The Best Camping Tents of 2024

After many seasons abroad and close to home, we’ve about settled it: The MSR Habitude 6 ($700) is just about the best camping tent on the market today and brings together a slate of smart front-country features and a built-tough construction that ensures it’ll be around long into your camping future. For anyone looking for a stellar night under the stars, the Habitude has you covered.

Available in both a four- and six-person configuration, the Habitude series of tents borrows much from MSR’s long history in creating strong backcountry-style tents to produce one for the more mellow outings of the summer. Supreme livability is the name of the game for this tent, and we greatly appreciated the large vestibule space and 6-foot overhead clearance.

Setup is a breeze, utilizing a hubbed pole design and color-coded clips (no pole sleeves to fuss with) to erect the 83 square feet of sleeping space. While many camping-size tents might require an extra set of hands to wrangle it into existence, the Habitude was noticeably easy to erect by a single person.

The majority of the tent’s inner is a 68D polyester, with mesh placed smartly to provide airflow and privacy. Studded about are a number of storage pockets and extra hang loops to trick out your home away from home with camping niceties such as lanterns.

Now the Achilles heel: This wonderful tent only offers a single entry/egress point, which we found a hindrance to an otherwise excellent tent. We would have loved the ease of even a 1.5-door design — like on The North Face Wawona 4. You might consider the integrated LED porch light lantern a worthy balm, as it is pretty enjoyable to use. For a nigh-identical tent with an additional door, look to the more luxury-minded MSR Habiscape series.

Weighing the Habitude against other tents in our review was a tough row to hoe — it was considerably lighter than the REI Base Camp 6 but also $100 more expensive. It offers much more standing height than tents like the Marmot Limestone 4P or Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3, but it lacks the second door both these tents have. The scales always have to balance out somewhere, but after many seasons of use, our testing team agreed that the MSR Habitude 6 does it better than pretty much any other tent.

While there is a glut of budget camping tents on the market, too many have gone too far in trimming features, coverage, and comfort. The Kelty Discovery Basecamp 4 ($120) isn’t one among them, however, and hits all of the bullet points we’re after — without also coming for our wallets. Done up in an instantly recognizable design, this tent doesn’t take the shortcut where it matters, and is perfect for anyone wanting to give camping a whirl.

Set up with a tried and true crossed-pole design, the Discovery Basecamp integrates a number of smart choices to make raising the roof easier, including ‘Quick Corners’ — which are short pole sleeves to secure the pole ends. From there, modern pole clips suspend the canopy from the fiberglass poles, which, while not our favorite, help to keep the price down.

Some other budget-minded tents attempt to shave ounces (and dollar signs) by hemming the rain fly up high and tight — exposing windows to wind-driven rain, but the Discovery Basecamp makes use of a brow pole to set the porch coverage back far and protect the door window. When fully staked and with the rainfly guyed out, this tent does a commendable job keeping its inhabitants dry, especially considering the price.

While it only has one door, that door is huge, so access is very easy. Each side is lined with a few internal storage pockets, so you’ll have no problem staying organized and keeping the floor free of knick-knacks. While the Discovery Basecamp takes a more traditional approach, it isn’t the tallest tent, and those looking for more vertical should look to the REI Co-op Skyward 4 — a cabin-styled tent that trades weather protection for comfort.

Available in both a 4- and a 6-person size, the Kelty Discovery Basecamp 4 is an easy choice for folks looking for their first camping tent, or even just a beater you aren’t worried about leaving up on the lawn. Don’t expect it to last forever at $120, but for the money, there are plenty of summers in this tent.

The REI Co-op Wonderland X ($1,249) is a very large and unique tent that makes an incredibly spacious abode. Designed as a four-person car camping tent, the Wonderland X is so much more. We’ve tested this tent since the spring of 2022 and are still blown away by the unique tunnel design with interior sleeping quarters — perfect for a weekend with the entire family.

While optimized for a group of four, the Wonderland X not only serves as a giant camping shelter but also as a big hangout space. By removing the interior sleeping quarters, the shelter becomes a 13 x 9-foot floorless shelter. It can easily cover a picnic table, the tailgate of a truck, or even a small car.

REI built the Wonderland X with extremely heavy materials, ensuring a very long life if properly maintained. And at 35 pounds, this tent is definitely not coming backpacking — but for those looking at an alternative to canvas wall tents or just a very robust, large car camping setup, this tent is the pinnacle.

