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Best Overall
Coleman Dome with Screen Room (6-Person)
Best Family Tent
MSR Habitude (6-Person)
Best Budget Family Tent
Coleman Cabin Tent
Best Two-Person Tent
REI Half Dome SL 2+ (2-Person)
Camping is intense! No, really. If you’re going camping, you probably need a tent. Hammock lovers might disagree—and we love sleeping under the stars when weather permits—but most of the time, finding and preparing adequate shelter for yourself, your family, or your pets is a nonnegotiable step toward being comfy in the great outdoors. There are as many kinds of tents as there are ways to go camping, and they range widely in price and features. To help you figure out the best tent for your next adventure, we’ve pooled our favorites from years of testing—whether you’re getting away for the weekend with the family or soloing Mount Whitney.
Be sure to check out our buying guides, including the Best Rain Jackets, Best Hiking Gear, Best Camping Gear, and Best Barefoot Shoes.
Updated March 2023: We’ve added the Nemo Osmo Dagger, our experience with the 1-person Copper Spur, and updated prices throughout.
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Photograph: Coleman
Best Overall
Coleman Dome with Screen Room (6-Person)
Stroll through any campground in America and you’ll see plenty of these no-frills Coleman tents for good reason. They’re reasonably cheap, available just about anywhere, and get the job done. They’re all you need, especially if you’re only camping for a week or two a year.
This is our top pick for newcomers and the experienced alike. It’s easy to set up, provides good rain protection and three-season comfort, and the price doesn’t break the bank—although it has jumped nearly $50 in the past year. If you forgo the extra vestibule with the bug screen, the Coleman Sundome Tent is even cheaper. But living in the southern United States, I really appreciate the bug barrier (and the extra room to stash stuff).
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Photograph: MSR
Best Family Tent
MSR Habitude (6-Person)
If you’re camping with a family, let senior associate reviews editor Adrienne So make an argument for backcountry camping. Paddling out to a distant shore might be preferable to figuring out how to keep a rambunctious dog or toddler from annoying everyone around them in a campground. If you’re headed away from the car, you want a sturdy, more reliable tent like this MSR.
The Habitude is strong and light. It fits easily on a canoe or paddleboard and is easy to set up—the design is simple and the poles are color-coded. There’s plenty of floor space for two adults, two toddlers, and a large-ish dog. It also has storage pockets, places to hang lights, and a vestibule. The only major downside is that it doesn’t get quite as much airflow as our other picks. But otherwise, this is a good option if your family is ready to move past car camping but not quite prepared to snap the handles off everyone’s toothbrushes and go full-on ultralight.
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Photograph: Amazon
Best Budget Family Tent
Coleman Cabin Tent
If you only camp a few weekends a year and don’t want to spend the $600 for our top family pick, this Coleman makes a good alternative. It offers 85 square feet of living space and is easy to set up quickly. At the center, it’s a full six feet tall, though that does slope off toward the walls. Still, it’s plenty roomy for my family of five and gear.
Coleman sells this tent without a rainfly, calling it waterproof as-is. I have yet to put it through a serious storm, but since the company does sell a rainfly separately ($30 on Amazon), I suggest grabbing it. The tent alone stands up to light rain, but I wouldn’t want to be in a heavy downpour without a rainfly. I also suggest sealing the seams with some good seam sealer. See below for more details on how to waterproof your tent.
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Photograph: REI
Best Two-Person Tent
REI Half Dome SL 2+ (2-Person)
REI’s Half Dome tent series has been a popular choice with backpackers for many years. It’s rugged, easy to set up, and offers generous living space for two with gear. The mesh design, when coupled with the rainfly and good staking, will stand up to storms and not roast you when camping in the midsummer heat. The dual doors with dual vestibules ensure you aren’t climbing over your partner in the middle of the night. That said, the vestibules are on the small side—big enough for boots and an empty pack, but not much else.
The Half Dome isn’t the lightest tent on this list (see the Copper Spur below), but at just under 4 pounds, it’s not too heavy when split between two people. I also like that the rainfly is symmetrical—there’s no “front” and “back,” and the vestibules are identical—which makes setup easier.
