Canvas Tents Are Durable, Breathe Well And Are...

Canvas Tents, Some Quick Pros And Cons.

Canvas tents, sometimes called canvas wall tents, are preferred by people who want more space than what small camping tents can offer. Good canvas tents are sturdy and can hold up to the elements well if they're designed and maintained correctly. They also act as a formidable block to the wind and the elements.

Most newer canvas is woven from cotton. Although the sun will oxidize just about anything, canvas holds up better in sunlight than nylon or polyester materials. But as you've probably already guessed one of the trade-offs is weight. Canvas is a heavy fabric that grows even heavier in the rain due to water absorption. While the water definitely weighs things down, it does serve a purpose...

As canvas gets wet, the cotton fibers swell causing the tiny holes between the threads to become smaller and more resistant to water penetration. Pretty neat eh? :-)

But here's something to think about... wet untreated single-wall canvas tents without rainflies will leak where you touch them. Of course with all of the extra room a canvas tent usually offers, being a little more careful isn't as big a deal as if you were in a more confined area like a two-person pup tent. But it's still something to keep in mind, and definitely consider a rainfly if possible.

While any piece of camping gear or hiking equipment that leaks is definitely a negative, untreated canvas offers something most average nylon and polyester tents can't. Because of all the tiny holes that are naturally woven into the fabric, canvas breathes better. This means less condensation or 'sweat' will form on the inside ceiling and walls due to breathing and perspiration. Although some higher end tents do offer materials like Gore-tex® that breathe, as you can imagine, they're a bit more expensive and usually limited to smaller size tents. So if breathability is critical to you, canvas may be the way to go.

Save time, money, and get the most usable canvas tent,
camping and hiking information Free. Click
here and subscribe to our newsletter.

Canvas tents can be great for extended car camping trips when you won't be picking up and moving much, like say camping at the lake for a week or better, if you don't mind the extra weight. Some are also great for winter camping or hunting because they are set up for wood stoves to keep them warm on those cold snowy nights.

Also, if you're planning on getting a wall tent for camping in the snow make sure that it's of high quality because the last thing in the world you want is the roof to collapse and a hundred pounds of snow to come crashing down on you. As my scuba diving instructor use to say, "That would be bad." ;-)

Some of the better canvas wall tents like at kwikkamp.com are made with internal frames. If you're considering a canvas tent, I'd take a look at what they have to offer.