Put to the test, the tent performed perfectly in windy and rainy conditions, where the enormous awning provided space for lounging and cooking for four adult men. Copious guylines can be a bit much to get your head around, but in truly unsettled weather, they’re the perfect solution to keeping the Wonderland X where it belongs.

Those looking for a similar design but at a lower price should also consider the Wonderland 4 and Wonderland 6, which work on the same principles but use lighter, less expensive materials. For the real-deal family palace, however, it’s the REI Co-op Wonderland X for us.

Read Review: REI Wonderland X Tent Review: A Versatile 4-Person Palace for Car Campers

Seemingly borrowing DNA from the brand’s mountaineering roots, the new Mountain Hardwear Bridger 4 Tent ($780) easily hits all the marks we’re looking for in a spacious camping tent — and that’s before you even walk out the front door. From here, twin vestibules that boast more square footage than even the sleeping area make for a tent that’s as much about hanging out as it is snoozing in.

Starting from the inside, the Bridger series of tents keeps the living large with 62.5 square feet of sleeping quarters, and steep walls that meet at a 66-inch peak height. The whole affair is supported by a classic two-pole configuration, with an additional ridge pole that props up the peaks of the entry and exit facets of the tent.

A full-coverage rain fly encompasses everything on the exterior of the tent, and extends out a full 7 feet for the front vestibule space. When we initially tested this tent in the spring of 2023, our campers flocked to this spot to kick back and store gear in. It easily accommodates a handful of camp chairs, a cooler, or even a couple of parked bikes — and now with a few seasons under the belt, it’s still the tent to hang in.

The front and rear entry doors also feature a saloon-style zip, meaning the sleeping space can easily be melded into the hang-out zone with the pinning back of a door. Then there’s the storage. All told, there are 8 pockets on the interior of the tent, as well as 2 removable organizers that hang from the inside of the vestibule space — each sporting 3 pockets. We found these to be especially handy during the day, as we didn’t need to enter/exit the tent to snag what we needed.

In terms of set-up, the Bridger does take a few minutes to get fully ready. The extended vestibule of the Bridger is a dream once in place, but it did make single-handed setup a bit of a wrestling match to manage. A second set of hands here won’t go idle. Breaking down the tent goes smoothly, however, and it packs away into one of the nicest zip-up storage bags we’ve seen in a tent.

Perfect as a camping basecamp for a group, the Mountain Hardwear Bridger Tent brings the party from inside to out, and while it is dang-near the most expensive option on our list, the durable design and expanded livability make it amenable to many different camping scenarios, and ensure it’ll be around for endless campfires.

The REI Co-op Base Camp 6 ($549) reigns supreme among the camping tents — certainly when it comes to weather resistance. It may not be the largest, the tallest, or the most affordable, but this moderately sized tent has everything it takes to make camping easy and enjoyable for years to come. With 84 square feet of floor space, there’s plenty of room for up to six campers to slumber under the stars.

With a mountaineering-inspired design, the Base Camp 6 employs a durable polyester rainfly that provides full coverage and a sizable vestibule for gear storage, creating 27 square feet of extra covered space in the front and an additional 17 in the back. Four poles gird the main body of the shelter and gain strength by intersecting one another, while a final brow pole bumps out the vestibule for added space to chill in.

Useful features like pockets, a three-point ventilation system, and reflective trim that shines in the light of a headlamp make this tent the place you’ll want to hang out when the weather is fair or foul. Large doors at either end make for an easy exit when nature calls, without having to crawl over all of your tentmates.

Our team of camp-savvy testers had no trouble erecting the Base Camp 6 in light winds thanks to the intuitive color-coded poles and attachment points. For the uninitiated, very clear setup instructions are sewn into the tent’s storage bag.

This tent is freestanding, meaning it can stay up without stakes or guylines. While this is quick and convenient for when you roll up to your campsite in the middle of the night, going the extra mile and using all the included stakes and guylines is well worth the effort. Once fully staked out, the Base Camp 6 is impervious to rain and also stands up well against heavy winds. Compared to many tents on this list, this shelter has some serious weather chops.

The Base Camp 6 is just a hair over 6 feet at its apex, so taller folks won’t be able to stand straight up, and with a packed weight of 20 pounds, it’s limited to car camping. It’s also one of the more expensive models on our list, but if you’re fortunate enough to get out camping a few times a year, the Base Camp 6 is worth every penny.

Car camping or backpacking this weekend? While the choice might not always be easy, choosing which tent to bring shouldn’t be. The Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 ($375) makes a strong case for a dual-purpose shelter that is just as happy in the campground as it is out on the trail.

