Written by Lisa Walton on 23rd Mar 2026
There are hundreds of tents on the market and most of them will keep you dry on a summer weekend. The hard part isn't finding a tent that works, it's finding the right tent for how you actually camp.
A backpacker needs something completely different from a family of five. A festival-goer has different priorities from someone wild camping in Scotland. And someone who camps every other weekend needs a different tent from someone who goes once a year.
We design tents across the full range at OLPRO, from a 2-berth backpacking tent at £112 to a 6-berth inflatable at £899.
We've seen what works, what gets returned, and what people wish they'd known before buying. This guide is everything we'd tell a friend if they asked us which tent to get.
Types of Tent and What Each One’s Actually For
Dome Tents
The simplest design. Two or three poles cross over each other to create a rounded shape. Easy to pitch, freestanding (they stand up without pegs, though you should always peg them), and stable in moderate wind because the rounded shape deflects gusts.
Solo campers, couples, festival camping, beginners — anyone who wants quick setup and simple packing.
Limitations: Limited headroom at the edges. Less living space than a tunnel tent of the same berth count. Not ideal for larger groups.
Our Hallow 2.0 Dome (£89) is a good example; straightforward, quick to pitch, and at a price where festival damage isn't the end of the world.
Tunnel Tents
Parallel hoops create a long, spacious structure with near-vertical walls. This gives you far more usable floor space and headroom than a dome of similar size. Most family tents are tunnel designs because they offer the best ratio of internal space to packed size.
Families, groups, extended stays — anyone who wants room to stand up and move around.
Limitations: Not freestanding, they need pegging to hold their shape, which means you can't easily reposition them once pitched. More susceptible to crosswinds if not properly guyed.
Our Wichenford 8.0 (£499) and Stafford range are tunnel designs, roomy, with multiple sleeping compartments and generous living areas.
Geodesic and Semi-Geodesic Tents
Multiple poles cross at various angles, creating a structure that's exceptionally stable in all directions. These are the tents you see on expeditions and mountain camps. Overkill for a weekend in the Cotswolds, but unbeatable in exposed conditions.
Limitations: Heavier, more expensive, and slower to pitch than simpler designs. More tent than most UK campers need.
Pop-Up Tents
Spring out of a flat disc into a ready-made tent shape. Pitch time: about 30 seconds. Pack-down time: considerably longer (and frequently involves swearing).
Limitations: Bulky when packed (that flat disc shape doesn't fit in a rucksack), limited headroom, and generally poor weatherproofing. Fine for a dry summer night, less fine in proper rain.
Inflatable (Air Beam) Tents
Replace poles with air-filled beams that you inflate with a pump. Faster to pitch than pole tents, easier to manage solo, and the beams flex in wind rather than snapping. The fastest-growing category in the tent market.
Family car camping, anyone who values quick setup, solo pitchers. The fastest-growing category in the tent market.
Limitations: Heavier than equivalent pole tents. More expensive. Beams can lose pressure in cold temperatures (a few extra pumps in the morning sorts this). Not suitable for backpacking, they're car camping tents.
Lightweight and Backpacking Tents
Stripped-down designs prioritising low weight and small pack size above everything else. Typically 1-3 berth with minimal living space. Made from lighter materials (often nylon rather than polyester) with aluminium or lightweight fibreglass poles.
Backpackers, bikepackers, wild campers — anyone carrying their tent a meaningful distance.
Limitations: Less space, fewer features, less robust in extreme weather (though good ones handle wind and rain fine). Comfort is secondary to portability.
Our Defford 2 Backpacking Tent (£112) and Hawford Lightweight (£75) sit in this category, light enough to carry, tough enough for a UK hill. See our wild camping tent guide for specific recommendations.
What Size Tent Do You Need?
Tent berth ratings are optimistic. A "4-berth" tent means four people can physically lie side by side on the floor. It does not mean four people can comfortably camp in it with their bags, boots, clothes, and dignity.
The golden rule
Size up by at least one berth, ideally two. A berth count only measures sleeping floor space — it doesn’t account for bags, a living area, getting dressed without elbowing your partner, or the dog.
Waterproofing Explained
Every tent has a hydrostatic head (HH) rating measured in millimetres. This tells you how much water pressure the fabric can withstand before it leaks through. The higher the number, the more waterproof the tent.
Every OLPRO tent has a 5,000mm hydrostatic head as standard, from our £75 Hawford to our £899 Discovery. We don't think you should have to pay a premium for a tent that keeps the rain out. That should be the baseline. Our waterproof ratings guide goes deeper on what the numbers mean and how they're tested.
But HH isn't the whole story. A high HH rating with poorly sealed seams will still leak. Fully taped seams matter as much as the fabric rating, they prevent water wicking through the stitch holes. All our tents have heat-taped seams across every panel.
Tent Materials: Polyester vs Polycotton vs Nylon
Polyester
The most common tent fabric. Lightweight, affordable, and doesn't absorb water (so it dries quickly). Most modern tents, including all of ours, use polyester.
Advantages: Light, cheap, dries fast, holds UV-resistant coatings well, doesn't sag when wet.
Disadvantages: Can be noisy in wind. Condensation sits on the surface as visible droplets rather than being absorbed.
Our newer tents use OLTECH REPRO 150D, a polyester fabric made from recycled single-use plastic bottles (8 bottles per square metre). Same performance, significantly better for the environment.
Polyester
A blend of polyester and cotton. Breathes better than pure polyester, which means less condensation. The cotton absorbs moisture and releases it gradually, so the inside of the tent feels drier even though the same amount of moisture is present.
Advantages: Less condensation, quieter in wind, more pleasant feel, natural look.
Disadvantages: Heavier, more expensive, takes longer to dry (never pack away damp, mould loves polycotton), needs more care.
We don't currently make polycotton tents. For most UK family camping, a well-ventilated polyester tent with good airflow handles condensation perfectly well. But if you're buying from another brand and condensation is your top concern, polycotton is worth considering.
Nylon (Ripstop)
The lightest option. Used in backpacking and ultralight tents where every gram matters. Strong for its weight, especially in ripstop weaves that prevent small tears from spreading.
Advantages: Very light, very compact, strong for its weight.
Disadvantages: More expensive than polyester, degrades faster in UV, can stretch when wet.
Our Beckford and Hawford lightweight tents use ripstop fabric for this reason, the weight saving matters when you're carrying your tent on your back.
Inflatable vs Pole Tents
This is now a genuine choice rather than a novelty.
Our honest take
For family car camping where you drive to your pitch, inflatable is hard to beat. The pitch time advantage is real, and the beams handle British wind well. For backpacking, hiking, or cycling trips, you want poles — ideally aluminium — because weight and pack size matter more.
How Much Should You Spend?
Our honest advice
If you’re not sure whether you’ll enjoy camping, start cheap. A £75–100 tent will tell you whether camping is for you. If it is, invest in something better for your second tent — you’ll know what you want by then. If you already know you love camping, the £250–500 range is where quality, space, and value meet.
Our Range at a Glance
We make tents from £75 to £899. Every one of them has a 5,000mm hydrostatic head, heat-taped seams, and our lifetime warranty.
Lightweight / Backpacking (1-3 berth)
Family / Weekend (4-8 berth)
Inflatable (4-6 berth)
Every tent includes pegs, guy ropes, carry bag, and a repair kit where applicable. Free UK delivery on all orders.
FAQ
Every OLPRO tent comes with a lifetime warranty, free UK delivery, and 5,000mm waterproofing as standard.
Explore the full tent range →