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A tent is a shelter, consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles and/or ropes. Some tent styles are free-standing, while others are attached to the ground using guy ropes tied to stakes (pegs). Tents were first used as portable homes by nomadic peoples, but today, their main application is for recreational camping.[citation needed] Modern tents are usually made of fire-retardant material.

Tents range in size from those barely large enough for one person to sleep in up to huge (circus) tents capable of seating thousands of people. The bulk of this article is concerned with recreational camping using tents capable of sleeping from 1 up to about 10 people. Larger tents are discussed in a separate section below.

Tents for recreational camping are generally transportable by car. Depending on tent size and the experience of the person or people involved, such tents can usually be assembled (pitched) in between 5 and 25 minutes; disassembly (striking) takes a similar length of time (some very specialised tents have spring-loaded poles and can be 'pitched' in 2 seconds, but take somewhat longer to strike).

A sleeping bag is a protective "bag" for a person to sleep in, essentially a blanket that can be closed with a zipper or similar means, and functions as a bed in situations where it is impractical to carry around a full bed. Its primary purpose is to provide warmth and insulation. It also protects, to some extent, against wind, precipitation, and exposure to view, but a tent performs those functions better. The bottom surface also provides some cushioning, but a sleeping pad is usually used for that purpose. A bivouac sack (bivy) is a waterproof cover for a sleeping bag that may be used in place of a tent for lightweight travelers or as a backup if inclement weather occurs.

A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions. There are many ways to carry backpacks. One way is to carry it in one hand (like a briefcase). You can also use a backpack to hold water and other materials.

Backpacks are often preferred to handbags for carrying heavy loads, because the shoulders are better suited for bearing heavy weights for long periods of time than the hands. Large backpacks, used to carry loads over 10 kg, usually offload the largest part (up to about 90%) of their weight onto padded hip belts, leaving the shoulder straps mainly for stabilising the load. This improves the potential to carry heavy loads, as the hips are stronger than the shoulders, and also increases agility and balance, since the load rides nearer the person's own center of mass.