Our choose
Simple to arrange and pack away, the Mineral King 3 is a light-weight, two-door tent with a beneficiant footprint and a sturdy dome form. It’s the proper selection for three-season multipurpose tenting.
The Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 Tent is the most effective car-camping tent selection for {couples}. It has every little thing you want for three-season tenting, with the bonus of being gentle sufficient to double as an occasional backpacking tent. Though it’s designed to accommodate three individuals—therefore the “3” in its identify—we discovered that at 42.5 sq. toes, the tent is extra snug for 2, plus gear and perhaps a medium-size canine.
A traditional polyester dome tent, the Mineral King 3 makes use of two high-quality pre-bent aluminum poles, which maximize head and shoulder area, making this tent really feel much less cramped than different dome tents we examined. Two massive doorways present simple entry and exit, and a vestibule—that’s tenting communicate for “mudroom”—exterior every door provides important sheltered storage. The Mineral King 3 has a full rain fly, which you’ll roll up midway or utterly take away for epic stargazing. It additionally comes with a groundsheet (aka footprint) to guard the tent flooring.
Our choose
Spacious and simple to pitch, this dome tent additionally has different options most households want: two massive doorways, roomy vestibules, and an reasonably priced worth. The tradeoffs: cumbersome fiberglass poles and flimsy stakes.
The Kelty Wi-fi 6 is a spacious tent that’s simple to pitch, and it provides stable climate safety and sturdiness for an inexpensive worth. Just like the Mineral King 3, it has a easy, dome-style design that maximizes livability and reduce complications. With 87 sq. toes of inside area, plus 28 sq. toes of vestibule area, the polyester tent matches 4 adults comfortably, or two adults with two or three kids, with loads of room to retailer gear and muddy boots. (As its identify signifies, it’s meant to deal with six individuals, however we wouldn’t suggest that.) The Wi-fi 6 has two massive doorways and a full rain fly.
Like most tents we noticed in its worth vary, the Wi-fi 6 makes use of cheaper supplies: Its poles (two, plus a “forehead” pole that helps the 2 vestibules) are fiberglass, and its stakes are too gentle for his or her dimension (two bent throughout testing). In contrast to the competitors, this tent is useful, sturdy, and a pleasure to inhabit in most climate situations. (We did discover that the fly took longer to dry than others we examined; don’t put it away whereas it’s nonetheless damp, or it’ll mildew.) It packs right into a duffle with a helpful shoulder strap and weighs about 17 kilos—manageable for most individuals throughout quick distances. As with most six-person tents we’ve seen, this tent’s footprint is offered individually.
Runner-up
With almost 60 sq. toes of flooring area plus two massive vestibules, the Tungsten 4 is roomier than our top-pick tent for {couples}. It additionally prices extra, although, and is much less forgiving of a careless set-up.
Although the Marmot Tungsten 4-Particular person Tent lacks the Mineral King 3’s adaptable fly, which makes entry and safety from the weather such a breeze, the Tungsten 4 supplies extra residing area and equal safety in opposition to the weather. A full rain fly with easy-attach color-coded clips covers the tent physique and provides two massive vestibules. Just like the Mineral King 3, the Tungsten has aluminum poles which can be related on the prime (for lightning-quick pitching) and pre-bent, which will increase the dome tent’s headroom. With pentagonal doorways and a fly scaffolded by two forehead poles—versus the Mineral King 3’s single one—this tent supplies glorious shielding from multidirectional wind and rain, offering you comply with the setup directions faithfully.
The Tungsten 4’s poles are bent at a extra acute angle and nearer to the bottom, which, we found, could cause the tent to break down in windy situations in case you don’t connect the poles to the fly utilizing the Velcro tabs operating below the seams. It’s also possible to arrange the tent with out the fly whereas retaining some privateness, for the reason that tent physique has a excessive polyester wall on one aspect. Just like the Mineral King 3, this tent comes with a footprint.
