7 Best Summer Camping Tents in 2021
When it’s time to sleep under the stars, we want the best camping tents available for a comfortable, restful sleep shielded from the elements and the bugs.
Summertime camping means traveling to beautiful, natural environments, enjoying a campfire with friends and family deep into the evening. Then, it’s time to roll into your bag, knowing you’ll be cozy and protected.
If you’re in the market for a new camping tent, we’ve got the goods on seven of the best.
Read on, camper!
What To Look For When Buying a Tent for Summer Camping
When you’re looking for a summer camping tent, three important points come into play – airflow, protection, and ease of use. Let’s take a deeper look at these.
Airflow
One feature we assess when looking at camping tents is the number of windows and their positioning for optimum airflow. You’ll want multiple windows to allow for fresh air, so you can breathe easily and keep the tent cool. In addition, you’ll want at least two of those windows or doors to be opposite each other.
Protection From Elements
This is key to a successful camping trip. Summer weather sometimes means rain. That rain might come in the form of a drizzle. Or it could be a driving rain that’ll soak you and your gear if your tent doesn’t provide adequate protection. So, you do need to be prepared with the right tent that offers a rainfly with excellent performance.
Some tents offer one or more awnings as an additional feature. These allow you to sit outside the tent if you happen to have a rainy day. It’ll also give you a space to dry off and remove wet, muddy shoes before you get inside the tent.
Ease of Use
This one almost goes without saying, but we’re going to say it anyway. To be labeled as one of the “best,” a camping tent must be easy to set up and break down. Nobody wants to arrive at a campsite and spend the next two hours struggling to set up a tent. Ease of use, then, is a feature we ranked as incredibly important in our assessment.
Related: Looking for the best Truck Bed Tents? Look no further!
Best Summer Camping Tents
With our top features in mind and without further ado, here’s our list of the seven best camping tents.
#1 – Kazoo Family Camping Tent
The Kazoo Outdoor Camping Tent is a durable waterproof tent that’s easy to set up on your own. It’s large enough for two adults and two small children.
The tent consists of 210T rip-stop fabric and has four large double-mesh windows with flaps you can zip closed to keep the tent dark and dry. In addition, this camping tent has a sunshade to keep your tent from becoming a sweltering heat trap and a removable rain cover.
It has a hinged, double panel door for extra protection from ground elements and uses fiberglass poles to set the tent. The tent packs into a provided bag that’s 19” long by 6.7” high and comes with stakes and guidelines.
Reviewers remark on the spaciousness of this tent and the fantastic ventilation provided by the four large windows and mesh roof. They also love the high ceiling and double-flapped, hinged door. Most reviewers also note the ease of setup and breakdown.
This tent sells for around $130.
#2 – Eureka! Summer Pass Backpacking Tent
The Eureka! Summer Pass Three-Season Backpacking Tent comes in a two-person version and a three-person version.
The mesh canopy is made of 100% no-see-um mesh providing an open-air feeling. Alternatively, you can adjust the openness using what Eureka calls its “Air Exchange System” with adjustable high/low venting (essentially a large rain fly.)
This rugged tent has a fly and floor made of polyester taffeta with waterproof coatings. The tent includes two doors and two vestibules.
The two-person version is 7’4” tall by 4’8” wide, packs to 20 inches by 6 ½ inches, and weighs around five pounds. The three-person version is the same height (7’4”) and 6’6” at its widest point, packs to 7” by 22”, and weighs around six pounds.
Reviewers seem to appreciate the ease of setup and breakdown, but note the lack of privacy without the full fly attached and the use of “too much plastic”, rendering the tent less rugged than buyers anticipated. Reviewers also noted that the three-person tent is more adequate for two adults than the two-person tent.
The two-person version of the Eureka will run you around $230 while the three-person costs around $280.
#3 – Hewolf Waterproof Instant Camping Tent
The Hewolf Waterproof Instant Camping Tent is a dome tent with a double-layer flysheet that you can use as a popup shade. While Hewolf advertises the tent for two or three people, the fine print notes the target population is two adults and one child.
In addition to being waterproof, it’s a fast-pitch tent with permanently joined fiberglass poles and material. Hewolf says that pitching this tent is like opening an umbrella!
Both doors have awnings that stake down with two additional fiberglass poles. However, the center height of this tent is only 5’5”, so that’s something you’ll want to consider.
Ventilation is excellent with two large doors, an open mesh top (unless the rain fly is attached), and mesh windows. Hewolf states an inner gauze protects the interior from bugs.
What reviewers love about this tent is how easy it is to pitch and take down. In fact, many also state the design truly delivers an umbrella-like experience. Campers also love the cross-breeze established by the two doors on opposite sides of the tent.
The Hewolf Waterproof Instant Camping Tent sells for around $100.
#4 – Hyke and Byke Zion Lightweight Dome Tent
The Hyke and Byke Zion Lightweight Dome Tent is another two-door tent. In addition, it’s an aluminum-frame ultralight backpacking tent with a lifetime warranty!
No-see-um mesh walls aid protection from bugs while allowing for ventilation.
The Hyke and Byke comes with aluminum alloy stakes and reflective guy lines with a tension lock cord adjustment piece. This tent falls into the ease-of-use category due to its singular pole with a clip-pole attachment. It’s made from ripstop nylon, which is tear-and-abrasion-resistant.
This tent comes with a gear loft, a vented rainfly, additional gear storage, and two vestibules. A footprint is also included in the package, and all materials are waterproof.
