Tent Color - Heat/Mood

[Twizzler]

I understand that brighter colors are happier but I was wondering what, if any, effect the color of your tent has on heat reflection or absorption from the sun. Also, do you prefer a lighter colored tent so it is nice and bright inside or darker so it is easier to sleep in. I'm thinking about getting a Lightheart tent and I have a choice in colors. I was originally going to go with a darker color but then was told that the dark colors will make the tent scorching in the summer. What have you experienced? What do you know?

[white_russian]

Yeah its just like a black car is hotter than a white car in the summer; tents follow the same laws of physics.

[skinewmexico]

I have a Sublite made of Tyvek, and it is great at reflecting heat.

[Nean]

Since you will spend most of your time in the tent sleeping and w/o the sun -- the happy/heat factor knows no color.:)

I like a lot of mesh in my tent so too much heat isn't a factor. Heating up faster is a bonus in the mornings when its cool or cold.:)

Also, better to blend in when setting up camp- unless you want to draw attention to yourself.;)

I'd pick less bright!:)

[leaftye]

Since it's winter, I'll answer like it applies to freezing temperatures.

On another forum people were talking about why canvas anoraks and tents are usually white, even when they can be colored. If I understand it correctly, it's because it allows light to filter thru it better so that the surface beneath warms better. In an anorak, the canvas would stop the wind, but would allow the sun to penetrate one layer deeper to provide its warmth. In a tent, it'd do the same thing, but the important part is that it'd hit a sleeping bag. Sleeping bags are usually dark colored, which helps radiant heat (sunlight) to better pull moisture out of the bag instead of freezing within it.

[Toolshed]

I like mooted blues and green simply because they don't stand out so much - Especially if I ever need to camp near a road/trailhead.

However, my 4-season tents are Dayglo Green (Kelty) and bright Orange (Eureka), which I makes them easier to find in windblown snow conditions, though I usually no longer winter camp above treeline or in blizzard conditions.

[garlic08]

Dark colors not only absorb radiation during the day, they also radiate heat better at night. (That's why you see black automobile radiators.) I think that's also why most sleeping bags and tents are not black. Winter clothing, though, is often black, because it's worn during the day and (hopefully) not exposed to the cold night sky.

[Cabin Fever]

You set up your tent in the evening. Other than car camping, when would you ever have your tent set up in the scorching sun?

[modiyooch]

I paid extra to get a tent that would blend in with the surroundings, green. I don't like to be seen. It's my understanding, as stated above, that the brighter colors like red are for visibility in adverse conditions.

[Toolshed]

You set up your tent in the evening. Other than car camping, when would you ever have your tent set up in the scorching sun?
Alaska. 78 degree day. F'ing Mosquitos everywhere. set up tent. Dive in. Kill the 79 that came in with you and lie there in the increasing warmth of the tent, panting with relief while you watch 1,000 mosquitos poking their tiny probiscus's throught the mesh trying to get to you.
Which is worse, the stale heat in the tent, the fact that you now got to pee, or facing the hordes of bloodsuckers?

[mweinstone]

my tents clear. so chicks want a peice of me. like brittny.

[skinewmexico]

You set up your tent in the evening. Other than car camping, when would you ever have your tent set up in the scorching sun?

In the desert, where I live, and it's too hot to hike in the middle of the day. Or summer, when the sun sets at 8:30. It's not a long green tunnel everywhere.

[Wise Old Owl]

Since it's winter, I'll answer like it applies to freezing temperatures.

On another forum people were talking about why canvas anoraks and tents are usually white, even when they can be colored. If I understand it correctly, it's because it allows light to filter thru it better so that the surface beneath warms better. In an anorak, the canvas would stop the wind, but would allow the sun to penetrate one layer deeper to provide its warmth. In a tent, it'd do the same thing, but the important part is that it'd hit a sleeping bag. Sleeping bags are usually dark colored, which helps radiant heat (sunlight) to better pull moisture out of the bag instead of freezing within it.


Maybe - maybe not. Compare cotton canvas today to a piece off a sailing ship from prior to WW2 or a tent from the same period. Modern manufactured canvas was asked to produce a large quantity of period tents for movie making that was thinner to allow more light though for film making "under the soft tones of the tent canvas." The new canvas stuck and is used in just about everything today. Hey its a second explaination and I heard it a Rondevous.

[Powder River]

I would say that the stealth factor would be much more important than any heat considerations. You don't want to advertise where you are camped near a road, and there are times when you might need to find a creative camp site.

[bigcranky]

My Tarptents have all been gray. When I got a new SMD tent, I had a choice of green or gray silnylon. The green was very pretty -- but sitting inside, the color made me ill. So we got the gray one.

[HeartFire]

I understand that brighter colors are happier but I was wondering what, if any, effect the color of your tent has on heat reflection or absorption from the sun. Also, do you prefer a lighter colored tent so it is nice and bright inside or darker so it is easier to sleep in. I'm thinking about getting a Lightheart tent and I have a choice in colors. I was originally going to go with a darker color but then was told that the dark colors will make the tent scorching in the summer. What have you experienced? What do you know?

Twizzler,
I have now made several tents in a beautiful shade of deep purple, one navy blue and one blaze orange. I have talked two people out of pink tents (but in the future if someone wants a pink tent I will just smile and make it).

Imagine trying to stealth camp somewhere on the trail in a hot pink tent! You wold stand out like a Barbie Doll!

The blue tent is quite dark, so there won't be much sunlight filtering through, though it really was a very sharp looking tent. I've made a purple one for myself, because I like purple.

There are several green colors etc that would look nice. What color were you thinking of? The gray is very 'neutral' for the woods, it blends in and can be hidden, it's sort of translucent so light does filter through it.

I'm not trying to talk you out of a colored tent by any means, I'd love to make one in the color of your choice, just giving my perspective on the issue.

HeartFire of LightHeart Gear

[Twizzler]

Visibility vs. heat...Hmmm... After thinking about it I agree that I would much rather not be noticed. What do you think is the "best" shade that would provide invisibility but still would not be soaking in the heat too much? Do you think the grey?

[leaftye]

I'd start by avoiding any of the colors that leaves turn if you want to avoid heat.