Curious to know how to keep a Tent Cool? We got you!
Summer camping is a lot of fun and a great experience to share with friends, family, and on your own…
However, a camping holiday also implies that you need to renounce a lot of comforts: a thick bed, a big kitchen, a big bathroom… and air conditioning.
A very challenging aspects of camping is how to keep your tent cool.
When your tent gets too hot, it becomes uninhabitable: not only can you stay in it because it becomes a sauna, but your items would risk being damaged.
Food, drinks, and even electronic devices can’t stay in a hot environment… so how to keep your tent cool?
Read: How Do We Review A Tent?
Tips on how to keep a tent cool
There are some tips about it, and it all begins from where you install your tent.
1. Pick the right spot
If you have some experience with camping, you know that you can’t just build your tent whenever you like.
Especially if it needs to stay on for days – and you need to live in it for days – you need to pick your spot carefully.
If it’s summer and your main priority is to keep it cool, you should pick a spot under the shade.
Spotting the perfect place isn’t as immediate as it may seem because you need to check how the shadows shift during the day.
If you can’t find a place that is not under direct sunlight throughout the whole day – that would be ideal – pick a spot that is in the shade during the afternoon.
As you may know, afternoons get hotter than mornings, so it’s more important to protect your tent from direct sunlight during the afternoon.
You should also know that protecting your tent from direct sunlight is also important for the durability of your tent: direct sunlight can ruin color first and then the structure of the fabric itself.
In other words, if you avoid exposing your tent to direct sunlight during summer, not only do you get a cooler tent, but you also enhance its durability.
Also Read: 10 Best Hot Tent | Detailed Guide!
2. Use a fan or Portable AC
Sometimes, even when you are protected from the sun, it’s still hot. How can you have some relief inside your tent?
Having a fan or carrying a portable AC is the most common solution. But there is one problem: you need to have access to some power source.
If you find yourself at a well-equipped campsite, the power source is usually provided as part of the service. However, you don’t have infinite power at your disposal.
3. Take Down Your Tent During the Day
Tents during a hot blazing day act like a greenhouse. It absorbs and stores heat inside, making the temperature unbearable.
And the worst part is most tent fabrics, be it nylon or synthetic, do not bear the heat well.
This ends up damaging the tent and decreasing its lifetime ultimately. So it is best to disassemble your tent during the day.
4. Reflective Shade to the Rescue
Another great way to avoid the scorching sun to heat you up is by using a reflective shade.
A reflective shade, as the name suggests, reflect back the sun rays instead of absorbing them and helps maintain a good temperature inside the tent.
The way you place the shade also matters a lot in this. Make sure there is a gap of 12 inches at least between the sunshade and the top of the tent for best results.
5. Know when to Use the Rain Fly
During the night, when your body cools up, the heat condenses on the inside of the rain fly.
If you think it is not going to rain, then you should remove the rain fly so that the moisture and humidity inside the tent can escape properly.
The less moisture and humidity you have inside your tent, the easier it will be for you to stay cool inside the tent.
6. Switch to a Hammock Instead
If you just can’t bear the hot atmosphere inside the tent, then you should try switching to hammock camping.
However, there are a few things or disadvantages to consider before you do this:
- You need to find a spot between trees so that you can easily tie your hammock.
- If the temperature drops suddenly, then you may end up sleeping in the cold.
- You should buy a hammock that can fit you easily and on which you can sleep and not just lounge.
- During the night, there are going to be lots of bugs and mosquitos, so make sure to apply some bug spray.
7. Buy a Mesh Tent
Mesh tents are absolutely perfect for summer camping, as they keep mosquitoes out and still let cool air pass through.
And the best part is that these mesh walls also protect against rain splatters.
8. Use Soaked Towels
Another great way to beat the heat during summer camping is by using soaked towels. Simply soak it in a towel and place it on your neck or forehead.
Although this will not last long, and you will need to make the towel damp a few times, it can help nonetheless.
