Camping Panda
It doesn’t matter if you’re a lonely wolf or a big family. When it comes to finding the best camping tent, you must consider the shelter’s portability, resistance to elements, and installation ease.Â
Finding a tent that fits the bill is often challenging, but luckily, we know which are the best camping tents around. Check them out in our rundown.
Waterproof
Is it well protected?
Ventilation
Is it breathable?
Longevity
Is it build for years to come?
Price
Is it the best value for your $?
Set Up
Is it easy to set-up?
Durability
Is it strong enough?
Convenient
Is it designed for comfort?
Sleeping Capacity
Is it spacious and roomy?
18
Hours Researched
25
Products Evaluated
11k
Reviews Considered
2
Sources Researched
One of the best camping tents for families and larger groups, the Coleman Montana is a roomy tent that can easily accommodate up to 8 adults in bivvy sacks or 6 people sleeping on queen-size air beds.Â
Designed to withstand moderate rain, the tent also boasts plenty of mesh windows as well as a mesh ceiling. It’s perfect for camping in the warmer season, and pitching it up is also fast and easy. Relatively light for its size and compact enough when packed to fit on a motorbike, this tent is the best for car camping, tailgating, and outings with your family or friends.
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Coleman Sundome comes as a great alternative to our best overall. It is ideal for groups of up to 6 people looking for an affordable summer camping tent. A generous interior provides sufficient space for up to two queen-size air mattresses, or you could share the space between six adults in sleeping bags.
The tent boasts a conventional yet easy set up, and comes with a removable rainfly. It’s also relatively light and ideal for 3-season camping.
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Boasting a declared capacity of 9 people, the CORE 9 is an excellent choice if you’re looking after a premium quality camping tent. This shelter is huge, providing sufficient floor space for air beds and gear alike. Preferred by first-time campers for its instant design, it’s easy to set up in less than 5 minutes.
Perfect for the summer, it also boasts a panoramic skylight and plenty of mesh windows. Airflow is further enhanced by convenient vents located at floor level. Two entrances bring further value and overall, this tent is durable enough to stand by your side for the years to come.
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Occasional campers and backpackers looking for a small, lightweight tent for maximum two persons will undoubtedly like the Wakeman Outdoors. Perhaps the greatest feature of this tent is the very attractive price point.Â
The tent might not be as durable as its more expensive peers, but it does what it’s supposed to do brilliantly. Made from 190T fabric, it keeps you dry in light to moderate rain, and also warm in colder weather. Preferred by bikers and hikers, this camping tent is a great choice for the adventurers on a low budget.
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Designed with families in mind, the Gazelle T4 is an unpretentious tent for camping in warmer climates. It withstands light to moderate rain, while mesh screens and large windows provide plenty of airflow.
Large enough to fit a queen-size air mattress, it’s an excellent choice for parents and up to two younger kids. Highlights also include two doors for easy access as well as storage pockets. The tent also comes in a smaller and larger variant, so you can easily find the right one.
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Another tent from Core that has made it to our list is this extended dome model. Like our premium pick, it boasts a 9-person capacity. However, even if the floor space is actually larger, the dome walls make it feel slightly more claustrophobic than its cabin tent peer above.
That said, you’ll still get plenty of space for both people and gear. The tent can fit three queen-size air beds and boasts a generous head clearance. Mesh screens on the ceiling, a removable fly, and plenty of windows also allow you to achieve the right level of ventilation. Suitable for camping in warmer climates, the tent also holds up well to light rain and wind. An excellent choice for avid campers, tailgaters, as well as anglers and hunters.
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The Wenzel Klondike might in reality be a 6-person tent instead of an 8-person one, but it’s still one of the most versatile camping tents out there. Its greatest strength is the huge screen room that can sleep three, but that’s more suitable for setting up a covered breakfast or leisure area.
This vestibule comes with a waterproof ceiling and floor, and large mesh panels on the door and walls. As such, it’s perfect to use whenever the weather is mild. The interior is also spacious. Just perfect for 6 adults or a family of four.
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The WeatherMaster 6 is comparable to the Klondike in terms of versatility. Boasting a 6-person capacity, this tent also impresses with a large screened room you can use as a storage vestibule or to create an additional room during summer.
