Camping as a family makes core memories you will cherish forever. I remember looking for horned lizards on family camping trips as a kid, camping with friends and family as a teenager, and going on my first of many camping trips with my husband. Now, I get to experience the magic all over again with my own kids.
Gearing up for camping as a family isn’t the easiest, though. Whether you go for the top of the line or stick to the budget option, upgrading your gear to family-style is a big investment. Here are some of the best family tents on the market to help get you started.
Want to skip to my recommendation? The Crua Outdoors Quad 4-Person Insulated Tunnel Tent is a really cool tent that your family will absolutely love. It’s a four-season oversized shelter that’ll take you from summer to winter with ease. If you have the budget and are willing to put some time into setup, Crua’s Quad is a winner. Though it’s designed to sleep four people, it’ll hold more.
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Top Picks for Best Family Tents
Image courtesy of Coleman
With a spacious interior and room for up to 10 people, the Coleman WeatherMaster 10-person tent is a great option for large families. (Even if you don’t have 10 people but just you want space, this is a great option tent for you.) Coleman has excellent brand-name recognition in the outdoors space for a reason, and this tent offers bang for your buck at less than $350.
The WeatherMaster offers a weather-resistant design with welded floors and inverted seams to keep water out. It has a separate screened room for bug-free lounging, plus durable construction. It’s bulky and heavy when packed, but you wouldn’t expect anything else from a 10-person tent.
Coleman says you can set this baby up in 20 minutes or less, thanks to its color-coded poles. It’s not for extreme weather, but for most camping trips, the Coleman WeatherMaster will offer the space and protection your big family wants and needs.
Image courtesy of REI
REI’s Wonderland 6 is a six-person tent with fantastic 360° views and large awnings. It divides into two rooms and has two oversized doors. The freestanding design offers near-vertical walls and a rectangular floor plan. Since most tent manufacturers overestimate the number of people who can fit in a tent, this one would be great for four-person families, too.
The Wonderland 6 has multiple interior storage options, color coding on the tent, fly, and poles to ease setup, and a seam-sealed, cut-in floor. It doesn’t include a footprint, so you might want to add that on to protect the tent floor for the long term. You can also accessorize this tent by adding the Wonderland Mud Room for extra storage space and a sheltered entry point.
This family tent is a little more expensive than budget options and some reviewers note it’s not a great option for windy conditions. It prioritizes ventilation and views, making it a solid option for camping in good weather.
Image by CORE
Quick setup is incredibly helpful when you’re camping with kids. The CORE 6-Person Instant Cabin Tent takes just 60 seconds to set up. It has pre-attached poles that lock into place, so there’s significantly less headache when getting your sleep space prepped at the campsite.
This six-person tent is affordable and has a room divider and a hanging organizer, as well as pockets, adjustable ventilation, and a rainfly with guy lines. Water-repellent fabrics, a fully taped rainfly, sealed seams, and zipped windows protect against mild weather.
This tent isn’t going to handle the tough stuff, when it comes to weather. For something more robust, take a look at our next option.
Image by Bethanie Hestermann
Welcome to the star of this show. Crua Outdoors has a new tunnel tent called the Quad, and it’s not only going to turn heads at the campsite, it’s also going win your family over as soon as they go in. Though listed as a four-person tent because the sleeping area is fit for four, additional people could easily sleep in the front room of this behemoth.
The Quad comes in two pieces—the outer tent, which you could use by itself, if you don’t need insulation, and the inner tent, which insulates by holding in heat and also by keeping noise and light out. Since it’s a four-season tent, ventilation doesn’t come in the form of mesh windows and panels. Pop up the vents around the tent body and open the multiple doors to keep the air flowing.
This tent has a room divider with built-in storage (and an additional room divider in the sleeping area for a total of three potential interior rooms), plus a full-height vestibule area and an awning. It also comes with a cute black-and-white checkered floor rug for the living space.
The Quad is expensive, can be tricky to set up and will require more than one person to do so, and it’s heavy to transport. But if these cons don’t deter you, it’s a stunning family tent that’ll be great for camping all year-round.
Image courtesy of Amazon
When affordability is the name of the game, go with the Amazon Basics Dome Camping Tent. It comes in a four-person and an eight-person configuration, and they’re both available at an unbeatable price.
Lightweight (for a family tent), easy to set up, and well ventilated, this three-season tent is going to get the job done as long as the weather’s behaving. Amazon says it takes just eight minutes to set up, thanks to its two-pole design and clips for quick attachment.
Compared to more expensive tents, this one offers less livable space, less durability, and lower-quality details, like stakes and guy lines. It’s not going to be the best shelter in extreme weather, but this price point makes family camping super accessible. Reviewers say you just can’t beat the quality for the price.
When shopping for a family tent, consider the following:
- Size and capacity
- Durability and weather resistance
- Ease of set up
- Extra features
- Price, user reviews, and brand reputation
- Packed size and weight
Final Thoughts: Best Family Tent
I love the Crua Outdoors Quad 4-Person Insulated Tunnel Tent, and my kids do too. (My husband wishes setup was easier.) For something less expensive and suitable primarily in good weather, take your pick from the other options on this list. And have fun making memories!
The post Best Tents for Families: 5 Top Picks for All Budgets appeared first on Outdoors with Bear Grylls.
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