PEST FREE
During a family vacation and faced with an unexpected storm, we decided to rent a small unfurnished cabin at a state park. As soon as we had our sleeping bags spread on the floor, our pillows fluffed, and the room dark, a million feet started crawling over our faces and legs. Oh, the horror when we switched on the lights.
Every conceivable, imaginable creature had crawled out of the woodwork. I had never seen so many bugs in one place. On top of that, we had several raccoons circling around the cabin.
Then I remembered our tent. Not wanting to sleep indoors or outdoors for that matter, we decided to set the tent up inside. Thankfully, it was one of those easy pop up dome tents that didn’t require stakes.
After zipping ourselves inside the tent, we were finally comfortable.
We quickly learned the value of owning an indoor dome tent, and I’ve since added a smaller one to our preps for this type of emergency. During a crisis and without power, an indoor tent would also be helpful when dealing with mosquitoes or even bedbugs while on travel.
QUARANTINE
What to do in limited living conditions when a family member is sick? An Indoor tent enables you to set up a sick bay on a porch, or somewhere off to the side where they won’t be disturbed.
An indoor sick bay is especially helpful when you have children sharing a room with siblings. Having the sick child “camp” to the side of the room would not only separate them from being contagious, but they could turn it into a fun camping experience.
Worst case scenario, dealing with something highly contagious or a pandemic, having a means to separate family members in their own living space is critical.
EVACUATION
Having an indoor dome tent stashed in your bug out bag or vehicle is essential. Whether you plan to bug in or you have another destination in mind during an evacuation, a dome tent can provide you with some privacy whether you are camping inside a public emergency shelter or staying with friends and relatives.
A tent would help you to claim your space and make your temporary living conditions more bearable, especially when forced to sleep in a brightly lit, high traffic area. Being able to keep your belongings enclosed will also add just a tiny bit of security against thieves. (I’m not saying a lot, but at least they can’t just reach out and grab something off the cot behind you.) Indoor tents use little space, are usually cheap, and set up quickly, making them ideal for use as a temporary emergency shelter.
SLEEPOVERS
Just like evacuations, an indoor tent could provide a sleeping spot for visiting relatives. Many times when we’ve had family over, there would be children and adults using the couch or floor to make their beds. A tent would easily keep them sheltered off to the side of the room. An added benefit is that they would be less disturbed when family members are staying up late, or early risers. The tent would also come in handy for those surprise visitors who end up at your house during an emergency.
Are your kids looking for an adventure? Let them “camp” in the house. An indoor tent with a mattress pad (or sofa cushions) and sleeping bags can be a source of tremendous joy for kids.
HEAT
Indoor tents have been flying off the shelves in South Korea. Millions have sold to families trying to stay warm. With surging blackouts and rising utility costs, many Koreans claimed they’ve saved over half on their utility bills.
During a blackout and severe winter storm, an indoor tent could be a life saver.
When shopping for an indoor tent, keep the house size in mind. For inside, I purchased a 4X5 dome tent. Anything larger would have taken up too much space. I wasn’t concerned about it being waterproof for reasons I hope are obvious. This type of tent is relatively cheap and can usually be found for $25 or less., especially during seasonal sales. The Monodome Tent for 2 Persons is an inexpensive option from Amazon and even comes with its own carry bag.
For outside, I purchased a 7X10 dome tent with excellent reviews about how rainproof it was. Although much larger, it could also be used indoors if needed.
A true canopy bed with heavy curtains all the way around and across the top can serve the same purpose in trapping heat in the winter. (The princessy ones with something akin to tulle floating across the top with “panels” on each corner that wouldn’t reach more than about a foot in any direction won’t do anything to keep you warm.) That is why people originally had canopy beds with big heavy curtains on them – to stay warm in bed when the house was cold. But I still find value in the dome tent as it allows us to be more mobile, and there just aren’t that many real canopy beds around anymore.
Do you have any other ideas on the uses of an indoor tent? We would love to hear your experiences or ideas.
In 2000, we had an ice storm and our power was out for 5 days. Our daughters were 2 years old and we set up their little play tent in the living room, next to the fireplace to keep them warm. Temperatures were well below freezing outside and began dropping inside as well. That tent did a great job of keeping them safe and warm and entertained as well. We only had to stay at our house 3 of those 5 days because my parents got power before we did, but I am very grateful we had that tent to keep them safe.
You forgot the relaxing midwinter date night using an indoor tent and some white mass lights as stars. Might not be life saving…. unless you need a last min anniversary surprise….
How would having a dome tent help prevent bedbugs? You either have them or not…. they are super tiny and I don’t see how a tent can protect you.
During a Cub Scout camping trip it rained heavily and our four man tent leaked. Fortunately we had also taken our two man tent and were able to set it up inside the larger tent to use as a dry bedroom!!!
I have it one and use it when I argued with my husband 🙂 I’m kidding. I use it when I or he have a cold and need to sleep separately to prevent other caught colds.
An indoor tent can keep you warm during a winter storm an no power…Your body heat will keep the indoor tent comfortable, compared to a large bedroom . A three wick candle in a glass lantern will also keep the heat up inside the tent Do not go to sleep with the candle lit .
( fire hazard) accidents do happen
Pingback: Best Camping Gear for you and get the best one as your need
Pingback: Tents I love | Camping Mastery
These are great tips. I really like the quarentine idea. That will cut down on the loads of laundry we inevitably end up doing after the kids get sick.
Another bonus to setting up a tent indoors is to test out a new tent purchase to make sure it will meet your needs. It’s a lot easier to return a tent that hasn’t been used outside.
Thanks!
Can you use a camping tent on a bed inside ?
I don’t see why not as long as the tent fits the size of the bed.