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Camping is a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends while enjoying the beauty of nature. When planning a family camping or glamping trip, the first thing you will need is a large tent to accommodate everyone. The best family camping tent should also provide a sturdy and comfortable home away from home and last many seasons to come. In our reviews of the best family camping tents, we break down the 10 best family-size tents on the market.
OUR TOP PICK
Coleman Dark Room 10-Person Instant Cabin Family Tent
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- The roomy interior can accommodate 4 queen-size air beds
- Darkroom technology keeps the interior cool and comfortable
- Rainfly, welded corners, and inverted seams offer rain protection
- Easy to set up with instant setup and pre-attached poles
- The storm-tested frame can withstand up to 35 mph winds
Capacity:Â 10-personÂ
Floor Space:Â 14 x 10 feet
Center Height:Â 6 ft. 7in.
Packed size:Â 42 x 9 x 9 inches
Weight:Â 42 pounds
Fabric:Â PolyesterÂ
Poles:Â Fiberglass
EDITORS CHOICE
Coleman Montana 8-Person Family Tent
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- Spacious tent for a family of 4 to 6 with lots of gear
- The covered entry area provides a space for wet and dirty items
- Setup is intuitive and takes around 15 minutes
- Excellent waterproofing with covered seams and bathtub floor
- Angled windows design allow airflow while blocking rain
- Hinged door design allows for easy in and out
- Port opening for passing an electrical cord into your tent
Capacity:Â 8-person
Floor Space:Â 16 x 7 feet
Ceiling Height:Â 6 ft. 2 inch
Packed Size:Â 27.5 x 9.25 x 9 inches
Weight:Â 24.5 pounds
Fabric:Â Polyester
Poles:Â Fiberglass
BEST VALUE
Coleman WeatherMaster 10-Person Outdoor Family Tent
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- Cabin-like tent with enough room for 3 queen size air beds
- Excellent waterproofing with a bathtub floor and covered seams
- Strong weather-resistant structure with fiberglass poles
- Room divider allows you to separate the space for privacy
- Hinged front door and zippered back door grant easy access
- E-Port for passing through electrical cords into the tent
Capacity:Â 10-Person
Floor Space:Â 17 x 9 feet
Center Height:Â 6-foot 8-inch
Packed Size:Â 30.3 x 10.2 x 10.2 inches
Weight:Â 31 pounds
Fabric:Â Polyester Taffeta
Poles:Â Fiberglass
Wenzel 8-Person Klondike Family Tent
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- Bug-proof screen room you can zip up at night
- Durable construction backed by a 10-year warranty
- A spacious tent with 158 square feet of total floor space
- Zippers, stitching, and webbing are water repellent
- Windows, roof, and back venting provide excellent airflow
- Pin-and-ring system makes setup easy and painless
Capacity:Â 8-Person
Floor Space:Â 16 x 11 feet
Center Height:Â 78 inches
Packed size:Â 27 x 10.25 x 10.25 inches
Weight:Â 26 lbs., 4 oz.
Fabric:Â PU Coated Polyester
Frame:Â Fiberglass
Coleman Sundome 6-Person Dome Family Tent
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- The roomy interior can accommodate two queen-size air beds
- Rainfly, welded corners, and inverted seams keep out rain
- A strong structure tested and rated for 35+ mph winds
- Large windows and ground vent for enhanced airflow
- E-Port makes it easy to run electrical cords into the tent
- Snag-free, continuous pole sleeves make it easy to set up
Capacity:Â 6-person
Floor Size:Â 10 x 10 feet
Ceiling Height:Â 6-feet
Packed Size:Â 27 x 8 inches
Weight:Â 16.31 pounds
Flysheet:Â Polyester Taffeta
Poles:Â Fiberglass
CORE 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent for Families
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- Instant setup and takedown takes only a few minutes
- Fits two queen air mattresses with plenty of room for gear
- A steel pole structure with 7-inch steel stakes included
- Adjustable ground vent and mesh ceiling for a pleasant stay
- Detachable room divider for privacy when you need it
- A closable electrical access port for running a power cord
Capacity:Â 9-person
Floor Size:Â 14 x 9 feet
Ceiling Height:Â 78 inches
Packed Size:Â 48 x 11.5 x 11.5 inches
Weight:Â 30.5 pounds
Fly Material:Â 68D Polyester
Poles:Â Steel
Browning Camping Big Horn Two-Room Tent for Families
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- The cabin-style tent offers extra-tall ceiling room
- Straight sidewalls make this a great tent for cot camping
- A wall divider allows you to separate the space into two rooms
- Fiberglass poles and steep stakes for extra stability
- Six large windows and a mesh roof keep the tent comfortable
- Waterproof fly and groundsheet and factory sealed seams
Capacity:Â Two Room, 8-person
Floor Size:Â 10 x 15 feet
Center Height:Â 87 inches
Packed Size:Â 12 x 30 inches
Weight:Â 34 lbs. 11 oz.