We recently tested the 3-person version of the Mineral King on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and found it to be a well-balanced piece of kit, easily amenable to whatever your next outdoor plans are. At about 6 pounds trail weight, this tent isn’t so heavy that it’ll be out of place in your weekend backpacking kit, but we found that it shined as a camping tent for two.

The set-up was a cinch with a pole and snap design that’s familiar and easy to rig up, as well as a rainfly that attaches using buckles as opposed to grommets. This rainfly configuration actually hides a brilliant feature, as we found out, which allows the fly to be pulled back over half of the tent, leaving the moon roof open to star-gazing.

In addition to fitting three typical backpacking sleeping pads, the Mineral King will also easily accommodate two 25” wide camping-style pads. Having the space to really spread out while camping was a luxury, although shoehorning three into the tent for casual camping may not be the most comfortable.

While the pole structure is sturdy, the hubbed-pole style isn’t our favorite, and the pinnacle attachment point is directional, meaning it’ll need to be pointing down to function. We found that after a couple of false starts, we got the hang of it, but it is something to be aware of.

Perfect for campers and hikers who like to do a bit of everything (and keep their gear closets from bursting), the Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 is the tent we’d suggest for an excellent crossover option. It is the perfect balance of living space for those lazy summer afternoons, and packability for when you want to put away the miles.

Recently updated, The North Face Wawona 4 ($400) got a second skin, going from a single- to double-wall design, and its poles have been re-engineered for easier setup — both worthy upgrades.

It’s the small things that make the Wawona (which, if you’re wondering, was the name of a famous giant sequoia in Yosemite National Park) tick. A unique hooped pole design kicks out the large vestibule to a comfy 28 square feet of space and provides plenty of dry room to shuffle gear about.

Then there are the interior features: A smaller rear door doubles as an organizational center, while an interior height of 68 inches allows for easy walking about inside the tent. We greatly appreciated the breathability built into the Wawona on a night camping in Washington’s San Juan Islands — where moisture from the sea can be heavy and keeping air moving is a priority. 

We struggled with the rainfly the first go around, as it has an unusual shape that goes to the ground at the vestibule and then up to window height along the body of the tent. Once we figured out which way was up, snapping it into place was an (adjustable) breeze. 

There also is the issue of the fly not covering the rear door — although it does sport a waterproof zipper. Our testing hasn’t shown this to be a weak point necessarily, but we have our doubts the tent would keep a heavy rain entirely at bay.

For fair weather conditions, The North Face Wawona 4 offers a boatload of space for families that bring plenty along on their camping trips. Just consider what the weatherperson has in store for you.

Forget hunching over — the NEMO Aurora Highrise 4P Tent ($400) has got headroom to spare. Sporting a tent pole design that bumps out the exterior walls to near vertical, we had no issues with bumping around inside this tent, and no scrunching was needed.

While the 75-inch peak height isn’t quite the tallest in our testing, it’s the fact that this height extends far out from the interior, allowing for easy maneuvering about for sleeping pad set up, or just squeezing past a tent-mate. A tent like the Eureka Copper Canyon 4 will have more headroom overall, but will suffer much more with high winds.

Behind the two doors (which can be unzipped and folded away entirely into what NEMO calls the Door Jamb pocket), is a full 62.5 sq. ft. of floor space, which has been printed with a fun argyle pattern to lighten up the tent. It’s the little features like this that really up the livability, and after spending a week in the Aurora this spring in Joshua Tree National Park, we came to love our groovy space.

During testing, we found the dual vestibules to provide plenty of space for storing equipment during the night, though not quite large enough to lounge under shade. The four-person version of this tent was perfectly sized for three testers, though we could easily see a family of four enjoying the space, or even a couple having a luxuriously large camping hideout.

While the large side windows do provide an excellent view (and plenty of ventilation), the rainfly does stop short of providing full coverage over them. While this won’t be an issue in typical rain, particularly bad wind-driven rain will have the ability to soak into these seams given the chance. 

A family-sized tent that’s sized for everyone in the family, the NEMO Aurora Highrise is available in both a 4-person, and 6-person offering.

While testing in the Rocky Mountains, we experienced sudden high winds and heavy rains. Nearly every tent experienced some damage ranging from broken poles to leaks. The Marmot Limestone 6P ($529) was completely unfazed. It remained sturdy and dry through it all.

