Because of the structural design of dome tents, the tent poles used have to be made from a flexible material such as fibre glass or carbon fibre. These days a popular material used is that of carbon fibre. The properties of carbon fibre allow for strength, rigidity and plenty of flexibility. They also happen to be very lightweight which gives them great appeal to backpackers and hikers alike. When erecting a dome tent and making the frame , the carbon fibre poles are put in to place and crisscross each other to form the geometric shape. Just as an example, a dome tent having 3 crisscrossing poles will end up being a six sided hexagon shape. These types of structures are very stable and self supporting in even the harshest of windy conditions and in many instances these dome tents don’t even need to be roped or staked down. They are very light though and if you are not actually in the tent you should substitute your body weight for that of weight from supplies. So if you are not in the dome tent during windy conditions it will not blow away if you have supplies inside it.

Sundome Tent 10 x x10 Foot by Coleman

These dome tents from Coleman are extremely spacious and can accommodate 5 people in complete comfort. To protect you from the inclement weather and bad storms this tent is equipped with the Coleman WeatherTec system. These WeatherTec tents are built with a coated polyester fabric combined with anti wicking thread, webbing and zippers that are all designed to keep the user dry whenever there is rain. To also help with being water resistant the tent has a welded waterproof floor and inverted seams. These 2 additions work successfully by hiding the needle holes in the tent and keeping them away from the elements. Rain fly covers have also been added to the doors and windows.

Inside this dome tent there is a base that measures 10 x 10 ft and the centre height is 72 inches which will give most people plenty of headroom. The tent will always remain cool thanks to the Variflo ventilation and vented cool air ports. It is a very east tent to set up with it’s 2 shock corded steel poles, continuous pole sleeves and instant clip attachments. Other features in these dome tents are heavy duty welcome mat, a large door, privacy vent window, electrical access port, interior gear pocket and separate bags for poles and stakes. The specifications on this tent are polyester taffeta 75 denier for the flysheet, the floor is 1000 denier and the poles are 11 mm fibreglass.

Ventura 400 Dome Tent by Sunncamp

Here we have a very good dome tent for camping and adding to your camping and outdoor equipment. This Ventura is a three hooped four berth tent which is ideal for touring and has 2 separate inner tents. When you buy one of these from Sunncamp you receive a flysheet, inner tent, poles, carry bag, pegs and instructions. This dome tent can sleep up to 4 people comfortably. For pitching you pitch the flysheet first. The poles supporting the whole structure are X flex and the inner tent is constructed out of breathable polyester. For extra sure protection the groundsheet is sewn into the flysheet. You also have an additional valance and mud wall for extra protection. The highest point of this tent is 200 cm and the whole weight is 16 Kg.

Alpha 400 4 Person Dome Tent by Vango

Vango dome tents are great value tents which can be ideal for first time campers or experienced campers alike. This particular Alpha example is ideal for camping, festival enthusiasts, and bike campers. It is very portable and easy to use with all the usual Vango features included. The features on this tent include an inner first pitching that has been made out of fire retardant materials and has taped seams. The windows are crystal clear and have internal covers. For help with pitching there are pre attached guy lines with the Vango standard guy tidies. There are no weak points on this tent due to all the reinforcement points. The webbing on these dome tents are reflective whilst the heavy duty pole sleeves are built to last. There is a ring and pin system and for ventilation the tent has front mesh vents. Inside the tent are inner pockets for all you small items and there is a suitable lantern point for your camping lights. The flysheet is made from Protex 2000 polyester , the inner tent fabric is breathable and the groundsheet is made from polyethylene 10000HH which has fire retardant assurance. The specs of this dome tent are 320 240cm pitching area, 67 x 18cm pack size and a weight of 4.9 Kg. The height at the highest point in this tent is 135 cm. This dome tent would be a great addition to your camping and outdoor equipment.

Setting Up Your Dome Tent

Dome tents are one of the best types of tent for camping because they are very easy to set and also because of the space inside them. They may not actually be as spacious as some other types of tent but because of their almost vertical walls they give you an added perception of space.

Dome tents are actually free standing tents and if you wish you can move them around or even take them to another site without actually having to take them down. If you want to you can peg and stake these dome tents securely to the ground and this is advised when the weather is windy. They can be blown away if there is no weight inside them from the user or from the user’s equipment. If you are inside the tent or it is full with equipment then it’s not imperative you stake the tent.