Fabric:Â Polyester
Poles:Â Fiberglass
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- Straight walls offer cabin-like comfort with a 7-fee of headroom
- Steel and fiberglass frame provides reliable sturdiness
- Waterproof tent with tub floor and window and door flaps
- Ring/pin assembly is intuitive and an easy and quick one-person job
- Zippered power port makes passing in electrical cords easy
- Two high-stash pockets and a gear loft provide space for gear
Capacity:Â 6 Person
Floor Size:Â 10 x 10 feet
Ceiling Height:Â 7-foot
Packed Size:Â 8 by 26 inches
Weight:Â 23 pounds, 2 ounces
Pole:Â Fiberglass/steel
Canopy Fabric:Â Polyester
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- The spacious tent can accommodate 6 people without feeling cramped
- The divider allows you to separate the tent into two rooms
- Shock-corded frame with pin and ring design makes setup a breeze
- Mesh roof and windows provide excellent ventilation
- Two large D-style doors make getting in and out easy
- Hooped rain fly keeps the interior dry when it rains
Capacity:Â 10-person
Floor Space:Â 18 x 10 feet
Ceiling Height:Â 6.3-feet
Package Size:Â 29 x 9.2 x 9 inches
Weight:Â 21.1 pounds
Canopy Material:Â Nylon
Poles Material:Â Fiberglass
- What Makes This Tent Stand Out
- Roomy enough to accommodate 3 queen air mattresses and gear
- Cabin shape provides plenty of floor space and ceiling height
- The three-room tent offers separate sleeping areas and privacy
- Doors at both ends and on one side offer ease of access
- Six windows for ventilation and views of the surrounding
- Pouches by the bed offer a convenient place to stow phones
Floor Space:Â 20 x 10 feet
Ceiling Height:Â 78 inches
Package Size:Â 27.5 x 12 x 11.6 inches
Weight:Â 31.4 pounds Â
- When choosing a family tent always consider practicality. What are you going to do if the weather is bad? Make sure you have enough space inside for everyone to do their own thing, and consider creating a covered area outside the tent using a tarp or folding shelter.
- Tents with “dark room” style bedrooms are brilliant, especially in the summer when early sunrises can wake you very early in the morning. They are also fantastic for very young children to take daytime naps in.
- Remember that while a large tent can be very strong, it also offers more surface area for the wind to push against. It is very important to pitch correctly if high wind is likely; it is not a fun experience being woken in the middle of the night because your tent has fallen victim to a pulled guy-rope especially if it is raining!
Camper
How To Choose A Family Camping Tent – Buying Guide
How Many People Will Be Using It?
When getting a family tent, the most important thing is to ensure the tent you choose is big enough to accommodate the number of people you will be camping with. Shopping with the number of campers in your group in mind will help you choose the right size. Most camp tents for families have 6, 8, and 10-person capacities. The stated X-person capacity isn’t to be taken though.
When you take into account space for moving around, playing camping games, and storing your gear, the number of people the tent can accommodate comfortably becomes slightly less than the stated number. For this reason, it’s a good idea to go for a tent rated for more people than you will be camping with. For example, an 8-person tent is good for a family of 4-5 while a 6-person tent is good for a family of 3-4. Â
Related Reviews: 6 Person Tent & 10 Person Tent
Floor Size and Height
Another way to judge how big a tent is and whether it can comfortably accommodate everyone in your camping family is to check the floor size. Most manufacturers will give you the dimensions of the floor space the tent covers when set up. Some brands will also give you the square foot floor space a tent provides.Â
The center height is also an important spec to consider. It tells you what kind of headroom you will have inside the tent. All the camp tents featured in the family tent reviews above offer ample ceiling height ranging from 6-foot to as high as 7-feet 3-inches, offering space for even the tallest campers to stand upright and move around without bending.
Sturdiness
The larger a camping tent is, the sturdier it has to be if it’s to remain standing in the face of a storm. Due to this, family tents have to be well-designed to be able to cope with the wind and rain storms they are bound to encounter in the great outdoors. First of all, the guide-ropes coming from the tent need to be situated in the right positions.
The sturdiness of a tent also depends a lot on the strength of its poles. Fiberglass and steel poles provide reliable strength. Finally, the stakes used should be strong enough to remain firm in the ground, no matter the conditions. If your tent doesn’t come with the best tent stakes, it’s a good idea to replace them with a good, sturdy set. Â
Materials and Construction Quality
When investing in a family tent, you want a high-quality one that will provide service for many seasons to come. It’s important to pay close attention to the quality of construction and materials used. The canopy fabric should be a rugged material that can resist tearing, puncturing, and degradation by UV rays. Heavy-denier nylon and polyester fabrics are the best materials for tent canopies.