Finances choose
Nice for yard overnights, this straightforward dome-style tent is for anybody who does not wish to spend greater than $150 on a tent but additionally does not wish to purchase one other one subsequent 12 months. It has a partial rain fly, however just one door and no vestibule.
One of the best-selling Coleman Sundome 6-Particular person Tent has a footprint bigger (100 sq. toes) than that of our top-pick tent for households, nevertheless it felt smaller as a result of it has a decrease ceiling, no vestibule, and just one door. However, it nonetheless comfortably accommodates 4 individuals, and it’s a roomy selection for 2. This no-nonsense tent is intuitive to arrange, has mesh on the highest halves of two partitions, features a partial rain fly that’s simple to placed on and stake out, and feels cheery inside and outside. (We don’t suggest the smaller model of this tent for {couples} who would possibly really take it on the street; it was simply too flimsy in our assessments.) Additionally notice that this tent doesn’t include its personal groundsheet. Coleman says that the tent doesn’t want one, most likely as a result of its flooring is a crinkly (although robust) tarp-like polyethylene, not a taped-seam polyester as in our different picks.
Improve choose
This dome-style tent has almost vertical partitions, excessive ceilings, and a single vestibule the scale of an precise mudroom. It’s additionally simple to arrange, and it’s made with sturdy, gentle supplies. It’s costly, however you get worth on your cash.
The North Face Wawona 6 prices $200 greater than the Wi-fi 6, however in case you can swing the value, the tent provides a superior mixture of livable area, good design, and sturdy, high-quality supplies (aluminum and heavy-duty polyester and mesh). Its fly extends into an enormous entrance vestibule that may retailer massive objects like bikes, and even accommodate a desk and chairs. Adults over 6 toes tall will be capable to stroll upright inside this tent—which has almost-vertical partitions that may simply accommodate beds, cribs, and cots—in addition to within the vestibule.
We additionally appreciated the tent’s building, which mixes good air flow (the higher a part of the cover partitions are mesh) with campsite privateness (these mesh bits are lined by the fly, which reaches solely midway down the tent on the again and sides). And this tent is simple to arrange and pack down, particularly contemplating its dimension. (It comes with a carrying bag geared up with duffle-style handles.) You’re unlikely to discover a similar-sized tent that matches the Wawona’s high quality and options for much less cash—most comparable tents we examined value rather more. As with most six-person tents, the Wawona 6’s footprint is offered individually.
Additionally nice
A full rain cowl, two vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole construction make this the only option for {couples} who wish to get exterior in any climate. It’s dear, although, and until the opposite {couples}’ tents we suggest, it doesn’t embody a footprint.
A full rain cowl, two vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole construction make this the only option for households who wish to get exterior in any climate. It is the costliest of our picks, although.
Automotive campers who plan to courageous depressing climate will recognize the additional power and safety of the REI Co-op Base Camp 4 Tent. The primary our bodies of our different picks are structured with two predominant poles with added assist from smaller forehead poles. The Base Camp, in contrast, has 4 full-size aluminum struts woven all through it, considerably like a basket, plus a further forehead pole that frames the entrance entrance and helps the bigger of the 2 vestibules. The Base Camp additionally provides extra privateness in contrast with our different picks—with or with out the rain fly. Our different favourite options are the tent’s two broad doorways, which you’ll open midway from both route or open totally (you may tuck the doorways into “roof pockets” to maintain them out of the way in which), turning the tent right into a helpful seaside tent or solar shade.
Households who recurrently pitch their tent in wet locales want a wind-fighting tent with a good-size vestibule for storing moist sneakers and equipment, in addition to a full rain fly for added climate safety. With nearly 45 toes of vestibule area and 4 stability-enhancing criss-crossing poles, the following dimension up of REI’s Base Camp, the Base Camp 6 Tent, provides the most effective mixture of area and options among the many six tents we examined that match these standards. A footprint for every mannequin is offered individually.
