Tent Size and Packability
We got asked just yesterday about tent sizing and packability. Whether you are Backpacking, car camping or moto camping.... size can and does matter.
Size can come into factor in both directions. You want to have a tent big enough to be comfortable for you and whomever you may be traveling with. If you want to be able to bring your gear inside that becomes another factor. If the tent has a vestibule area, that can allow storage for your gear without it being entirely inside the tent. Think about wet and dirty gear entering your "clean" sanctuary.
When sizing a tent, I usually recommend going up one size than you think. For example, solo adventure... I still recommend a 2 man tent. If their are 2 people, I recommend a 3 man tent. From the stats below, you will see the packed sizing doesn't change much but the livability makes a huge difference.
The other side of this is if you are carry that tent on your back or motorcycle. The size and weight can become a serious factor in that. If your tent is larger than needed you may be carrying extra weight or loosing valuable storage space you don't have to loose.
Lets use pictures to compare and build a case. We are going to compare 3 Tents. Information below is accurate as of original posting date of this post.
Packed Dimensions: 17" x 7"
Interior Floor Dimensions: 92" x 56" x 48" (L x W x H)
Weight: 5 lbs 3 oz / 2.35 kg (Packed // With Footprint)
Cost: $159.95
Packed Dimensions: 16 x 4.5 inches
Interior Floor Dimensions: 84 x 51/43 (length x head/foot) inches
Weight: 3 lbs. 15 oz.
Cost: $299.50
Packed Dimensions: 16 x 5 x 5 inches
Interior Floor Dimensions: 90 x 70 inches
Weight: 4 lbs. 14 oz.
Cost: $349.50
As far as the 3 tents are concerned the packed sizes are not very different. The interior space starts to become more obvious with the differences between a 2 man and 3 man tent (obviously). The big differences are the weight and price tags. The NearZero 2P tent is almost double the cost of the Mountainsmith tent with just over 1 lbs difference in weight (roughly). Overall all 3 tents are great tents. All 3 will get down the road on give you a great nights sleep. We are stoked to offer both of these companies products.
The tents you will see marketed specifically to bike packing or moto camping usually have tent poles that become much shorter than the poles in traditional backpacking tents. Knowing that size matters they make the poles to fit in smaller places. Unfortunately that comes with a high cost. We used to sell a bike specific tent from another manufacturer but it costs nearly $600.
Is that enough to matter? Do you need more money in your pocket or a lighter tent? Some other things to ponder is how often will you be using this? Does the extra weight really make a difference? It can in a backpack but does it on a motorcycle or in a car?
