Emergency Tents
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Can Save Your Life
Emergency tents can save your life . . . it’s true, even the most primitive of shelters can provide just enough protection from the wind, the rain and the cold in certain conditions. Emergency tents can come in useful in many different situations, and it’s always a good idea to have an emergency tent handy either in the trunk of the car or somewhere handy in the house in case you have to leave in a hurry (like in a hurricane emergency situation) and you’re not sure where you’re going or if there’ll be any shelter when you get there.
There are lots of different types of emergency tent available, depending on how many people it will realistically need to shelter and the exact conditions which you may come across.
Tube Style Emergency Tents
This type of emergency tent is light, it’s cheap, it’s easy to put up . . . no wonder it’s one of the most common type of emergency tent found in hurricane disaster supply equipment packs. They’re generally erected by a ridge cord between two posts . . . trees are good, and open at both ends (that’s why it’s called a tube). If, however, you find that the wind is howling straight down your tube style emergency tent you can always block off one end with a poncho or other rain sheet. They’re usually big enough for two people and can be bought for less than 10 bucks, so there’s really no excuse not to have this type of emergency tent in amongst your hurricane survival kit.
Tarp Emergency Tents
Outdoor “guys and gals of the woods” types will probably know how to build an emergency tent from nothing more than a tarp and a piece of washing line. The end result is very similar to the tube style emergency tent, but it’s important that you learn how to put up this type of shelter, preferably before you have been made homeless by a hurricane or some other disaster.
Tube style emergency tents and tarp emergency tents can provide you with a little temporary shelter, but the chances are that you are your family may need something just a little more comfortable if they are going to need to use it for more than a night or two. An emergency family tent could keep you safe and comfortable for a number of days if necessary. Make sure that your emergency tent is large enough to accommodate all members of your family, and if there are four of you and you only have a tarp or a tube style emergency tent, you’d better make sure that you’ve got two of them.
All in all an emergency tent needs to have these qualities;
- emergency tents need to be strong to withstand even the most difficult conditions
- emergency tents need to be watertight, ‘cos the chances are it’ll rain when you could really do without it
- emergency tents need to be wind resistant
- emergency tents need to be as comfortable as possible
- emergency tents should preferably be light in case you have to carry it away from the disaster area
- emergency tents need to be easily erected
