Picking a Tent for Climbing

Picking a Tent for Climbing

By Jessica Marie

When climbing and camping you have a different set of needs than backpacking. You still have to carry all your gear with you, but you also need as much compaction as possible. Winter or summer you’ll need light weight, small, and easy to set-up tents. These are our top four features we suggest you look for in a tent for climbing.

Small Foot-Print

You will need a tent with as small a footprint as possible. While you want to maximize space to fit yourself, any fellow climbers, and gear. You also want to be as compact as possible, as you may not always be able to make camp on large surfaces. You may have to make due with small ledges and other tight quarters.

Light Weight

You will want as light a tent as you can find. You are carrying all your gear, there are certain essentials that you need and the less they hinder you or can move you off balance the better. Some people may opt for a winter or summer tent as summer tents are often perceived as lighter. But a good four-season tent can be as light as a 3-season tent. To learn more, check out this blog post.

Easy to Set Up

Make sure to get the easiest to set up tent you can find. Not only are you going to be tired after climbing all day, but as part of point one, you may not have a lot of space. We suggest avoiding a tent in multiple pieces that need to be set aside to set up the body, then the fly, several poles, multiple stakes, etc. It’s best to find a tent that can be set up in minutes and doesn’t come in multiple pieces. Another reason to avoid flies and other detachable parts is wind. The climates and conditions that you might encounter could have strong or even severe wind speeds. Wind can rip apart a tent and ruin a trip.

Wind Tolerant

Building off the last point, you will have peace of mind if your tent is wind tolerant. You may get lucky and encounter little to no wind. But if a large storm whips up and begins to batter your camp, you can feel secure knowing your tent will hold.

That’s our list of some of the most important features to look for in a tent for climbing. Climbing is a fun and challenging way of exploring our beautiful planet. You can see things from a view few others can. Following these steps can help guide you to the perfect tent for your overnight and long-term climbing trips. If you are in the market for a climbing tent, check ours out. They meet all the above criteria and have been used for 60 years on every continent. Stay safe and happy climbing!