Camping in every season – How to make your tent more comfortable

If you’re out camping, you probably already know this: a tent isn’t a hotel room. It protects you from rain and wind, but only with one or two layers of (waterproof) fabric. That means you experience every kind of weather—heat, cold, rain, and wind—pretty much firsthand. However, there are tips and tricks for different climates and weather conditions to make your stay in the tent as comfortable as possible.

Camping in the heat

In strong sunlight and warm temperatures, heat builds up inside a closed tent. So the rule is: Open all tent entrances! Tatonka tunnel tents have entrances to the outer tent at both ends for this purpose.

Here’s what you should do

1. If possible, find a spot to pitch your tent under trees in the shade.
2. Set up your tent with the entrances facing the prevailing wind direction.
3. Be sure to open both entrances of your Tatonka tunnel tent and secure them with the loops provided. This creates airflow. You can still close the inner tent; it has a breathable mosquito net at the top.

Tip: Tatonka offers two tunnel tents designed for hot climates: the Grönland 2 Vent LT and the Grönland 3 Vent. With these tents, you can roll up the side walls of the outer tent, leaving you to sleep essentially in just a mosquito net.

Camping in the rain

Lying in your tent during a steady rain and listening to the raindrops drumming on the tent can be nice sometimes. Packing up and setting up a tent in the rain, of course, is less so. Tatonka tunnel tents have the advantage in the rain that you can first set up the outer tent and then hang the dry inner tent inside.

Here’s what you should do

1. Separate the outer and inner tents of your Tatonka tunnel tent—if possible, in a dry place. At least at campgrounds, there are often shelters where this is possible—if necessary, you can also use the washroom. If you’re on a trekking tour, you’ll need to assess the conditions of your surroundings and find creative solutions if necessary. Or you may have already taken care of this in advance by checking the weather forecast.
2. First, set up the outer tent.
3. Then hang the dry inner tent inside.
4. Only bring dry items into the inner tent. Everything else, including rain gear, stays in the vestibule.
5. When taking it down, do the opposite—first unhook the inner tent and pack it separately. Then take down the outer tent.
6. If there are breaks in the rain, try to dry the outer tent before taking it down. To speed up drying, give the erected and tensioned outer tent a good shake (hold the poles) to shake off the water droplets.

Camping in cold temperatures

You can camp in cold temperatures, even when it’s below freezing, without any problems. Of course, it will be cold inside the tent as well. That’s why you need cold-weather gear: a cold-weather sleeping pad and a cold-weather sleeping bag. Both items specify the temperature range for which they are designed. These values should be understood as guidelines. You must take your own sensitivity to the cold into account.

What you should do

1. Avoid crawling into your sleeping bag while freezing: If you’re cold, take a walk around the tent and drink some hot tea.
2. Wear at least thermal underwear and socks in your sleeping bag. Ideally, you should already have these on beforehand, so you bring the warmth with you into the sleeping bag. If it’s very cold, you can also put on additional clothing over them (e.g., a fleece or thermal jacket).
3. Protect your neck with a scarf.
4. Put on a hat.
5. Close the thermal collar and hood of the sleeping bag.

Tip: Stuff the clothes you’ll wear the next day into the foot of the sleeping bag. That way, they won’t be completely cold in the morning.

Condensation – perfectly normal when camping

New campers in particular often wake up after their first night in a tent and are surprised to find moisture on the inside of the outer tent, even if it hasn’t rained at all. This is condensation; the tent isn’t leaking. Depending on the campsite, weather conditions, and ground surface, as well as the size of the inner tent and the number of people sleeping inside, every tent will develop some degree of condensation. However, you can often reduce condensation with simple measures.

Here’s what you should do

1. Open all the tent vents and secure them.
2. Open both entrances to the outer tent to create a draft.
3. Lay down groundsheets in the vestibule. They reduce moisture rising from the ground.

Tip: You can easily wipe condensation off the inside of the outer tent with a soft cloth.