Picture yourself shivering in your tent at advanced base camp or high camp with a storm blowing in and you know that you can’t get off the mountain tonight. Your plan for the summit has gone out the window and right now you want to get off the mountain alive. Unfortunately you have to wait for the storm to blow over. That could be in a day, or it could be in three. Fortunately you’ve got enough warm weather gear so that you know you won’t freeze. You’ve go enough gas to keep your little stove burning, so you know that you will be able to melt enough water to get you through, and you know you have enough food to last you a couple of days, even if they will be hungry and miserable ones. So, are you ready to sit tight and ride this one out? Only if you are darned sure that you are in a mountain tent that will hold up to the worst that nature can throw at you. Now is not the time to be regretting coming up here in a moldy old tent that you borrowed from your great uncle who probably got it from some guy who stormed ashore at Normandy on D-day with it. Nope, you want a mountaineering tent that you know is good for the conditions.
Now come back to the present and look at the good news, because over the past 50 years tents have advanced enormously and you can now get excellent and sturdy tents that, while not cheap, offer good value and will give you years of good service high on the mountain. The choices can be a bit confusing. Should you go for a 2 man tent (sorry 2 person tent) or a 3 man tent? Should you go for a single-walled one or a double-walled one. This guide aims to help you figure out which is the right mountain tent for you and offers some advice on buying it, caring for it and using it safely. Enjoy.