The main living space is longer yet narrower than Klondike’s. You’ll still have plenty of space to set up your camping bed and move around, though. We particularly like the hinged door with awning that provides access to the main sleeping area. Thanks to this feature, the tent is perfect for splitting between two families or a larger gang, as long as you don’t mind the lack of floor or solid panels in the vestibule.
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The Bessport camping tent is an excellent choice for those who love adventuring alone into the outdoors, or a maximum of two people. Made to withstand whatever the elements are throwing at it, this shelter impresses with a low profile frame and thick, durable walls.
Advertised as a 3-season tent but also suitable to use in winter, as long as the weather is mild, it boasts one entrance, two windows, and two vestibules. This tent also comes in a slightly larger variant that makes it perfect if you also want to keep your gear inside.
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Ending up our list of best camping tents, the HIKERGARDEN tent can easily satisfy families and larger groups. It can sleep up to 8 adults in sleeping bags, or you can use it for fewer people with lots of gear.Â
Ideal for families, it comes with two room dividers, one of which can be turned into a video curtain for cartoons or movie nights. It also boasts a panoramic skylight, and the instant set up allows you to erect it in only 5 minutes. The fiberglass poles are not as strong as steel, but keep weight low. All in all, a great choice for comfortable family camping.
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Camping is one of the most popular summer activities for many of us. Whether the campsite is the main attraction or just the base for some hiking, finding an adequate sleeping arrangement is essential. Camping tents come in all shapes and sizes, and knowing how to choose the best camping tent for you can make the difference between a stellar and a meh experience.
The first step to choosing the best camping tent is deciding which type of tent you want. There are two aspects to consider: the shape of the tent and the way you pitch it.
Based on shape, we can distinguish between the following types of tents:
Now that you know what tent shapes you can choose from, there are three pitching options – traditional, instant, and pop-up.
Once you have chosen the desired shape and style, you must consider the size of the tent you need. There aren’t any rules, but you should know that manufacturers often state a tent’s capacity based on how many people it can fit if they sleep in sleeping bags.
If you don’t like crowded spaces or want to bring a camping cot or air mattress with you, go for a larger size. For instance, a 3-person tent is desirable for a couple and camping gear, and so on.
Tents can have either single or double walls – the latter consisting of the main section and a rainfly on top of it. Due to the absence of a tarp, single-wall tents are lighter and faster to pitch. They are often preferred by backpackers who like to travel light but are more prone to condensation problems. On the contrary, double-wall tents have fewer condensation problems but are slightly heavier.
Which is the best camping tent is ultimately down to you, but if you decide to go for a single wall tent, pick a model with proper ventilation, or you could wake up in a puddle.
Another important thing to consider before buying are the tent poles. You can typically choose between aluminum or fiberglass poles.
Aluminum poles are lightweight, durable, and resistant, but relatively expensive; fiberglass poles are more flexible, but heavier. They offer good resistance but are less durable than aluminum.
Once again, consider your camping style before deciding. If you need a tent for casual summer camping that is light and withstands light to moderate wind, fiberglass poles could be a great choice. For extreme weather camping, go for a tent with aluminum poles.
A few other important features to look for in a camping tent include:
If you’re looking for the best value for money when picking a camping tent, you can’t go wrong with a tent from Core or Coleman. Both brands brag with their durable tents; overall, the tents from Core offer higher resistance to wind and rain, whereas Coleman have good performance and typically lower price tags.
It really depends on your needs. For family camping, a tent such as the Coleman Montana or Core 9 Instant Cabin could be your best bets. Both tents are roomy enough for families with up to 4 kids and lots of gear. The Coleman Sundome, on the other hand, is a better choice for hikers. This tent comes in various sizes, has good resistance to elements, and is very affordable.
Coleman Montana is undeniably the best camping tent for the money if you’re looking for a larger capacity tent. If you don’t mind dropping more cash for a more feature-packed product, the Core 9 Instant Cabin is a great alternative.
An expensive tent isn’t necessarily a high quality one, but as a rule of thumb, the more durable and resistant to elements the tent is, the more expensive it is. This because the technologies used to improve water tightness and wind resistance are relatively expensive. To assess the overall quality of a tent, it is always recommended to check out its features and read what other users have to say about it, to determine the tent’s value for money.
Interest in purchasing camping gear is always higher during the actual camping season, that’s why buying a tent off season or at the end of the season could save you some money.Â
