The tent groundsheet and additional features

Bath tub groundsheets: ideally the tent groundsheet will be a bath tub type in the bedrooms to prevent draughts and stop the creepy-crawlies. However, in the communal areas a separate groundsheet, ie one which doesn't form part of the main tent structure, is advisable since it can be easily cleaned. Also, as the communal rooms are high traffic areas, these can become worn and so having a separate tent groundsheet means that it can be easily replaced without high cost.

Doors: check the tent has robust door fasteners and zips to survive heavy usage. Also, some doors can be lifted horizontally to form a canopy which can be a useful feature as shade from the sun or shelter from the rain. Check to make sure that the tent has a mosquito net as part of the door so that the tent door can be left open with the mosquito net closed to allow additional ventilation.

Double stitching: make sure the tent is double stitched, where the fabric joins are made, to provide additional strength to the tent.

Fire retardant: make sure the tent is fire retardant as accidents involving gas stoves do sometimes occur. Untreated tents can burn in under 15 seconds and therefore all tents should comply with the European standard EN71. (All Siberian Red tents are manufactured to comply with this standard).

Mudflaps/valance: a very useful feature of tents whereby a fabric extension is added to the bottom of the tent walls to ensure they make contact with the ground helping to prevent draughts.

Pockets: lots of pockets are helpful for tidy storage

Poles: can be either rigid (steel and aluminium) or flexible (fibreglass and glass fibre). Frame tents will usually use rigid poles and dome and tunnel tents will use flexible poles. Steel poles can be heavy, aluminium poles expensive and fibreglass poles can occasionally snap or splinter especially in cold weather.

Ring and pin system: The ring and pin system is a useful system whereby long pins attached to the tent walls are inserted into the hollow ends of the tent poles providing a robust system for erecting tents.

Ripstop: ideally the tent fabric will be made from ripstop material, ie a fabric woven with a double thread at regular intervals so that small tears do not spread. Often used for the tent groundsheet.

Shock-corded poles: Tent poles sections held together by an elastic cord running along the length of the pole keeping the poles together so you don't have to hunt for individual sections. As the poles sections are connected the cord holds them together so they can be handled as a single pole.

Taped seams: make sure the tent is tape seamed. Tape seaming is the process of bonding fabric joins together to ensure full waterproof integrity, often along the seams of tents.

Tent fabric: most tents are made from polyester or nylon tent fabric although more expensive tents can be made from cotton canvas. Nylon tends to be used with smaller tents and can suffer from becoming less taut when the tent becomes damp, so loosing its rigidity. Also, nylon tents suffer from ultraviolet light shortening the life of the tent. Polyester tents are the most common being more durable than nylon as they are not impacted by damp and ultraviolet light in the same way as nylon tents. If purchasing polyester tents it is advisable to purchase a tent with sufficiently resilient material such as 190T or above.

Tent ventilation: the tent should have adequate ventilation to prevent condensation build up. Ventilation systems usually take the form of mesh covered windows which allow air to circulate around the tent.

Windows: PVC "see through" windows for increased visibility and enhanced natural lighting.

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