So to pitch these dome tents you must firstly find the space that you wish to pitch. Ideally you will be looking for ground that is flat and devoid of any sharp objects such as broken glass or large sharp stones. Remember that where you put the tent is where you will sleep. So maybe you should also test the ground by lying and rolling on it to see if there is anything uncomfortable there. If so then just remove it and if that is not possible then just select another patch.

Now that you have found the ideal patch in which to erect your dome tent, they lay out the tarp on the ground and unpack your tent and lay it on top of the ground tarp. If you are going to have the tent freestanding then you do not need to worry about positioning the entrance of the tent to the correct position as all you need do is position the dome tent correctly after you have assembled it. If you plan on staking the tent then position the entrance where you wish to have it.

Next on the list is building the frames of these dome tents. Hopefully you would already have checked, before setting out, that you have all the correct tent parts with you. If you didn’t do this then check to see that you have the correct number of poles. If you have then shake the pole sections so that they snap into place and give you your frame. Don’t just guess at this. Read the instruction manual that comes with these dome tents or practise building them at home until it becomes second nature to you.

Once all your poles are connected, you need to run then through the correct sleeves and clip them into place. The sleeves that the poles run through are usually colour coded for your ease of construction. Dome tents that have sleeves and clip systems are a lot stronger than variations that have only one or the other. So once your have clipped everything into place the final task is setting up the flysheet if you have one. If you are not planning on staking the tent when you use it, that is ok, but it’s a good idea to stake the tent and make it taut while you set up the flysheet. Once taut, line up the flysheet with the inner tent correctly and then secure it as it is meant to be secured making sure that it does not come into contact with the main tent. Then also stake the flysheet to the ground using stakes driven in to the ground at 45 degrees.

And that’s it! Check all around the dome tent to see if you have missed something and also pay particular attention to the groundsheet. You do not want the groundsheet extending beyond the tent or else it will pool water when it rains. So there you go. You have now seen examples of the dome tent and now know how to erect dome tents. All that is left for you to do now is add a dome tent to your camping and outdoor equipment and then get out there and enjoy your camping.

Pinon Sport 7 x 7 Foot 3 Person Dome Tent by Wenzel

These Pinon dome tents are lightweight and very easy to set and take down. They are a great choice to add to your camping and outdoor equipment for a car camping weekend. It has a large roomy single room that is 7 x 7 foot that can sleep 3 people comfortably or used to store a lot of equipment. The maximum height in this tent is 50 inches. There is a D style door at the front with a mesh window that covers half of it and a window on the back you can use for ventilation.

Setting up these dome tents are fairly easy and with a little practise you should be able to do it in under 5 minutes. They have 2 shock corded fibreglass poles. These tents also have a flysheet that offer good coverage and even extended coverage over the door and back window. Even though the tent gives great weather resistance, as with most tents it is also a good idea for you to use a seam sealer on all exposed seams fro greater resistance.

These dome tents can handle a decent amount of rain and with the ample inner space for 2 adults and their gear they provide a great option for the car campers and weekend hikers.

Dome tents provide excellent stability and shelter in windy and rainy conditions. It is the unique shape of them that deflect all that the weather can throw at them. There are no flat surfaces on the dome tent for snow to stay on them and rain just flows off them. Interiors of dome tents give you plenty of headroom so it is easy to sit up and another nice little feature of the dome tent is that many of them have their poles locked down to the tent base itself. This allows you to move a dome tent without have to take it down first. There are many corners on the dome tent and not only do they deflect the weather superbly, they give great design on the inside of the tent. For corners that you cannot sleep in, you can place all your supplies that are then well out of the way and safely stored.

The simplicity of dome tents is probably what is admired the most when camping. They provide an excellent addition to your camping and outdoor gear because of their practicality. They are so easy to erect because the poles are interlocking and the weight of them is very minimal. Carbon fibre poles hardly weigh anything at all and the sturdy weather resistant materials that are used for the tent bodies, such as rip stop nylon, are so much lighter than other materials on equivalent sized tents. Because of all these attributes, dome tents are cherished by backpackers, hikers, bikers and canoeists. Even though these dome tents are considered for sleeping 2 or 3 people there are models out there that are much larger that can accommodate up to 10 people and even having porch extensions. But whatever the use you have planned for your tent, dome tents are excellent to have as a part of your camping and outdoor equipment kits.

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