I’m always getting hammered. I get hammered in the daytime, hammered in the night time. Come rain, shine, wind or snow, it doesn’t matter - I get hammered whatever the weather.

I have an extremely important job; people rely on me to be solid and dependable. Getting hammered all the time may seem a little reckless, but in my situation it is vital to the comfort and well-being of those who rely on me. As a humble tent pole, I’m sometimes taken for granted and often forgotten. But without me everything would fall apart.

All parts of a tent are essential items; we all work together to provide shelter for campers. We work as a whole. But I consider my role especially important. I am the link that anchors an otherwise flimsy piece of material to the ground. I prevent the tent from flying away in high winds and I create the tension needed to stop the tent from falling in on itself. I may be the last thing that campers use or think about when they erect a tent but without me they could end up, cold, wet, uncomfortable and miserable. It’s essential that I continue to get hammered!

The credit crunch is biting hard. People all over the country are trying to work out how they’re going to afford to pay the bills over the next few months. The last thing on people’s minds is next year’s holidays. But it will soon be spring and people will be overcome by an overwhelming desire to get away, have fun and leave their money worries at home. Cash is tight, so a fortnight in Orlando or a villa holiday in sunny Spain is out of the question. More and more people will be looking for cheap ways to get away at home next season, which means there will be another surge in the popularity of camping holidays.

As well as families setting out on summer trips to all four corners of the UK, young couples and groups of friends will get together for camping holidays in Cornwall, Dorset, South Wales and other coastal hotspots. They all have something in common… they’re going to need a pretty large family camping tent to house them during their slimmed-down summer holiday.

Tent manufacturers are doing all they can to support the demand for large camping tents. Gelert has introduced a behemoth family camping tent big enough for eight people. The Gelert tent – known as the Horizon 8 – has a huge tent footprint. It is a whopping 7.4 metres long by 3.5 metres wide and 2.25 metres high. But this is not the tent manufacturer’s biggest tent. They also do the Meridian 10, which is a humungous 4 metres wide and spacious enough to sleep ten people. Packing ten people into one tent on a campsite close to home sounds like an ideal way to beat the credit crunch.

Mick Jagger crooned the following lyrics in the Rolling Stones song Gimme Shelter:
Oh, a storm is threatening
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh yeah, Im gonna fade away

The lyrics get even more foreboding in the subsequent verses, so I don’t think he was singing about camping. But if he’s serious about getting some shelter he could do worse than buying a canopy tent…
Still, the Rolling Stones would need a large tent to get all of them in it, plus their entourage of roadies and groupies. In fact, they would need the largest tent that they could find. I propose a yurt. You can find some enormous yurts now which you might even be able to have an intimate concert in. Or maybe a Tipi might be more appropriate. But if they didn’t want to go the whole hog with a Yurt or Tipi, there are some pretty large tents on the market. A family tent may not be suitable but a big expedition style tent might suit their wild, rolling ways.

I made a new discovery today. I’ve been camping for over 30 years but have never heard of a Sunncamp tent. It may be because I’m a bit of a camping snob and choose to invest in only the finest, branded kit. Sunncamp is not a name that springs to mind when I think of quality camping equipment. Yet, judging by the breadth and depth of tents and accessories they produce, it seems like the company has been around for a very long time and is known in some camping circles as a quality and reliable brand.

Excited by my discovery, I had a little dig around their website to see what they had on offer. I wish I had discovered them before. They have some great looking tents at all levels of affordability. I was interested to discover if their tents match up to those of better known tent manufacturers. They seem to tick all the boxes in terms of build quality and versatility of uses in different weather conditions. They are on the bulky side – useful only for large group adventures or car camping. Their ‘backpacking’ 3-man tent, for instance, is 9.9kg. I don’t fancy lugging that on a long-distance trail!

Having said that, I was impressed with the quality and range of tents on offer by this company. They’re never going to take on tent manufacturers like The North Face or Vango in the world of performance tents but for standard summer camping they seem ideal. I’m glad I discovered them. You really do learn something new every day!

