Anodised: a protective coating added to aluminum by an electrolytic process, making the metal more durable.

Clip fasteners: a feature that attaches the tent to the pole. It simplifies the set-up procedure, but is unsuitable for extreme weather conditions.

Fly, or rainfly: an outer layer of fabric that keeps the rain off the walls of the tent.

Shock cords: thick, elastic cords (like skinny bungee cords) that are nestled inside tent poles.

Self-healing zipper: an industry term for a more durable zipper that can be reset when damaged.

Sleeves: a more reliable method of attaching the tent to the poles. Poles are slipped through sleeves of tent fabric that are sewn to the tent. Suitable for extreme weather conditions.

2torial #0500: Learn2 Choose the Right Tent (Continued) Choose your design   First, take into consideration design stability and overall effectiveness. The best of the larger tents (4 or more people) are often variations on the classic geodesic dome, providing a lot of floor space and exceptional strength. Good smaller tents (1 to 2 people) can be tunnel designs, half-domes variants or, less commonly, A-frames. Medium-sized tents (3 to 4 people) are the real wild cards. Companies come out with new designs yearly, but expanded Tunnel and reworked half-domes seem to be the basis for most designs. Family tents tend to use an umbrella or cabin design, which have a spacious interior and almost vertical walls. The trade-offs for those attractive features are: these tents are not very stable, weatherproof or easy to set up. Freestanding tents do not need stakes or guylines to remain upright. These are very stable and perform well in rocky or icy places. Be careful in heavy wind conditions, though--these tents can actually blow away unless they're staked out, and have some heavy objects (like people or backpacks) inside. Newer clip designs have the tent walls attached to the poles with nylon fasteners. They're also easy to set up and take down, and are very good performers in anything but extreme conditions. But when heavy wind is bending your tent walls almost parallel to the ground, traditional sleeve tents are probably your best bet. Capacity is subjective. People experience spaces differently, and what is adequate room for some folks, is claustrophobic for others. There's also a big difference between sleeping in a tent for a few hours a night, versus waiting out a storm for several days with three young kids bouncing around. Try to realistically assess your intended use: will you be miles from any alternative shelter, or a few hundred feet away from a game room? Weight is a great concern when backpacking. A tent that weighs a pound less than its competitor allows you to bring an extra pound of food on your trip. Lighter materials that are still strong and durable, though, tend to raise tent costs significantly. On the other hand, if the tent is being set up in an established campsite, close to a car, it won't make much difference if the darn thing weighs ten pounds instead of four. Step 2