Best Camping Tents Buying Guide

The best feature of the Marmot Halo 6, and the reason that we added it to the list, is the fact that it is amazing for camping during hot weather and for stargazing at night, as the top has an amazing amount of mesh that makes the night sky highly visible while also providing some much-needed ventilation that some of its competitors severely lack. 

The Coleman Sundome 6 is one of the most expensive tents on our list, but that does not make it perfect. It is severely lacking in many areas due to it being made from very cheap feeling materials. However, if all that you need for convincing is a midrange price tent and don’t care about anything else, then look no further on this list. 

This tent is possibly one of the best tents on the list for camping during harsher weather. We comfortably camped in the snow with it, out in the dry heat, and during a thunderstorm. The Big Agnes Flying Diamond persevered through it all, which left quite the impression on us, earning its spot onto our list of best camping tents. Our only complaints are that it took a long time to set up due to it having more poles than normal tents, and it had a low ceiling (around 5 1/2′ tall), which did not please many of us that were tall. 

The selling point for this tent is in its name, as it includes the word “instant”, which is usually just fluff by the company. However in this case, it was as close to instant as possible with a tent that fit into such a small bag. This is why the Coleman Person Camping 6 earned its place on our list of best camping tents. If you’re ever hiking, and it’s about to rain, you want this tent with you. We got it set up in just over a minute at our fastest time, which is more than enough to beat any sudden rains you might face. 

This tent is also one that sets up quickly, though sadly not as fast as the Coleman Instant Tent 6. However we were able to set it up faster than many other tents on this list, coming in at about 10 minutes to be set up completely. It also has one of our favorite features, which is its storage bag. Usually storage bags are the worst part of taking a tent down, but not for the Tensleep Station. It was such a pleasure to put away we were disappointed all tents aren’t like that. This is precisely why the Tensleep Station has earned a spot on our list. 

The most impressive part of the MSR Hubba Hubba is that it is a perfect tent for going backpacking due to how light, yet durable, it is. It is durable enough to withstand storms you might encounter. However, you may want to have additional stakes for a bad storm so it doesn’t get blown away. Speaking of storms, if one catches you, you need to set up the tent quickly. Otherwise the mesh up top will let a lot of rain in. Other than that, this tent definitely deserves to be on our list of the best camping tents. 

The first thing we noticed about this tent was that it is neon orange, so if you have a problem with that color then this should already give you an idea that you don’t want this tent. The next thing we noticed about it was its large interior. The Big Agnes Big House 6 Deluxe offers so much interior space when compared to its competitors. Also, we felt that it was very well ventilated, as we did not feel stuffy, especially with the large atmosphere. Although it did not seem to fare as well in harsher environments, it still deserves a spot on our best camping tents list. 

The Kelty Discovery 4 is one of the cheaper tents on this list, but compared to the other cheap tents, it has notable improvements in its design that we noticed. It had excellent ventilation, as well as a cover that went over all the showing mesh, which kept out much of the rain we experienced. We also noticed that its poles are made of fiberglass, which when under rough conditions tend to not last as long as other poles available with competing tents. Despite this, we still felt its ability earned it the title of one our best camping tents. 

Compared to a similar tent, the REI Camp Dome, this one is lacking in size. However, it is much more durable and is still easy to use like the Kingdom 6 tent. We felt that when you combine it with the fact it has superior ventilation, which so many tents on the market are lacking in, it is a clear candidate for our list of the best camping tents. 

The Yakima SkyRise 3 Rooftop Tent is the most expensive tent on this list, but the tent more than makes up for its price with what it offers for its users. However, to use it well, you need to have a car with a rack on top of your roof to mount it onto, or you need a truck with a somewhat spacious bed that can house it. If you can meet these conditions, this tent is amazing. In it, you will be camping on a suspended surface, which to us felt comfortable and we were in a hammock and felt more stable. This is why it belongs on our best camping tents list.