How to choose a tent — the honest guide for UK campers

A tent is the most important piece of kit you'll buy for UK camping, and it's the one where the wrong decision is most obvious — usually around 2am in horizontal rain. Here's how to make the right call before you're standing in a wet field.

Season ratings explained

UK tents are rated one to four seasons. One-season tents are for good summer weather only — fine in southern Spain, not fit for purpose in the UK. Two-season tents handle light rain and mild conditions but aren't designed for wind. Three-season tents are the UK camping standard: they handle the full British summer including rain, moderate wind, and temperature drops. Four-season tents are for winter mountaineering and are overkill for campsite use.

For the vast majority of UK campsite bookings, a three-season tent is exactly right. The key feature to look for is a full flysheet — a separate outer layer that covers the inner tent all the way to the ground, creating a waterproof outer with a ventilated inner. Tents with a “festival” rating are often single-skin designs: adequate for a single night but not for sustained UK rain.

Size and footprint

UK campsite pitches vary considerably in size. Some smaller owner-run sites have pitches as small as 5m × 6m; larger managed sites may offer 8m × 10m or more. Before buying a large family tent, check the dimensions against the typical pitch size at the campsites you're likely to visit. A tunnel tent eight metres long is spectacular in a field but doesn't fit on a standard campsite pitch.

For solo or couple camping: a two-person tent is genuinely comfortable for one person and technically adequate for two. A “two-person” tent that's described as such by the manufacturer is usually 130–140cm wide — fine for couples who like each other, less fine for strangers. If you're buying for two people with kit, buy a three-person tent.

Weight vs comfort

Weight matters enormously if you're backpacking or motorcycle camping, where you carry everything. It matters very little if you're driving to a campsite and pitching twenty metres from the car. The featherlight single-wall bivouac that's technically impressive becomes irrelevant when you're pulling bags from a boot.

For car camping and campsite bookings, prioritise comfort and living space over weight. A tunnel tent with a large porch area — where you can store wet boots, cook when it's raining, and sit on camp chairs without getting soaked — transforms a wet UK camping trip. For backpacking, target sub-2kg for a two-person shelter and accept the compromises in headroom that come with it.

Poled vs inflatable

Inflatable tents — which use air beams rather than poles — have matured significantly and are now a genuine option for family UK camping. They pitch faster (much faster) than poled tents, don't have poles to break or lose sleeves into, and in some designs are more stable in high wind. The downsides: they require a pump, they're heavier, and a puncture is a more serious problem than a bent pole.

For families doing occasional campsite camping, inflatable tents make real sense. For wild camping, backpacking, or adventure touring, the reliability and repairability of a well-made poled tent still wins.

What we'd actually buy

For a couple doing UK campsite camping: a three-season tunnel tent in the 3-person capacity range, fully freestanding, with a large porch. For a family of four: a six-person tunnel tent with two bedrooms and a central living area. For solo wild camping or motorcycle touring: a lightweight geodesic or single-hoop design under 1.5kg, four-season rated. All of these are available from established UK brands at realistic price points; you don't need to spend £700 on your first tent.