An avid hiker, camper, and long-haul road-tripper, Claire Wilcox has slept in (and occasionally improvised) tents in 11 states. She covers outdoor gear for Wirecutter and worked on the most recent update of this guide, testing couples’ tents and family tents. The Wawona 6 is a long-standing champ in our review for many reasons, not least of which is how well it has withstood the test of time. The main tent is made out of 150D polyester taffeta, the floor out of 68D polyester, and the poles are DAC MX — strong and light. And, of course, all seams are seam-sealed with a tub-style floor. Memorial Day is just around the corner, but there’s still time to organize a summer kickoff to remember.
Starting bright and early, we have you covered with the best camping stoves and a top-rated camping coffee maker to get breakfast cranking to reading by a top-rated lantern in your tent at night. While this review focuses on car camping, we have also tested some of the best backpacking gear for those interested in ditching the car and the crowds. To find more tents, see our review covering the best tents of all kinds. Pop-up tents are meant to be easy, quick and a one-person operation. With a larger tent, like the Core 9-Person, you may need a hand or two, but even the four-person tents, like the Magellan Outdoors Pro SwiftRise 4-Person Hub Tent, only took one person to put up.
Although it earned fairly low scores across the board, we did like one unique feature of the Coleman Camp Burst Dark Room 4. In this metric, we certainly focused on how many people a tent would sleep, but we also considered any special features that made each tent stand out from the rest. And, when ozark trail canopy tent the optional rain fly is affixed, there is almost no light at all. Jason Wanlass, who has spent the last 20 years of his life exploring the outdoors, joins Rob. He is an experienced backpacker who has trekked in Iceland, Nepal, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Argentina, and Chile’s Patagonia Region.
It performs better in wind and rain and scores just behind the Wawona, albeit with a lower space and comfort score. The Toogh 3-4 Person Instant Tent is super simple to set up. All you have to do is lift up the top of the tent and then press the end of the poles to automatically lock everything into place. It can be done in about a minute or two and is convenient when you roll up to a campsite, especially in the dark.
Like the MSR Habiscape, this one has a sideways opening (if not the same generous extra-large size), making this easier to deal with than vertical-open models. All in all, this was the fastest I had ever put away a camping tent, even though it was my first ozark trail instant cabin time doing so with this model. Another awesome feature of this instant cabin is the ability to have two divided rooms. This allows you to fit two queen air mattresses comfortably. You can also make one room a screen room for air to cool the main cabin.
The Wawona 6 rainfly only covers the side mesh a little bit, allowing for moisture to sneak through in windy situations, but it remains a burly tent in every other way. One of the more surprising tents to score so well in this category is the very tall REI Co-op Wonderland 4. Thanks to a ridiculous amount of stakes and guylines, this tent holds strong in bad weather, and with the large mesh top and large side vents, the tent breaths quite well. We put the Marmot Limestone 4 up against the wicked hot days of the southern California desert and the windy nights of Reno, NV. Its shape held up perfectly to both, and the full-covered rainfly kept everything dry. Two extra poles on the tent’s roof add just enough extra height to feel open without turning it into a flat-walled sail.
We took this experience, coupled with a rigorous and detailed testing plan, and got to work finding a diverse set of tents for consideration. And unless you have a camping fan you plan on using, you’ll want a tent that circulates airflow, especially at night. Look for tents that feature windows, multiple doors, and multiple mesh screens to circulate air so you don’t sweat through your sleeping bag. After all, fresh air is why you came camping in the first place. You shouldn’t have to trade convenience for solid construction. Some high-end instant tents, and even some affordable ones, feature materials that are waterproof, UV-resistant, and strong enough to outlast bad weather.