Camping offers a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature without breaking the bank on accommodation. However, ensuring a comfortable and secure experience requires investing in a high-quality, reliable tent to shelter you and your family.
A well-designed camping tent serves not only as a sleeping area and storage space but also as a barrier against pests and unexpected weather. Whether you’re seeking a lightweight tent for easy setup and portability or one spacious enough for the whole family, our experts have curated a list of top recommendations for your next outdoor adventure.
Having extensively tested outdoor gear for years, including hiking boots, socks, and backpacks, the experts and analysts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have honed their evaluation process. Factors such as ease of setup, portability, comfort, and durability were carefully considered in selecting the best camping tents available.
After thorough vetting and assessment, we’re confident that these tents offer the quality and performance you need for a memorable camping experience.
Last update on 2024-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon.
Top 5 Camping Tents of 2024
1.Eureka Jade Canyon X4
- The spacious and kid-friendly Eureka! Jade Canyon X4, four-person, three-season camping tent is an ideal choice for your next family camping adventure.
- The tent’s 7-foot interior peak height and near-vertical walls accommodate even the tallest camper.
- Eureka!’s CabinMAX architecture offers 30% more livable space than typical cabin tent designs and lower step-in height makes entry and exit easier for campers.
Last update on 2024-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon
Designed with small families or groups of four in mind, this camping tent offers an exceptionally spacious and comfortable interior. With four storage pockets included, organizing essentials such as books, tablets, and solar phone chargers is a breeze. Boasting a generous 64-square-foot footprint, it stands out as one of the roomiest options available. Additionally, it features an impressive maximum height of seven feet, providing ample headroom for taller campers to move around comfortably without stooping.
In our rigorous Lab tests, the Jade Canyon consistently earned top marks for performance. Our experts found it to be exceptionally easy to set up and take down, streamlining the camping experience. However, it’s worth noting that this tent weighs just over 20 pounds, making it somewhat hefty to transport.
With a pole arrangement that takes some getting accustomed to, the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 4 is a rather simple tent that eventually has an extremely tall inside (about 7 feet!). That and the extremely affordable price range made it an obvious choice for our review’s Best Buy Award, which went to the Best Value for Tall Folks. Though the fly covering is at most minimum, there are other good details like a power connection port, stash pockets for the guy lines, and reliable bungee cords that attach the fly. This tent is not the best option for really damp or windy locations, as the window covers are only flaps of water-resistant cloth that do not zip to keep out the elements.
Pros
- Easy, quick set up and disassembly
- Spacious and comfortable
- High-quality construction
- Tall height
Cons
- Heavy to carry
2.Marmot Limestone Tent
- 4 person, 60 square foot lightweight tent ideal for group or family camping; includes seam taped, full coverage weatherproof rain fly
- Catenary cut fly and tent body to increase air flow, keeping occupants cooler and drier
- Color coded “easy pitch” poles and clips for quick and easy setup
Last update on 2024-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon
If you’re a casual camper who only hits the trails once or twice a year, affordability becomes a key consideration. That’s where Marmot’s camping tent shines. While you might sacrifice a bit of floor space with the Limestone Tent, our experts emphasize its lightweight design and exceptional value.
This tent stands out as one of the lightest options available, making it easy to transport. It features two convenient doors for effortless entry and exit, along with two vestibules for added comfort. During Lab tests, it impressed with top scores for durability, and its fly cover effectively repelled water without leaving any residue behind in our rain spray test.
Although the tent’s height could be taller, our pros found it incredibly simple to set up and take down. Overall, the Marmot Limestone Tent offers excellent construction and reliability at a budget-friendly price point.
The quality of the Marmot Limestone 4 indicates that it is a significant improvement over your typical, entry-level 4-person tent. With two huge doors for convenient entry and exit, it is spacious and simple to set up even with a low maximum height. It’s also important to note that, except from being noticeably smaller, the Limestone 4 and its larger sibling, the Limestone 6, are nearly similar. Thus, this is a dependable option if the 6-person option appeals to you but you’re only going camping with two or three people.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Spacious, comfortable, and well-ventilated
- Excellent construction
Cons
- Peak height could be greater
3.The North Face Wawona 6
- Hybrid double-wall construction and a large mesh front door for superior ventilation
- Massive interior height lets you stand comfortably or sit in chairs inside the tent and vestibule
- Large vestibule can be used to store gear or as an additional seating area
Last update on 2024-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon.