In the camping world there are few brands as big and well-known as Coleman. Coleman has become a byword for camping reliability and affordability. The company’s quality and quantity of products is awesome, ranging from family camping tents with add on compartments, to lightweight hiking tents, backpacking tents and the versatile dome tent. Coleman tents have funky features like electrical access ports, adjustable ventilation and colour coded pole sleeves for easy set up. Each tent comes with its own Coleman Weathertec™ system which includes weather resistant fabric, protected and leak-proof seams, waterproof floors, zip protection and a wind-strong frame. Amazingly, they have a rain room and a wind tunnel in their factory which can simulate all kinds of weather conditions, like the extremes of a British Summer! Seriously, the tents have very rigorous testing before they are put out on the shelves. Their family camping tents are particularly popular, being spacious with a huge range of tents starting with a basic dome that can sleep five, all the way up to tent ‘cabins’ that have a cooking area, space to sit and read the paper and enough room to sleep six adults. At 100 years of age, this company is still going from strength to strength.

When I think of a camping light I imagine the gas powered lamp that I used to be terrified of lighting thanks to the loud whoomph when the gas caught the flame. It used to take a fair bit of grit not to drop the lantern at that point. Plus there was the fiddly mesh mantle that had a drawstring at the top and bottom which had to be carefully fitted around the burner. After a few burns, they used to crumble at the slightest touch and you’d be back at the beginning again trying to fit the damn mantle again.

The good news is there is now a vast range of camping lanterns to choose from. In these eco-conscious times you can even get wind up lanterns powered by dynamo or solar rechargeable lamps (obviously, you recharge in the day). There are LED camping lanterns, U-tube lanterns, spotlights, gas lanterns (of course), battery powered camping lanterns - the list goes on. So where do you start to look for the camping lantern that will suit you and your needs?

Let’s say, you were heading off on a long camping trip and needed to travel light. Something electric would be the best bet, with a rechargeable option like wind-up or solar powered.

How about heading off with the family? You can take something bigger, heavier and maybe multi-fuel. If you’re not as nervous as me about gas camping lanterns, they burn pretty well and very bright. An ‘area-lantern’ is a good option as it lights up larger spaces; ideal for family camping tents.

After a quick web search, I found out that gas and multi-fuel camping lanterns are still pretty popular, but the rechargeables are storming up from behind as you don’t need to worry about carrying extra batteries or power for them. The infiltration of power-saving light bulbs has also had its effect on the camping lantern market, with a range of products that are battery powered. With the energy saving bulb, the lantern can work for up to eight hours continuously. We really are spoilt for choice now. At the end of the day, it’ll be down to you as an individual to decide what your preference would be.

Camping brands come and go. Some have been with us for decades; others spring up season on season. But who’s who in the world of tents? Which are the most popular tent manufacturers? In the interests of camping knowledge, I take a look at some best known tent manufacturers.

Vango
Vango is 40 years old, although the company behind the brand has been associated with tent making for a century and a half. With the emphasis on comfort, safety and reliability, Vango designers create tents that are built to last. With a series of innovations under its belt, the company still produces quality tents for a variety of uses. Its Force Ten range is built for harsh conditions experienced by mountaineers and winter campers.

Terra Nova

Terra Nova is another great British tent manufacturer famed for tents ‘built for expedition and adventure’. The company aims to extend and improve its range, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in tent design and production. They once famously held the Guinness World Record for the world’s lightest tent – its Lazer Competition which weighed just 890g.

North Face
The North Face is an international brand with an impeccable reputation. As a tent manufacturer, it has produced tents for camping expeditions across the globe. Supported by many extreme athletes, The North Face emphasises quality products for harsh environments.

Coleman
Coleman is at the less technical end of the spectrum of tent manufacturers. Nonetheless it uses quality materials and trusted designs to create great tents for less extreme camping trips – those with family and friends on a campsite as opposed to the side of a mountain.

