At one stage all tents were made from a simple cotton canvas and the world was a far simpler place. Nowadays, thanks to the continuous development of ultra light, high performance man-made fabrics and materials, cotton tents are a little more rare. Cotton canvas tents are heavier compared to say nylon and so they are not ideal for the fast and light backpacker who requires ease of use and minimal weight. However there's nothing quite like the look and smell of a cotton tent and if you can afford the extra weight then we'd highly recommend it. Cotton tents also offer other benefits as cotton breathes better than made man-made materials. Your cotton tent will keep you cooler when it's warm and warmer when it's cool. One thing to bear in mind is that a cotton tent may need to be weathered in (unless it has had a weather-proof coating) so it is quite natural for the tent to leak at first before becoming entirely waterproof.