These areas can be brutally hot during the day, with very high UV exposure but quite cold at night, and occasionally, high winds blow dust and sand up in to large storms. While you can prepare for the cold with a warm sleeping bag, you may also find yourself spending considerable amounts of time inside the tent during the day, so ventilation is critical. High winds can crush a tent and blow in dust and sand to make life uncomfortable so you’ll need to be able to close any vents. It is therefore desirable to find a tent that has large amounts of mesh panelling on the inner, cross-ventilation via doors or windows on the fly, and an aerodynamic wind-shedding design.

Wedge-shaped tents are ideal when the lower end of the tent is pitched into the wind. These tents can often be pitched without the inner so that you just have a shady shelter like a tarp but more wind-proof.

As the tropics often present a plethora of mosquitoes, ground dwelling bities and other annoyances, tents that have full mesh screens to keep them at bay as well as to provide maximum ventilation, are the right choice - and you can always impregnate your tent with permethrin to keep the creepy nasties away!

These shelters need to be waterproof in heavy rain, yet light and airy when needed – it is important to have enough vestibule area for you gear when the heavens open! A lightweight alternative for one-person tropical shelters are the range of Hennessey hammocks.

Fly materials with a siliconised treatment are ideal as they do not wet-out, and they will not suffer from any potential osmosis and/or mildew. Siliconised treatments also increase the UV rating of nylon and are very lightweight.

Australia’s eastern seaboard, Central Asia, the U.S., Europe, and much of South America are temperate. It is perhaps no surprise that these tents offer more options in design than any other.

The range of conditions that can be experienced in temperate climates means that these tents have to be versatile, which means combining two seemingly contradictory features; complete weather proofness with good ventilation. Because of the design demands there is a tendency for temperate shelters to be a little heavy so manufacturers reduce material weights to shave grams. However, this may mean that the floor could suffer from osmosis on wet ground so it can be wise to invest in a ‘footprint’ for added protection.

Two doorways are a plus for cross ventilation but will add weight, and exterior vents should be closable from the inside in case of sudden storms. People who are considering a one-person shelter should also take a look at Hennessey hammocks and bivvy bags as they can be a very lightweight alternative to a tent.

Alpine tents must be durable enough to stand up to rough conditions for days at a time and are therefore made from extremely strong materials. To withstand wind gusts it is important that alpine tents have as much contact with the ground as possible so they normally boast many guy points. Double walled tent construction is normally preferred for alpine tents as it is easy to ventilate, warm when necessary and adds structural strength to the poles. The higher levels of UV exposure in alpine climates mean that siliconised fly fabrics are preferred - they provide protection without adding too much weight.

These tents also need a fully sealed, heavy duty tub floor for waterproofness, low height for shedding wind, multiple pole cross-over points for structural integrity, doors that unzip upwards, mesh panelling and external vents for condensation control, internal pockets and gear loft to stow stuff, at least one decent vestibule in which you can remove and stow wet gear, and most importantly, a rapid integral pitching system that is easy to complete with gloved hands in foul weather.