Check The List Before Buying Canvas
A canvas tent can be a very wise investment, providing you make sure it has all the right features and works for you and your family. We have outlined some key features below that will help ensure you buy only the best for your family holidays.
1. BUY NEW ZEALAND DESIGN FOR NEW ZEALAND CONDITIONS
New Zealand has extremely diverse and changeable weather patterns, and it is vital that the weather has as little impact on your holiday as possible. Kiwi Camping has a wealth of knowledge of what performs to our temperamental conditions and what does not. Other brands could be great in fine weather or overseas conditions but are not designed for a range of elements that New Zealanders will experience when camping.
2. TENT FABRIC
The most critical feature of any tent is the fabric it is made from. Kiwi Camping Co. uses a polyester/cotton blend for the simple reason that the life, performance and strength are far greater that other fabrics. Kiwi Camping Co. are probably the only company in New Zealand still offering a breathable, impregnated fabric in our canvas range which is essential to provide comfort in hot and cold conditions by allowing heat and moisture to escape through the pores of the fabric and still remain waterproof.
In NZ and Australia, the most common fabric used in tent manufacture is a polyester/cotton blend for the simple reason that the life, performance and strength are far greater than other fabrics. A good tent fabric needs to be breathable and waterproof. Getting the right weight ratio and thread count for the fabric to hold proofing is important to Kiwi Camping Co. This balance maximises the waterproof ability and life of the fabric but still allows a tent to breathe naturally, thus preventing condensation.
Waterproofing can be done through two processes:
- Impregnated Waterproof Fabrics
This process involves waterproofing by impregnating each fibre usually through a specially controlled immersion process and gives a usual water head rating from 450 - 750mm. This method has more advantages as impregnating allows the pores of the fabric to breathe naturally, avoiding condensation. The fibres in the fabric have the ability to move back around the stitch hole to prevent seam leakage.
- Coated Waterproof Fabrics
Spread coating can be likened to a coat of paint being spread onto the fabric. Most coated fabrics will have a water head rating of between 1000-1600mm. Although this method produces a higher waterproof rating, the spread coating seals the pores in the fabric and will not allow it to breathe. Once the coating is punctured by sewing, the fabric cannot shrink easily around the stitch holes and this makes the tent less waterproof. This type of proofing does not last as long, therefore, reducing the life of your tent. Adding a tent fly can help this, hence why all Kiwi Camping Co. tents offer a fly.
3. WEIGHT OF FABRIC
We believe we use the heaviest weight of all recreational tents on the NZ market. If a tent is not made of a heavy weight fabric it will not result in a long life. Lightweight fabrics can only be made waterproof by coating them, which does not always mean a comfortable tent.
4. INTERNAL AIR MASS AND AIR FLOW = A COOLER TENT
The key element to comfort is space. A combination of many design features such as higher wall and peak heights and straighter walls all lead to a greater internal volume in the tent and more internal volume means more internal air mass. This combined with the ability to circulate air through a tent all helps provide a cooler environment during the hotter summer months. The number and depth of the windows and the number of external doors and entrances all contribute to air moving through the tent.
5. TENT FLY
A tent fly for the main section of the tent is available for all of our canvas tents - many are supplied with one. A tent fly has the distinct advantage of keeping the tent cooler when the sun is out and warmer in the cool of the night, in the same way a building does with an inner ceiling and outer roof trapping air between the layers. A tent without a fly is also more prone to being blown about or down as additional guy ropes on the fly provide extra stability and security.
6. THREE WAY WINDOWS
Three way windows consist of clear PVC on the outside, mesh sewn in the middle and an internally zipped 'privacy' window on the inside. Both inside and outside flaps can be opened to allow airflow through the tent. Just because it is raining outside doesn't mean you have to sit in darkness; the external PVC layer can be closed to keep the rain out while the internal privacy screen is open to let the light in. Plus you don't have to go outside the tent to open the window. Three way windows are a unique feature of our premium New Zealand range of canvas tents.
7. HEAVY DUTY METAL PEGGING D's
All of our frame tents have metal pegging D's for extra strength and stability. If a tent does not have quality D's it can result in the webbing being bruised with a hammer when driving in the peg, eventually cutting the webbing.
8. WEIGHT OF FLOOR MATERIAL
We use super heavy 1100 denier PE fabric to withstand the foot traffic of many campers for many years.
9. 5 YEAR GUARANTEE
The Kiwi Camping Co. range of premium family canvas tents use top quality materials and features that you will not find in any other brand. In support of this, Kiwi Camping Co. is proud to offer a full five year guarantee against faulty materials or workmanship on our premium family canvas range. This does not cover storm damage and terms and conditions apply.
10. QUALITY ZIPS, GUY ROPES AND POLES
Kiwi Camping Co. canvas tents use heavy duty zips, guy ropes and poles so you can ensure your tent will last for many years.
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