Although we wanted to understand the pros and cons of various tent materials, we didn’t want to get stuck in a “best is always better” philosophy, especially with regard to our picks for family tents. Both Olsson and Howe emphasized that a great family tent is one that gets more kids outside—which means one that’s affordable for most families. A difference in floor quality, however, will become obvious quickly as you use and abuse the tent.
Our testing also included sitting through thunderstorms on the public land just south of the Hualapai reservation, near the Grand Canyon. Finally, Kit somewhat cheekily borrowed many of these tents and thrust them into the hands of guests at his own wedding. Several couples with various levels of camping experience slept in these tents at the wedding, giving us their impressions and helping us whittle the group down to the finalists. Kit Dillon has worked for coleman bbq Wirecutter for eight years in various capacities, writing about everything from backpacks and cooking gear to luggage and road-tripping. He has also written for Popular Science, The Awl, Metro, The Observer, and Fortune. When he was younger, he worked for five years on oil rigs as an NDT (non-destructive testing) inspector, testing metal and welds for signs of corrosion, rust, and whatever other breakdowns and chaos might happen to the steel in the ocean.
So this is a fully protected room, and and it doubles also as a screen room. This area is of around 40 square feet (3.7 m²) and its floor is fully sealed. The picture shows that it allows for an awning configuration with included poles. This is an incredibly coleman tents popular tent, and this is partly because of its great price. It is nicely ventilated, the fabric is with a huge waterproof rating, and the windows are solid. The Coleman Oak Canyon 6 Tunnel Tent is one of the tents they built for the EU market.
For a glamping trip, this cabin-style tent is made to fit large groups of up to nine people with sleeping bags, according to the brand. If you’re opting for more space and fewer campers, its 14-by-9-inch floor plan can hold two queen air mattresses and several pieces of luggage. It’s 78 inches high, water-resistant and comes in two colors — olive green and wine red. The mesh ceiling also allows for air to ventilate through the tent when the rainfly is off, making it breathable in the hot spring and summer months. Coleman builds tents in all sizes and shapes, and this 6-person family camping tents group is particularly diverse.
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. A full rain cover, a spacious vestibule, and a reinforced pole structure make this the best choice for couples who are committed to getting outside no matter the weather.
And you can manipulate the vestibule flaps to act as wind shields or capture air for increased ventilation. In the 2022 redesign of the Marmot Tungsten 4, however, we did notice a weakness in the tent’s pole design. Like the Mineral King 3, the Tungsten 4 has poles that are pre-bent. The purpose of this is to pull out the tent fabric and give the dome greater volume; generally speaking, we view it as a plus as it gives dome tents a more open feel. But the bend on the Tungsten 4’s poles is overly acute and occurs lower to the ground than the Mineral King’s, which, we discovered, makes the poles vulnerable to rotation and collapse under pressure in some situations.
Fiberglass is best used for casual summer camping trips and smaller, personal tents. However, aluminum tent poles are almost always an upgrade in terms of strength, weight, and durability. Like almost all of the tent companies we asked, Eureka recommends that campers use a tarp or ground cloth for added protection. We’ve noticed that people who use hard-toed furniture, such as rigid cots or a Pack ’n Play, inside the tent also often use a Mexican blanket or a thin rug over the floor for added protection and warmth; we think this is a great idea.
Since then, millions of people have made use of their affordably priced, family friendly camping gear all over the world. If you’re in a rush and want to find out what the best Coleman tent is, we recommend the Coleman Elite Sundome 6 person tent.When you think of camping gear, “Coleman” is probably the first brand that comes to mind. With affordable products, the goal has been to get more people out in nature, despite being less specialized than some of the higher end brands. Even so, you’ll find that they haven’t been cutting back on quality, especially as we go through some of the best below. But the second time, the windward corners of the tent accordioned under fairly moderate wind pressure when the fly was attached. It’s common to troubleshoot positioning in windy conditions, but neither the Mineral King 3 nor any straight-poled dome tent we tested collapsed in this way.
For any tent you buy, if it doesn’t come with a footprint (though two of our recommended tents, the Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 and the Marmot Tungsten 4, do), we recommend also purchasing a companion footprint, if one is available. A footprint doesn’t take up much space, is relatively inexpensive, and is much easier to repair or replace than a tent bottom if it tears. If you’re looking to get into car camping for the first time or if you’re an experienced camper but your tent has seen better days, embracing your new reality and investing in a shelter made for car camping can make sense. With nearly 60 square feet of floor space and two large vestibules, the Tungsten 4 is an even roomier tent for two people who want to outfit their tent more or who anticipate spending more time inside. Easy to set up and pack away, the Mineral King 3 is a lightweight, two-door tent with a generous footprint and a sturdy dome shape. The Weathertec system combines five specific features for the most reliable weather protection in the Coleman range.