Best Camping Tents – Reviews and Guide 2020

Benefits

There are various benefits of using best camping tents at the camping sites. Now, these camping tents can be of any size and you can use them for any purpose as well. But the overall purpose and objective of these tents remain the same and that is to provide you with a little space where you can rest while in the outdoors. 

You can use these tents to lay down and take some rest at night. Apart from that, it can also keep you and all your gear safe from rain or snow. You can set up your tent anywhere you like and cook your food and also do other chores if you like during hiking. These tents will allow you to travel long distances and also take rests when needed. 

Moreover, using camping tents allow you to make your own temporary living space in the outdoors right next to nature. 

Tent Types

There are different types of camping tents available on the market. Each serve a different purpose. The primary types of these camping tents are as follows: 

Premium quality

Premium quality tents might be a less intuitive term for a camp, but these camps do come with some excellent features and they also have a high price tag on them. These camps have top-notch materials in their designs and they also feature a very thoughtful construction. 

These camps have almost vertical walls to provide you with plenty of headspace, and there are dividers as well. The vestibules of these tents are very spacious and so is the livable space. There is plenty of mesh in such designs and they are very breathable and they also feature a good quality rainfly. 

Budget

It’s all about simplification of life when we talk about camping. Therefore, budget camping tents will serve you well as your good quality budget-friendly options and they are fully functional as well. If you like to camp in fair weather conditions then these are the perfect choice for you. Any good camp that is suitable for six persons and will not cost you much is going to be a budget camp for you. 

These camps are made of heavy fabrics and they are bulky due to this reason. They will add weight to your overall backpacking bottom line for sure. However, they are equally great for durable and resisting moisture.

Hybrid

Even the camping camps that fall in the budget category can demand a significant amount of investment. Therefore, if you like to backpack and camp at the same time and you do this for at least a few times in a year then you need to go for a hybrid tent that is designed for both these activities. You can choose the design according to your requirements and needs. 

However, you need to keep in mind that there are some important features on which you have to compromise. For the backpacking purpose, these camps will be lightweight and the fabrics won’t be very durable. Of course, if you focus on quality materials and durability then the weight is going to increase. So it all depends on your preferences and choices. 

Rooftop

This category falls in the car camping and the entire ideology is very simple. This is a foldable shelter that you can attach to the rack system of your vehicle’s roof. When you reach your camping destination, you can unfold it, climb the ladder and fall asleep. These shelters will get you off from the uneven surface and you can set up your camp wherever you like. 

Most of these camps come with a mattress which is pretty comfortable for tent standards that feature mattress pads. Nevertheless, these shelters are very expensive and storing them at home can become a bit of a problem. They also utilize your cargo space in the vehicle but some of the recent models are focusing to resolve this issue. 

Canvas

These shelters are made of canvas and they are very durable. They are far better than nylon as well as various other synthetic materials. Canvas also provides you with excellent weather protection. However, the canvas is also a lot more expensive than any other synthetic materials and it weighs significantly more as well. But the thing is that if you have made up your mind to buy a canvas tent then you won’t need to buy another one for a long period of time. 

What to look for when buying a camping Shelter

As there are so many options that you need to consider before buying, you must know and understand some of the important aspects and features of the best camping tent. We have listed them down for your convenience. 

Inner Space

The critical question for you to ask here is how many people can fit comfortably in a camp that you are considering to buy. You can look for a camp that is designed for 8 people or 6 people depending on your requirements. But the rating is only going to be based on the number of adult-sized sleeping pads that you can place in a camp at the same time. 

These ratings will not tell you about the headspace. Without much headspace, you won’t feel very comfortable standing in them and hence you also need to look for peak height. Now peak height is only available for the highest point of the roof of a tent. Space is only going to matter when the walls are of comfortable height as well. So you need to keep a close eye on these aspects when looking for interior space. 

Doors

For the camping shelters with large sizes, two doors are most preferable. Any additional door is convenient especially if you have a full house in the camp. The closure needs to be zippered because it will block heat in the summers and cold in the winters. The budget-friendly models come with single doors and hence they are not suitable if you have more than 2 people with you. 

Ventilation

It’s not just about rain and wind when we talk about weather resistance. Summers bring a number of other challenges as well. A muggy camp that heats up during a summer night can present you with plenty of discomforts just like a soggy tent. 

You cannot sleep well in both these situations and for a solution; you need a proper ventilation. Mesh is a good solution for this but you will also have to give up on privacy if you don’t have your rainfly off. Therefore, it is better to go for a highly breathable tent with a rainfly to get the best of both worlds.

Storage

If you take a lot of gear then this is a very important criterion for you to consider. Pockets and carrying spaces are good but if you have garages and vestibules as well then you have extra storage space for your gear as well as footwear. 

This way you won’t have to give up any space inside your camp. Make sure that the vestibule or garage space that comes in your tent also features a cover like rainfly or something to keep your gear well protected from external elements. 

Weight & Size

Camping shelters come in a wide range of weights as well as packed sizes. Lightweight designs are best suited for backpacking while if you can directly drive to your campsite then weight shouldn’t be much of a bother for you. 

If you like to keep a balance between the two then go for hybrid options that are camping as well as backpacking-friendly. But these shelters are not designed for extreme weather. Canvas tents are best for different kinds of weather but they are heavy too. So you can make your decision based on what you want to do on the day of camping. 

Ground Size & Footprint

Between different camping tent models, it is recommended to consider the overall footprint or in other words, the ground size into consideration as well. Some models with 8 or 6 people design a very huge. They also have large vestibules and they also exceed the raised pad sizes available at some of the campgrounds and national parks. Therefore, take into account these important points before making a decision. 

Build Quality

Build quality is going to be significantly different when you compare a budget-friendly camping camp with a premium-quality camping tent. You will surely get a lot more when you spend more. Their durability is better as well thus you can extract more value from your investment. But most of the people only take these tents outs once or twice a year and when the weather is very promising. Therefore, spending too much here seems pointless. 

Comfort

Comfort comes second to none when you are choosing a shelter for your next trip. Your tent needs to be extremely cozy and you need to feel right at home if you are out in the woods with your family. These tents will cost you some price. 

But if you have plenty of experience and can make anything work then you are going to feel right at home. But as a routine, you need to go for a comfortable size of a tent with some vestibule space as well as storage compartments there. The tent needs to be very easy and simple to set up and take apart.  

Easy setup

As we have just mentioned, ease of set up is going to be effortless because you don’t need frustration to creep in right on the first day. Furthermore, your camp needs to be very easy to take apart. These experiences will count a lot towards your overall experience. 

Weather resistance

Just like breathability and ventilation, water resistance is also important if you are going to camp in a very humid environment that sees a lot of rain annually. The floor and walls need to be properly waterproof if you want your experience to be comfortable. 

Our recommended Shelters

Best camping tent for winter

Any 4-season tent is a good choice for camping in winter. But we recommend using the Trango 2 from Mountain Hardware. This is the best camping tent featuring double walls and is very tough. The only thing about it that we didn’t like is that it is pretty heavy. 

Best camping tent for summer

The Sundome by Coleman is an excellent choice to consider if you are looking for the best camping tent for summers. This tent features a lot of mesh and there is plenty of space available too. It is made of very breathable and durable WeatherTech with welded flooring. 

Best camping tent all season

The Hubba NX camping tent from MSR is an excellent choice for all-season camping. The tent is extremely lightweight and offers a good footprint. Headspace is not that much but it still gets the job done. Setting it up and packing is very convenient. 

Conclusion

There are different choices to make and there is a range of features that you can consider before buying best camping tents for you and your family. To make things simple you need to list down your own likings so that you can buy the right tent.  

The best camping shelter should provide you with good head and leg space and you also need to have plenty of storage for your gear. The tent needs to be properly ventilated and it needs to have at least 2 doors if you have more than 2 people with you. Rainfly will be a good choice when you have a lot of mesh on the tent.

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