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Does Your Tent Have A Vestibule? This Is What It’s For

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Brandon

Would you like to know what a tent vestibule is for?

Well that’s good, because I’ll be talking about the ins and outs to this very useful feature.

They aren’t always needed, but they are really great to use nonetheless.

Discover if you really need one for your camping ventures or if you should stick with a tent that doesn’t have one.

So What Exactly Is A Tent Vestibule?


A vestibule for your tent is extra space under the rain fly.

The rain fly stretches right out, covering a much larger space than the just body of the tent – creating the vestibule room.

Essentially, it is a mudroom, a place to store your gear out of the elements but also out of the tent itself, just to keep the interior as clean as possible.

Example Of A Vestibule Room

Big Agnes Foidel Canyon 2 Tent

Cooking In A Vestibule

Cooking inside your vestibule is a big no-no. I don’t care how desperate you are for a cooked meal, LIGHTWEIGHT fabric that gets heated up doesn’t end well!

Even if you don’t care about any of that, carbon monoxide can and will kill you, it’s just a matter of “when” this is going to happen, when the tent builds up with enough of it and puts you in a coma!

At the very least, you will get very sick.

If there is no air flow or a lack of it, you will first fall into a coma and then die. It’s that simple!

It’s not worth the risk, it’s actually a “lose-lose-lose” situation, because you will be attracting animals to your sleeping area as well.

Basically, you’re just asking for something bad to happen if you decide to cook inside the vestibule room, so don’t do it!

Not All Tents Have Vestibules, But Why Not?


Vestibules are definitely becoming more and more popular, but there are still a large amount of tents that don’t have them.

That’s because they aren’t needed.

For example – Not all large tents need one. Large tents are mostly used for car camping, so you can either keep your gear in the car or inside the tent since they provide a lot of space.

Some ultralight tents don’t contain vestibules either, and that’s because they focus on staying as light as possible.

Available In All Shapes And Sizes

You will find vestibule rooms on all tent sizes, they aren’t just available in 1 specific size.

They can be found on 1 person tents, 2 person, 3, 4, 6, all the way up to 12!

On most tents, they are located at the front of the tent.

A 6-Person Tent With A Vestibule

Big Agnes Flying Diamond - 6 Tent Canopy

However, sometimes they are located on the side of a tent, or even in the middle.

How are they in the middle?

They are called tunnel vestibules, and they are usually found on larger tents with 2 rooms.

The vestibule room is much bigger on larger tents, providing ample space for everyone using the tent.

Do You Really Need One?


  • Winter Camping – You will definitely need one in the winter time. During winter, even the slightest bit of snow can make its way into the tent and promote condensation buildup.You can avoid this happening with a vestibule room. You are just asking for a disaster to happen if you decide to skip this step.
  • Car Camping – If you are going car camping, then no, you do not always need a vestibule room. You can stash your gear in the car if need be, but that is entirely up to you
  • Backpacking – You’re more than likely going to need a vestibule room for backpacking. Backpacking is all about having the least amount of stress as possible and having fun, while not having a vestibule room could PROMOTE stress!

Exceptions When Backpacking

So there ARE some instances where a vestibule room won’t be needed when you are backpacking, like when you have a 2-person tent and you’re going by yourself since you can stash your gear inside the tent.

Or when you are backpacking with a buddy (with a 4-person tent) and you have split the weight up. If there is enough room inside the tent for your gear, then you will be fine.

What I’m trying to say is that you NEED to take your inventory into consideration.

The last thing you want to do is reach your destination and then wonder where you are going to put your gear!

That’s why vestibules work so well, so you don’t have to store your gear inside the tent where it’s going to create a dirty, muddy, and sandy mess!

My Final Thoughts


Basically, you only need a tent with a vestibule if you are going camping in the winter time or when you are going backpacking.

Either way, I never go backpacking without a tent that doesn’t have one.

I find vestibules to be very useful – all the time!

The only time I don’t use them is when I am car camping, but even then I still might consider it – depending on how many people I am camping with.

Did you like this post? Let me know in the comments below.

1. Do you want a tent with a vestibule?

2. Did you learn a thing or two from this article?

Thanks for stopping by!

 

-Brandon

Camping Mastery

6 thoughts on “Does Your Tent Have A Vestibule? This Is What It’s For”

  1. Ahmad says:
    March 29, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    Hey Brandon,

    Thanks for this amazing post. Let me start off by saying that I have very little knowledge of camping and outdoor stuff. I’ve been an indoorsy guy most of my life and only recently started getting out of my comfort zone. I live in Minnesota, which should be renamed to Snow Country, just saying.
    My buddies went camping this winter and was telling me how they didn’t have enough space for some of their gear. Had I known about vestibules back then, I would have recommended it for them. They definitely sound like a very useful thing to have and I’m going to refer my friends to your site in the future. Great information. Thanks again.

    Best,
    Ahmad

    Reply
    1. Brandon says:
      March 31, 2017 at 8:23 am

      First and foremost, thanks for the comment.

      It’s good to see that you are looking out for your buddies. That’s what we need more of in this world – mates looking out for mates 🙂

      And I’m super glad you’re taking on the world of camping, while I wish you all the best with your future camping trips.

      Cheers!

      Reply
  2. Johann H Ragnarsson says:
    March 30, 2017 at 2:59 pm

    Great points.
    And I so agree with you to have a vestibule. Like you I like camping, and I can stress that when I buy a tent, it must be vestibule in it. It has so many pros as you say. For me the most important two things are; a) it gives more space because you can move part of the baggage in it, so you have more space to sleep. And b) because I travel with picnic table and chair it´s excellent under it a look around and enjoys the view on same time.

    Reply
    1. Brandon says:
      March 31, 2017 at 8:40 am

      That’s correct. If you can get a tent with a vestibule and a shelter to go with it, like the Kelty Gunnison Tent, you’ll be able to sit under it while out of the rain and wind. Not all vestibules allow you to create an additional shelter out of them, but if you can find one that provides this feature, you’ll love how convenient they really are 🙂

      Reply
  3. Cedes says:
    March 31, 2017 at 4:30 am

    I’ve been camping since I was a kid but I don’t think I ever paid attention if our tent had a vestibule. I guess we always stored all the extra stuff inside the car. Since I have my own kids now we have not gone camping, yet. I can see how this would be very useful. We’re going to need to buy a new tent for our growing family in the near future, so I’ll definitely keep this in mind. Thanks for the useful information.

    Reply
    1. Brandon says:
      April 3, 2017 at 4:29 pm

      Really, never? Well they aren’t really needed when you go car camping, but they are a very great option for when you go backpacking, which is probably why you’ve never seen one before since you’re not a backpacker.

      Reply

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