The tent packs into a lightweight carry bag that’s 17.75” in length and 6.3” wide. The tent itself is only 3.5 feet tall and weighs 3.81 pounds.
Reviewers love the two doors, two vestibules, and the interior storage pockets, as well as the free gear loft that comes with the tent. They also appreciate the included free footprint and stake presser and note that the tent is indeed lightweight but also durable.
The Hyke and Byke Zion Lightweight Dome Tent can be purchased for around $140.
#5 – Best For Large Families: Campros 12-Person Tent
The Campros 12-Person Tent is capable of accommodating three queen air mattresses or 12 sleeping bags. Constructed of 185T polyester, the Campros tent has a 1000mm polyurethane hydrostatic coating that’s guaranteed to be water-resistant.
The tent is 20 feet in length, three feet wide, and six feet tall. It breaks down for transport in a 25.2 x 11 x 11-inch bag weighing 24.3 pounds.
Airflow is excellent in this tent with two large mesh doors, six mesh windows, and a mesh top, all of which can be zippered closed for weather protection. It provides two room-dividing curtains for the creation of three separate rooms. In addition, Campros includes stainless steel stakes, fiberglass poles, and guy lines as part of the package.
The tent is erected with the expandable pole method. Poles are connected with internal cords which are extended and then slipped into sleeves and corner pockets. Reviewers state that while pitching the tent requires two people simply due to its large size, it’s remarkably easy to set up.
Reviewers also like the expansive interior, the ability to divide the tent into rooms, and the height that allows a person up to six feet tall to stand in the tent center. Families are especially appreciative of the spaciousness and the separate rooms.
Reviewers also appreciate the ventilation that two large doors and six mesh windows provide on warm summer nights.
The Campros 12-Person Tent can be purchased for $220.
#6 – Gazelle Pop Up Tent with Screened In Sunroom
The Gazelle T4 Plus is a large 4-8 person portable pop-up tent or outdoor shelter with an extended screened-in sunroom. Made of 100% polyester, the tent has a UV50+ rating for protection from the sun.
With 110 square feet of floor space, this structure offers a fair amount of space, particularly with the inclusion of the screened room. The structure has two doors and is 14 feet long, nearly eight feet wide, and 6.5 feet tall at the center.
Gazelle states you can pitch their pop-up tent in two minutes or less. Reviewers state anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes is more realistic. It comes with three vestibule poles, detachable floors, a rainfly, an overhead gear loft, stakes, and a storage bag. When packed into the storage bag, the tent is 5.5 feet long, and weighs 58 pounds.
Reviewers note that this is not a tent to carry in the trunk of a car. One reviewer stated that the collapsed, bagged tent takes up most of his Jeep Cherokee’s cargo space.
In general, reviewers appreciate the spaciousness of this tent especially given the separate screened room. They note it’s large enough to accommodate a table and chairs. Several reviewers remark this tent sustained heavy rains and high winds during camping trips. However, the tent’s interior remained dry while the structure itself held up well against the wind.
For example, one reviewer said his Gazelle 4 Plus sustained winds of 35-45mph for seven hours along with “periodic rain squalls.” Despite this, the tent remained dry and fully erected, which speaks well for the strength of this tent structure.
The Gazelle T4 Plus is a high-end tent with a price tag to match. It runs between $680 and $750 depending on the seller.
#7 – Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room
The Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room comes in a six-person version and an eight-person version. Made of 75D polyester taffeta, this dome-shaped tent is water-resistant. It offers additional weather-proofing from welded corners, inverted seams, and a rainfly.
Coleman advertises the setup process as taking approximately 15 minutes with its collapsible fiberglass poles. Several reviewers confirm this as an accurate assessment.
The tent’s interior is spacious with a center height of 5’8” and a 10’ by 9’ floor for the six-person or 12′ x 11′ for the eight-person. The included full-floor screen room offers an additional 10’ x 5’ of space. The Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room weighs in at around 27 pounds packed into the provided bag.
Each window’s awning allows you to keep them open without rain entering. The tent’s door also has a protective zipper cuff made of weather-resistant material. In addition, the waterproof floors (both tent and screen room) and inverted seams decrease your chances of getting wet.
Reviewers appreciate the affordability of this tent and note that it’s an excellent value for the price. Some owners noted that the weather resistance was not good in their experience. Although, most found the tent very protective even in heavy rains.
Most reviewers state the screen room allows rain inside even with the rainfly because it’s open to the elements on at least one side. They further note that the screen room floor can become wet in rains that are either heavy or long-lasting.
Numerous reviewers, most of whom erected the tent alone, mention ease of setup and breakdown. More than one reviewer noted that the six-person tent is more comfortable for four people. Similarly, the eight-person tent is more comfortable for six.
For $120, this Coleman tent is an excellent value overall.
Get Outside in Your Ideal Camping Tent
And there you have it. Seven top choices of varied sizes, configurations, and prices as you set out to shop for the tent that’ll work best for you and your family.
These camping tents offer you a variety of features, and all are excellent tents to keep you warm and comfortable as you step away from the busyness of the day-to-day work week and into the awesome open arms of nature.
Pro Tip: Check out these 7 simple camping hacks for less than $10!
Discover the Best Free Camping Across the USA
To be honest with you, we hate paying for camping. There are so many free campsites in America (with complete privacy).
You should give it a try!
As a matter of fact, these free campsites are yours. Every time you pay federal taxes, you’re contributing to these lands.
Become a FREE CAMPING INSIDER and join the 100,000 campers who love to score the best site!
We’ll send you the 50 Best Free Campsites in the USA (one per state). Access the list by submitting your email below: