Tent Tips

Tips for choosing a family tent

Here's some tips to choosing a family tent:

  • Go for the biggest tent you can afford
  • It's a good idea to have a tent with a porch. This means you can cook in the porch if it's raining, and store your wet gear outside of the main tent
  • Look for high domes if you are tall. Stooping inside a tent can cause backache and isn't really practical on a lengthy family holiday
  • Some tents come with a sewn-in groundsheet which means that your tent will stay dry and draught free during bad weather 
  • Internal windows are a good idea if you get trapped inside in the rain 
  • With some tents you pitch the inner tent first and put the outer-tent on afterwards. This is common with tents with sewn-in groundsheets. The downside is that if it's raining when you pitch your tent, your inner tent could end up wet 
  • Look for inside storage space.

    Before you go away
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    Practice pitching your tent before you go away so that you will not be struggling at the start of your holiday. Check all components to ensure they are present and correct.

    Outwell Tent Tips

    • We do not recommend that you cook within any synthetic fabric tents but if this is necessary then please take the following precautions - do not place cooking equipment close to the tent sides and ensure that there is good continuous ventilation.

    • Do not allow children to play with or near lighted appliances.

    • Condensation can occur in any synthetic fabric tent so try to keep ventilation open for as much time as possible to help try and alleviate this.

    • To avoid condensation, we recommend to set-up the tent on a PE mat.


    • It is always useful to carry with you a repair kit as accidents or foul weather can ruin a great holiday. Your kit should include spare pole sections, guy line, pegs and a whole repair kit, such as Outwell Camp kit.

    • Do not set-up the tent completely taut, otherwise it will not be able to adapt to varying wind and weather.

    • If strong winds are expected, replace the normal tent pegs with storm pegs.

    • Use a camping mallet to secure the pegs.

    • Note that the tape over seams can work loose after repeated use. Please note that the tape may come off after prolonged exposure to the sun. You can repair your tent by removing loose tape and use a seam sealer and waterproof spray to re-seal seams.

    • Remove dirt from the tent with a soft sponge and clean pure water. Never wash the tent in a washing machine and never have it dry-cleaned.

    • The flysheet is made of water-repellent material. To prevent water from seeping through the flysheet, avoid touching the inside surface in rainy weather.

    • Insecticides must not be sprayed in or on the tent.

    • When taking down and packing the tent, it must be completely dry to avoid rotting. Store the tent in a dry place.