It used to be easy. You bought your tent, and off you went camping. But now, when you buy your tent, you can also buy a range of accessories or add-ons that can help make the camping experience a little more luxurious.
So what are the main tent accessories you can buy and why would you want to buy them?
Footprint
Most tents sold have what is called a ‘sewn-in-groundsheet’ (SIG), which protects you and your belongings from the ground and prevents water from getting in. But get a hole in your groundsheet and you immediately have a problem. To help prevent this, you can now buy what is called a ‘footprint’, which is a custom-sized groundsheet specific to your tent. You put this down first, and then pitch your tent on top of it and it provides an extra layer of protection to your SIG. (An additional bonus of laying a footprint down first, is that it gives you a good idea of where the tent will be in relation to others around it. Moving the footprint around to find the prime spot is a lot easier than moving the fully erected tent!)
Carpet
A carpet in a tent? Yes, you did read that correctly! You may scoff but nearly every family-sized tent now comes with a carpet that is available to purchase separately. If you like home comforts then it is a definite “must-purchase” – it is so much nicer to wake up and step out of the bedroom area and into a carpeted living area, especially on a cold morning. Obviously, these carpets are not as plush as the ones you would have at home but they do offer an increased level of comfort in the tent.
Canopy/extension
Many tent companies now provide the option to purchase a variety of extensions, canopies and awnings for your tent. Whatever you want to call them, they introduce an increased level of flexibility into how you use your tent. For example, if you are just going away for a weekend, you only take the tent, but if you are going away for a week, you take the tent and the extension to give you a bit more room. Where you would previously have maybe had both a “weekend” tent and a “longer-stay” tent, you can now purchase one and use the extension as and when you need to.
If you’d like more information about camping or would like to see the latest range of tents, visit http://www.blacks.co.uk/category/camping/tents.html
