What a tent with a porch is
A porch is the covered space at a tent's door, outside the room you sleep in. Boots, wet coats and rucksacks go there, so the sleeping area stays dry and clean. Makers call it a porch, a vestibule, an entrance hall or a hall. A tent is filed here when its description uses any of those words, or a front canopy, so this range runs from a trekking tent's small vestibule to the hall of a family tent. Car and caravan awnings have ranges of their own.
The kinds in this range
- Backpacking tents with a vestibule: the Naturehike Star Trails EXT 1-person tent has a vestibule of about 0.45 square metres, and the 2-person Mountain Leap a 1.26 square metre entrance hall. See backpacking and trekking tents.
- Tunnel and family tents with a hall big enough for chairs, such as the Naturehike Village 6.0 and the 5 to 8 person tent with 2 bedrooms and 1 hall. See one bedroom and living room tents.
- Hot tents with a front hall or porch: on the fireproof 2-person hot tent the stove jack is in its extended front hall, and on the OneTigris Northgaze TC the entrance fabric unzips to form a porch roof. See hot tents with a stove jack.
- A caravan porch awning and a beach shelter: an inflatable porch awning for caravans and motorhomes, and a pop-up beach shelter with an open-front canopy. For more, see tents with awnings and car awnings.
How much porch you need
For one walker, a small vestibule holds a rucksack and boots. On the Naturehike Mongar UL the entrance hall is about 0.6 square metres for the 1-person tent and 1.21 square metres for two. Two people need room for two packs, and a porch on each side means neither climbs over the other: the ultralight trekking-pole tent here has two doors, each with a vestibule. For a family, a hall big enough to sit in makes a wet day bearable. Check the product page for the porch size as well as the inner tent's.
Porches in wind and rain
Pitch with the porch door away from the wind, so rain does not blow in each time you open it. On most small tents the porch has no floor, so put boots on a bag rather than the wet grass. A footprint can help under a family tent's hall. See groundsheets and footprints.
Questions people ask about tents with a porch
Can I cook in the porch?
No. Cook outside, away from the tent: a stove in a porch can set the tent alight and gives off carbon monoxide, and a barbecue gives it off even after it has gone out. In a hot tent, use only the stove made for it, through its stove jack, with a carbon monoxide alarm.
Is a porch the same as an awning?
Nearly. A porch is part of the tent; an awning is usually a bigger cover that attaches to the tent, a car or a caravan. See tents with awnings.
How long does delivery take?
Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when that tent usually arrives, so check it before ordering for a set date.
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