How to choose a sleeping bag

Article by Joe Rivera

Determine the intended use of the tent before you make your purchase. For fair-weather camping, a well-strung tarp can serve as a shelter, and tarps are lighter and cheaper than tents.

Get a tent that doesn't require many stakes. Stakes are heavy, easy to lose and make it difficult to pitch the tent on hard or soft ground or on snow.

Look for a tent with a fly that closes completely and has a vestibule for storing packs and boots out of the rain.

Stick with the three-season variety of tent, which can handle moderate winter use, unless you plan extreme mountaineering or expedition use. Four-season tents, designed to handle extreme weather, are much heavier than their three-season cousins.

Find a big stuff sack for the tent so that you don't have to go to extreme lengths to cram it into the bag and potentially cause damage to the tent.

Buy the lightest tent that meets your needs and budget.