Gelert
Tent manufacturer Gelert is a relative newcomer on the camping scene. They have emerged with a series of lightweight, simple and easy to pitch tents for the masses. They are aimed at first time campers who want the ease of a pop-up tent, with product lines geared for small families and festival goers.

I really like the latest family camping tents on offer from tent manufacturers. They look almost futuristic, as if some strange insect is going to emerge from inside the cocoon. There are basic domes with add-ons, T-shaped tents and even some shaped like colourful poly-tunnels. The tent manufacturers like to pack the family models with many features and they come with things like fire retardant fabric, super-strength poles, window vents and storage pockets.

Gone are the days of the square, frame tent. Families these days have much more user-friendly and aero-dynamic models on offer from tent manufacturers. Most follow the poly- tunnel shape with two large sleeping areas, inter-connected with a communal ‘living’ area. The Kyham Vancouver 6 and the Gelert Horizon are two such tents. Both sleep up to six people and are roomy tents for a family camping trip.

But I was also interested to see what options there were at the higher end of the market. One model from tent manufacturer Terra Nova attracted my attention because the design and materials make it look hardy, stable and durable. The Family Khamsin is more expensive than most family camping tents but the build and quality is second to none. I want a tent that’s going to last for years and years, at least until the kids are old enough to go out on their own camping trips. When it comes to family camping tents, I believe it’s best to invest in the best quality you can afford to handle the most testing of camping conditions – camping with kids!

Going away overnight on a walking trip takes some planning. It’s that old-age dilemma of what to take on a hiking adventure. Do you travel light and stay in a hotel? I think in the current economic climate that is a bit of a luxury. So do you sleep out in the open? It’s November, so sleeping out will be chilly and a bit damp to say the least. If you’re serious about stepping out on a walking overnighter It would be better to get yourself some protection and take either a lightweight hiking tent or a one man tent.

There’s an amazing amount of choice when it comes to one man tents to go hiking with. Obviously the first consideration is the weight. The aim is to find a tent that weighs in at under 1kg. These are few and far between but if you get a featherweight one man tent it will make hiking trips much more comfortable and appealing. I’ve just discovered a new kind of one man tent from Nemo. The US company has created a line of tents built with its own AirSupported Technology™, which means they have inflatable frames. As there are no poles it is faster and easier to set up, and sturdier and more aerodynamic in high winds. They also pack much smaller and are lighter than traditional tents. Its Gogo one man tent weighs just 860g and is a design masterpiece. It sounds like the perfect overnight hiking tool – a shelter from the elements that’s so light it’s no hassle to carry around. If I had one of these I wouldn’t want to stay in a hotel anyway!

If you’re heading out on the hills on your own or no longer want to share with your mates, it could be time to invest in a one man tent. There are loads of one man tents available on the market nowadays as outdoor companies tap into the increasingly lucrative market of outdoors men and women who like to go solo.

One of the best one man tents on the market is the Force Ten Nitro 200 Tent by Vango. This solo tent offers the best balance between stability and lightweight design. This one man tent has the TBS Pro – Tension Band System unique internal bracing system, which ensures high performance in adverse weather conditions. This solo tunnel tent is strong, light (only 2.3kg) and packs down small (49 x 15cm), making it ideal for hiking campers. But at £240 it is one of the priciest one man tents on the market.

For a serious backpacking one man tent, the Sololite from Wild Country is a versatile semi-geodesic, ultralight tent (1.9kg). It provides excellent strength to weight ratio, and has the option of shortening the inner to provide more porch space for gear and cooking. Its small pack size (40 x 14cm) makes it ideal for hiking trips. This one man tent retails at £140.

At the cheaper end of the market for one man tents is the Solo 1 from Gelert. At just £25 it seems too good to be true. But this compact (pack size 31 x 13cm), lightweight (1.5kg) and easy to pitch tent may just be the answer for solo campers on a budget.