9. Leave Dark-Colored Clothes at Home
Another great hack to remain cool is by wearing light-colored clothes, preferably linen or lose cotton clothes.
Dark colors absorb more sunlight and heat and make you warm, so you should avoid dark-colored clothes at all costs.
Also, wearing tight clothes can cause a lot of sweat and discomfort, so make sure you wear loose clothes and have enough room for air to pass through you.
10. Take a Dip in Cold Water
If you are feeling too hot and if there is a water body around you, then you can go and take a dip.
This works especially well when you do this at night before sleeping. The cold water will bring your body temperature to be normal, and you will be able to sleep better at night.
11. Keep Yourself Hydrated
The body gets dehydrated very quickly during summer, and not drinking enough water can lead to dehydration and other problems.
Make sure you drink a lot of water when you are camping. This is because it takes up a lot of heat to raise the temperature of the water and so you should drink water properly.
12. Avoid using Sleeping Bags
Sleeping bags are designed to keep you warm and are meant for winter camping. Hence, avoid using them and instead use a cotton sheet which will help you in keeping cold during the night.
13. Dig a Tent Pit
If you are traveling by car, then bring along a shovel with you and dig up the spot about 2 feet deep and plant your tent inside the dig.
The soil below the ground is always cooler, and placing your tent on top of it will help you in staying cool too.
14. Keep the Vents Open
If you do not want your tent to become a hot oven, then you will have to ensure that your tent has enough ventilation for the hot air to pass through.
Just open up the door, rain flaps, and vents so that the air can keep circulating.
15. Use Ice
If you are traveling by car, then do not forget to carry ice and a rotating fan
You can simply place a bucket full of ice near the rotating fan, and this way, the fan will go through cool air toward you, which will help you in staying protected against the heat.
16. Pitch Your Tent in the Dark
If you avoid pitching your tent during the day, then do it. Instead, pitch your tent when the temperature drops down or during the dark.
This will help ensure that your tent has turned into a hot oven, and you will be able to enjoy your tent more.
17. Purchase a Bigger Tent
The bigger the tent, the more will be space for the air to circulate.
So if you are camping with your family and friends, and if there are more people in the tent, then the temperature inside the tent may rise even more.
Hence, you should purchase a bigger tent to avoid suffocation and discomfort.
18. Set up the Tent Near a Water Body
There is no better way but to camp near a water body on hot days. This is because the air that will pass through the water will be cooler, and this will help you in staying cool to a good extent.
However, make sure you are not too close to the water body as it can be dangerous.
19. Bonus tip: solar power banks
For this reason, you could opt for a solar battery. Solar batteries are charged under the sun, and they can power anything: from your smartphone to a fan.
The only problem is that they can’t work forever: once they are drained out, you need to place the solar panels under the sun again.
There are also portable air conditioners, but it’s unlikely that you can use one in your tent because it would require a lot of power which is usually unavailable when you are camping.
See What Reddit Users Do To Keep Their Tent Cool
Tips for keeping a tent cool
by u/JCicchino3 in camping
More Tips to Keep Your Tent Cool
Conclusion
Hot summers shouldn’t stop you from spending quality time with your family or friends.
In this guide on how to keep a tent cool, we have shared so many ways in which you enjoy your summer camping. We hope you found this useful.
FAQ’s
What is too hot for summer camping?
The heat range of 30° to 40°C or 90° to 105°F is considered as “Extreme caution,” and only healthy, experienced campers should go camping in such conditions. If the temperature is below this, then it is safe for even beginners.
Is the color of tent important for summer camping?
Yes, your tent’s color is crucial in keeping the temperature just right.
You should buy light-colored tents because they reflect the sunrays back instead of absorbing them too much and helps in reducing the heat inside the tent.
Why are tents so hot?
During summers, your tents act like a greenhouse and trap heat inside them, making them very hot.
Shefali Jain is a Content Editor & Writer at National Planning Cycles.
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes.
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