As for the tent poles, fiberglass and steel poles provide superior strength, ensuring the tent is a stable structure when set up. Tent poles made of these materials can also handle being set up and taken down numerous times without breaking. They can also withstand strong weather elements such as storms. To ensure you get a high-quality tent that’s built to last, it’s always a good idea to get a tent from a reputable brand that is backed by great user reviews and a generous warranty. Â
Waterproofing
When camping, you never know what mother nature has in store for you. Your tent should offer all-around weather protection. To ensure the tent you get will stay dry when it rains, waterproofing is an important quality to assess. First of all, waterproof family tents should have a tent rainfly that covers the tent, acting as a barrier against rain and ensuring that water doesn’t get in through the windows or doors.
The seams should be sealed, taped, or covered to make them leak-proof. The zippers should also have a water-repellent coating or flap covering. Finally, the tent groundsheet should have a bathtub floor design. This means it should extend up a few inches to the sides. This creates a waterproof barrier on the floor ensuring the water on the ground won’t find its way in.
Related Review:Â Waterproof Tent
Ventilation
If you’ve ever spent a night in a stuffy tent, you know how unpleasant it can be, especially when camping in warm and humid conditions. Without adequate ventilation, the inside of the tent can get very hot and stuffy making sleep difficult to come by. Condensation will also build up and make the inside of the tent wet. Â
To provide ventilation without letting in bugs, most tents have mesh on the windows, doors, and roof. Some tents designed for warmer weather camping also have air vents on the ground or top of the tent. All of these systems work together to keep the inside of the tent a nice place to be.
Other Considerations
Ease of Assembly: Ideally, a family tent should be easy for one adult to set up with the help of a child. The top-rated large tents on the market offer a quick and hassle-free setup experience. Pop-up instant family tents are the easiest and quickest to put up.
Shape: As you’ve seen in the family tent reviews above, camping tents for families come in two different shapes: dome and cabin style. When the ceiling height is a top priority, family cabin tents are the best options as they offer plenty of headroom from the center to the corners and edges.    Â
Related Review:Â Cabin Tents
Doors: The number of doors, the size of them, and how they’re designed to play a large role in how comfortable and easy to use the tent is. Having large, well-designed doors makes entering and exiting a walk in the park. Â
Pockets: Storage pockets on the inside of the tent give you a convenient place to stow items you need handy such as your cell phone and tablet.Â
E-Port: A tent equipped with an E-Port gives you an easier way to run electrical cords into your tent so you have the power to charge your devices without tripping over cables.
FAQs
Q:Â How Big Should the Tent Be?
Your tent should be big enough to accommodate the number of people you’re camping with and their gear, while still leaving room for movement. To ensure there’s enough room for everyone to sleep comfortably, it’s a good idea to look for a tent rated for a couple more people than the group you want to accommodate. A 10-person tent is an ideal size for 8 campers while an 8-person tent is good for a family of 5 to 6.
Q:Â What Layout Should I Look For?
The ideal tent layout to get comes down to who you’re camping with and what layout you prefer. When camping with adults and children, having two or three rooms is a good idea as it gives the adults privacy. Having a room divider separating the lounging and sleeping area can also ensure the sleeping area remains clean.
Q:Â Should I Be Able to Stand Up Inside?
Being able to stand up while inside the tent is a big plus. It enables you to move around and get changed in comfort. It also ensures the inside of the tent doesn’t feel claustrophobic. The best large tents boast a central height of more than six feet, so most people should be able to stand up without bending.
Q:Â How Long Will it Take Me to Put Up the Tent?
Putting up a tent can take as little as 5 minutes or as long as 30 minutes. The setup time varies from one tent to another and is dependent on the pitching design and how experienced the person setting it up is. Pop-up tents with an instant setup design offer the fastest assembly.Â
The setup process is the longest the first time, but you will be able to do it faster once you get the hang of it. For this reason, it’s smart to practice assembling the tent at home so you will be able to put it up quickly while in the great outdoors.
Globo Surf Overview
Camping is a wonderful way to have fun with your family or friends. Having the best family camping tent plays a very important role in how enjoyable your camping adventure will be. Hopefully, this guide on the best family tents has given you all the information you need to choose the best large tent for your family, so you can have a safe and comfortable home away from home on all your adventures.
More Camping Reviews:
- Pocket Knife
- Binoculars
- Camping Chair
- Camping Grill
- Portable Grill
- Portable Generator
- Night Vision Binoculars
- Emergency Radio
- Solar Oven
- Pop Up Canopy