If you’re in need of a camping tent that accommodates the whole family, The North Face has you covered with their six-person Wawona tent. Renowned for their exceptional performance, The North Face camping tents have consistently earned top scores in our Lab tests, and the Wawona is expected to continue this trend.
Constructed to withstand summer rain showers, this tent boasts waterproof capabilities according to the brand. What sets it apart, according to our experts, is its inclusion of a vestibule, which not only provides shade on sunny days but also adds a cozy feel to the tent and offers valuable gear storage space.
Our pros particularly appreciate the spacious interior of the tent, with a large floor area and nearly seven feet of center height. Moreover, internal storage pockets and ceiling pockets are included, making it easy to keep essentials organized and providing convenient storage for headlamps and lights, creating a true home away from home experience
The North Face Wawona 6 is the tent of choice for families with a lot of belongings or campers with an abundance of gear. This tent gets our appreciation and outperforms the competitors year after year. Its main advantages are its size, strength, and ease of pitching. The main tent space measures 85 square feet and is 6′ 4″. The vestibule resembles a two-car garage. When set up, this tent is the best option for an outdoor living area at a very reasonable price, even though some of the upgraded fly system’s features are difficult to handle and even a touch unpleasant for the fingers.
Pros
- Spacious floor area and tall tent height
- Vestibule included
- Waterproof
Cons
- Only has one door
4.REI Co-op Wonderland 4 Tent
With its four-person capacity and expansive 69.4 square foot floor area, this camping tent offers a spacious experience for most campers. Its peak height of just over 6 feet adds to the comfort, accommodating most individuals without issue. While this specific model hasn’t been tested yet, previous REI camping tents have impressed our experts with their ease of setup and takedown.
A standout feature of this tent is its two doors, allowing for convenient entry and exit. Additionally, multiple storage options inside ensure belongings stay organized, while excellent ventilation, as noted by online reviewers, enhances overall comfort during use.
With a floor area of just less than 70 square feet and a peak height of 6’3″, the REI Wonderland 4 is an incredibly roomy tent. Once put up, this tent can withstand almost anything because it has eight pre-attached guylines and eight stakes. Other benefits include storage and views; eight large pockets provide excellent organization, while the partially mesh sides and canopy allow for plenty of open space. With lots of extra space, a twin mattress and a full-sized mattress fit perfectly. This is the heaviest 4-person tent in our portfolio, so all this room and height comes at a weight cost, and the 5-pole, twin hub setup is a pain. It’s not enjoyable to pitch this tent by yourself.
Pros
- Spacious floor area
- Features two doors
Cons
- Heavy
5.Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2
- The design allows for high volume pole architecture resulting in steeper walls
- High volume angle hub increases stability and strength while creating optimal livable space
- Features one door and one vestibule with storm flaps on the vestibule zippers
Last update on 2024-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon.
If you’re gearing up for a backpacking adventure, don’t forget to include this tent from Big Agnes in your pack. Designed to accommodate up to two people, or you and your furry companion, it offers a lightweight solution for your outdoor shelter needs, weighing in at just three pounds. While it may come with a higher price tag and lacks the spaciousness and height of other camping tents, its exceptional portability makes it an ideal choice for backpackers.
While this specific model hasn’t undergone testing in the Textiles Lab, previous Big Agnes tents have consistently performed well in camping tent tests. Renowned for their superior workmanship and easy setup, these tents have earned their reputation among outdoor enthusiasts. According to our experts, this tent should be just as effortless to pack up and carry from one camping site to another, ensuring convenience and comfort throughout your backpacking journey.
A high-performance two-door hiking tent for those who prefer more room and comfort than lighter tents usually give is the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2. It is a top choice because of its superb implementation of a sound design, which results in a spacious and lightweight shelter. If you want to escape away for a few weeks or a weekend, this is a terrific option. It weighs just less than three pounds and features two roomy vestibules that can be transformed into quite useful—if a little picky—awnings.
Pros
- Extremely lightweight and easy to carry
- Easy setup
- High-quality construction
Cons
- Pricey
- Not as spacious or tall as other tents.
How We Tested Camping Tents
You wouldn’t want to spend an entire weekend outside without a reliable roof over your head, and luckily you don’t have to. While many camping tents are excellent, we have occasionally encountered some duds. Tents vary widely in size, design, and quality. Despite having a wide range of sporting specializations, the GearJunkie staff is united by a nearly shared passion for camping. After many years of experience, we’ve picked up a few tips along the way.
Camping Tent Types
Similar to how hiking tents can be classified into more specific use-profile groups like weekend warrior or ultralight tents, camping tents are also typically targeted towards a particular camping style or user group and fall into one of three general categories: high-end, budget, or crossover.
High-End Camping
High-end camping tents are exactly that: high-end. They put comfort above everything else so you can enjoy the great outdoors regardless of the weather or size of your group. These shelters are also more expensive, but they provide the amenities we want for an outdoor camping experience for the money. Tents such as the REI Co-op Base Camp 6, MSR Habitude 6, and Mountain Hardwear Bridger 4 provide features-packed, rugged designs at prices that frequently exceed.
Frequently designed to optimize the available floor area, they have walls that are either vertical or nearly vertical, as well as a higher overall height that reduces the need for stooping while inside. In order to improve built-in ventilation, walls in this category will also have a significant number of mesh. Vents, which are frequently integrated into rainflies, can also be used to improve moisture transfer between layers.
The rainflies themselves help to block out wind-driven rain by virtually always having full coverage, which means they reach all the way down from the peak. These luxury tents’ designs likewise prioritize security, occasionally drawing inspiration from mountaineering ideas to create tunnel or dome-shaped tents. There will be poles produced from sturdy aluminum, and often attach to the tent body using clips or hooks as opposed to traditional sleeves.
Budget Camping
There’s not much incentive to spend a lot of money on a tent that you won’t use very often if you only go car camping or in the front country. The majority of your budget-style tents come in and even while they sacrifice a little bit in terms of overall livability and durability, many of them are still excellent for camping out. For true savings, consider the Coleman Sundome Tent 4P and the Kelty Discovery Element 6.
The structure of the materials and the resulting total weight are two of the most noticeable variations you’ll find here. Budget-friendly tents are frequently constructed from heavier materials and may have less expensive waterproof coatings applied thickly to enable withstand dampness. This can contribute to overall durability, but at the expense of general packability. These kinds of tents might also cut corners in their construction, resulting in broadsides of walls that won’t withstand bad weather in the event of a storm. Fair weather is the main objective for most vehicle camping, though, so this won’t really matter.
Weather Resistance
One of the main justifications for spending extra money on a tent is this. Simple tents can withstand mild rain and wind and handle nice weather with ease.
It is worthwhile to save money and get a more durable tent if you intend to camp during storms. Stronger poles, complete rain coverings, and sealed seams are features of premium tents. Items such as this appear insignificant until you find yourself sheltered in your tent during a powerful storm.
Capacity and Floor Area
These days, any tent that is worth its salt will list the maximum number of campers that it can accommodate. The most popular camping tent capacities are 4, 6, and 8 people, while many tent styles come in several variants. This number is derived from the quantity of standard sleeping mattresses that can be placed side by side in the sleeping area. However, it’s crucial to keep in mind two things when choosing a camping tent: first, it frequently only holds sleeping pads that are on average 20 inches wide, and second, filling it to the brim may leave you with very little space for movement.
For this reason, we always advise adding a few extra beds to the tent’s capacity above the entire number of people you intend to accommodate. A six-person camping tent, for instance, would probably be appreciated by a group of four campers as it offers sufficient capacity for additional equipment or just a little more area to move around.
conclusion
The space increases to about 85 square feet for 6-person models; the REI Co-op Base Camp 6 is the industry leader at 84 square feet, but the less expensive Kelty Discovery Element 6 unexpectedly beats it at 89! It’s crucial to remember that the Kelty tent has less steep walls than other tents, thus floor area isn’t the only factor that determines livability overall.
The Good Housekeeping Institute’s Textiles Lab has been diligently testing a wide array of fitness and outdoor products, totaling over 170 different items in the past year alone. From snow boots and ski gloves to fleece-lined leggings and running jackets, our experts have evaluated numerous products to provide consumers with reliable recommendations.
In the realm of camping gear, our pros have thoroughly examined 10 camping tents, focusing on criteria such as ease of use, performance, and durability. Ease of use encompasses factors like weight, size, setup, and disassembly, ensuring that consumers can easily transport and set up their tents without hassle.
Performance evaluations take into account aspects such as spaciousness, ventilation, comfort, and any additional features or accessories offered by the tents. Durability is carefully assessed by scrutinizing the workmanship, materials, and overall construction quality of each tent.
Moreover, our experts conduct water repellency tests on each tent through a thorough spray test to gauge their effectiveness in repelling water. While we have tested the majority of the camping tents mentioned above, we also consider top-performing brands, personal favorites, and models with positive consumer reviews to provide a comprehensive and reliable assessment for our readers.