“Party tents” or “marquees” are common for large wedding, fairs, and other gatherings. They are made from tough vinyl. These tents are very expensive and require specilized equipment and skill to erect, so they usually must be rented. Many corporate companies own marquee tents but have them installed and maintained by qualified professionals. The larger party tents are held down with tensioned rachets. Sizes range from 10′ x 10′ to 150′ x 400′. Properly installed party tents are dramatic and very strong.
Shelters are not normally used for sleeping. Instead they may act as a store or provide shelter from sun, rain, or dew.
- A flysheet consists of a single rectangular sheet of material. Two opposite sides are held up in the middle by poles, or sometimes just a rope between conveniently placed trees. The tops of the poles are attached via guy ropes to pegs, in order to keep the poles upright. Additional guy ropes are attached to the lower edges to pull them outwards away from the poles.
- A gazebo uses a framework of metal poles to support a roof. This structure provides a lot more usable space than does a flysheet, since the gently sloping roof allows for a reasonable amount of headroom even at the edges (like a frame tent). Because a gazebo is free-standing, it is often used as a shelter for a temporary shop at a fair or street market.
- Beach tents are often a simplified form of dome tent and provide a useful (relatively sand-free) place to temporarily store beach equipment, but are at most showerproof. Some beach tents use specially treated fabric which is opaque to ultra-violet light, and so provide some protection against sunburn. Maximum height is typically about 120 cm (4 ft), and they are usually not large enough for an adult to lie down in.
- Fishermen’s tents are also modified dome tents, often with a projecting awning high enough to sit under, but sometimes with no closable doorway.
Tent fabric may be made of many materials including cotton (canvas), nylon, felt and polyester. Cotton absorbs water, so it can become very heavy when wet, but the associated swelling tends to block any minute holes so that wet cotton is more waterproof than dry cotton. Nylon and polyester are much lighter than cotton and do not absorb much water; with suitable coatings they can be very waterproof, but they tend to deteriorate over time due to a slow chemical breakdown caused by ultraviolet light. Since stitching makes tiny holes in a fabric, it is important that any seams are sealed or taped to block up these holes.
Rain resistance is measured as a hydrostatic head in millimetres (mm). This indicates the pressure of water needed to penetrate a fabric. Heavy or wind-driven rain has a higher pressure than light rain. Standing on a groundsheet increases the pressure on any water underneath. Fabric with a hydrostatic head of 1000 mm or less is best regarded as shower resistant, with 1500 mm being usually suitable for summer camping. Tents for year-round use generally have at least 2000 mm; expedition tents intended for extreme conditions are often rated at 3000 mm. Where quoted, groundsheets may be 5000 mm or more.
Many tent manufacturers indicate capacity by such phrases as “3 berth” or “2 person”. These numbers indicate how many people the manufacturer thinks can be fit snugly into a tent with just sleeping bags. These numbers do not allow for any personal belongings such as luggage, inflatable mattresses, camp beds, cots, etc. Experience indicates that camping may be more comfortable if the actual number of campers is 1 or even 2 less than the manufacturer’s suggestion.
Tents can be improvised using waterproof fabric, string, and sticks. This allows them to be easily built and moved.
A Porch swing is a garden seat that has sun protection on top, and can swing like a swing. The seat will give place to about three adults.
Garden furniture, also called patio furniture, is a type of furniture specifically designed for outdoor use. It is typically made of weather resistant materials. The oldest surviving examples of garden furniture were found in the gardens of Pompeii.
A wide range of garden furniture is now manufactured and used worldwide. The materials used to manufacture modern patio furniture include stones, metals, vinyl, plastics, glass, and treated woods.
Garden furniture is often sold as a patio set consisting of a table, four or six chairs and a parasol. Garden parasols are a specialist type of umbrella designed to provide shade from the sun. Parasols / umbrellas fit through a hole in the center of the table and are secured in a base. Long chairs, referred to as chaise lounges, are also common items. Patio heaters, that run on bottled butane or propane, are often used to enable people to sit outside at night or in cold weather.
A picnic table (or sometimes a picnic bench ) is a modified table with benches expressly for the purpose of eating a meal outdoors (picnicking). In the past, picnic tables were typically made of wood, but modern tables can be made out of anything from recycled plastic to brushed metal.
There are currently a wide variety of hammocks available. There are hammocks that are designed specifically for backpacking and include mosquito netting along with pockets for nighttime storage. There are hammocks made out of thin and lightweight material which makes them ideal for taking on daytrips. Other hammocks include self-standing metal or wood structures that support the hammock. Although many people today purchase them premade, it is also possible to make your own hammock.
History
The hammock was developed in Pre-Columbian Latin America and continues to be produced widely throughout the region, including among the Urarina of the Peruvian Amazon. Though it is unknown who invented the hammock, many maintain that it was a device created out of tradition and need. The English language derivation of hammock and various European equivalents is borrowed from the Spanish hamaca or hamac around 1700, in turn taken from a Taíno culture Arawakan word (Haiti) meaning “fish net.”
Hammocks
Hammocks were first introduced in Europe by Christopher Columbus when he brought many hammocks back to Spain from islands in the present day Bahamas.
One of the reasons that hammocks grew in popularity in the New World because of their ability to provide safety. By being suspended, sleepers were better protect from snakes and other harmful creatures. It also allowed people to avoid water, dirt, and other unsanitary conditions that existed in the early New World.
They were not part of Classic era Maya civilization; they were said to have arrived in the Yucatán from the Caribbean less than two centuries before the Spanish conquest. They are made of various materials (including palm-based in western Amazonia), and the quality depends greatly on the thread and the number of threads used. In Mexico, hammocks are made in villages surrounding the capital city of the Yucatán, Mérida, and are sold throughout the world as well as locally.
Mayan hammocks are made on a loom and are hand woven by men, women and children. Hammocks are so symbolically and culturally important for the Yucatecans that even the most humble of homes have hammock hooks in the walls; in rural El Salvador, a family home may have multiple hammocks strung across the main room, for use as seating, as beds, or as sleep-swings for infants.
The earliest hammocks were woven out of bark from a Hamack tree, and later this material was replaced by Sisal plant because it was more abundant.
The hammock is a fabric sling used for sleeping or resting. It consists of cloth or a network of twine or thin natural or synthetic rope which is stretched between two firm points such as trees or attached to a metal or wood structure. Hammocks are widely used for relaxation in backyards, cottages, and waterfront areas, and they are carried as a lightweight type of bed on camping trips. They are also used for sleeping on ships and spacecraft.
A fire ring or Fire Pit is a device used to contain campfires and prevent them from spreading and turning into wildfires.
A fire ring may be nothing more than a short, wide section of metal tube, partially buried in the ground. Slightly more advanced fire rings may be partially covered with metal bars so that the fire may be used for cooking. These types are seen at many campsites. Fire rings in urban areas, such as on beaches, may be made of poured concrete. Makeshift fire rings can be constructed out of a ring of stones where pre-constructed rings are not available (care should be taken as some stones can explode when heated due to trapped gas pockets or thermal expansion).