It’s not as tall or roomy as some car camping tents, but the sacrifice of space is worth it for excellent weather protection. You can fit six people or spread out and sleep comfortably with just four in 83 square feet of floor space. Near-vertical walls help to bump up the livability, and while the vestibule is a bit snug, the interior is rightfully cozy. While the 4-person version of this tent is a bit short, the 6-person variant has a good amount of headroom at a peak height of 76″

The large double doors make coming and going easy. Pre-bent poles make for a quick setup. There is a vestibule on one side for holding extra gear, and interior gear pockets keep you organized. and there is plenty of mesh that allows for maximum airflow. Newly redesigned, the Limestone gains a few added rainfly vents with integrated struts for propping them open.

Because the rainfly design is closely related to backpacking tents, there are certain areas of the fly where it can touch the mesh of the inner, which can lead to dribbles in high condensation conditions — a result a few of our testers noted. Properly guying out the shelter can help alleviate this, in conjunction with the newly added vents.

If the REI Co-op Base Camp is a bit too rich for your blood, the Marmot Limestone 6P is built to withstand storms and is a great choice for anyone camping in unpredictable, inclement weather.

If you’re looking for a family tent that feels like a spacious screened-in porch, the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 4 ($270) is for you. The 7-foot-tall interior height means no more awkward stooping.

And with 64 square feet of floor space, there’s plenty of room to spread out. We found this provided a comfortable amount of space for two adults and two young children. Each wall is lined with pockets, which is great for keeping track of your headlamp and storing other essentials.

The best part about this tent is the airy feel and giant mesh windows. Not only does it keep things breathable, but it also means you can easily enjoy the view in any direction. We spent a week camping outside Moab and loved relaxing in the tent while watching the sunrise.

That said, the benefits of this tent are also its downfall. The tall height and large windows can be problematic in stormy weather. High winds will challenge any tent, and that’s especially true of a tent that’s 7 feet tall.

The window zip closed, and the included rainfly protects from rainfall. However, in heavy storms, it is possible to experience slight leaking. We also would have preferred a second door.

For mild summer conditions, though, the Copper Canyon 4 is a winner for family camping. It offers plenty of standing room and is a decent value to boot. We were also pleased with how easily it packed back into the storage bag.

A continuation of the Grand Hut lineage, the REI Co-op Skyward 4 Tent ($299) carries on the camping tent legacy in an easy-to-setup and highly livable shelter. While not our favorite design, this tent gets excellent marks for standing height, and pairs well with a set of cots for a truly luxe experience.  

With nearly vertical walls, the interior area of the Skyward is plush, making for a tent that’s a breeze to move around in. Compared to other tents on the market, the 78-inch peak height and 60 square feet of floor space bests many, including the North Face Wawona 4 (68” and 58 square feet) and the REI Co-op Base Camp 4 (60” and 59.7 square feet). 

Set up goes quickly, and is easy enough to figure out sans instructions (our measure of a simple-to-setup tent). The X-pole construction is familiar, and extends downward with separate leg poles that help create those flat sides. A single brow pole pops out the awning of the vestibule, which itself is enough to store some kit in.

Now for the grumbles: Compared to the old Grand Hut, the Skyward takes an odd tack and removes much of the rainfly from the tent — trimming coverage from the sides and providing protection to only the mesh ceiling of the tent. While fair-weather camping won’t challenge this tent at all, we weren’t so sure about the prospect of precip, and a quick rain shower provided by our garden hose showed that anything less than vertical rain had the chance of sneaking in.

Compounded by the tent’s boxy profile (which provides a large broadside to the wind), the Skyward may have a tendency to head, well, skyward in a bad blow. The tent does include a whole mess of stakes and guylines to better tether it to the earth, and in practice, we felt very confident in it during nice weather. But if the weather report looks a little grim? You’re far better off grabbing a more hardened shelter, like the Marmot Limestone or the MSR Habitude.

Don’t let our worst-case scenario worries dissuade you, however, as most of our camping occurs with the sun shining anyway. For trips like this, the tradeoffs in weather protection on the REI Co-op Skyward 4 are well worth it to gain livability for families, or those wanting a deluxe camp experience with extra space to boot.

You didn’t think we’d leave out a classic Coleman, did you? The Coleman Skydome Darkroom 6-Person Tent ($200) certainly is classic and brings a good bit to the table for the price. There are also some shortfalls to contend with, but the big draw here is the ‘Darkroom’ aspect of this tent — a blackout rain fly that can help block out late-night campground neighbors or extend your snooze past sun-up.

Compared to a traditional dome-style Coleman, the Skydome series bumps out the headroom by putting a kink in each of the four poles, making for nearly vertical walls. And while those poles are aluminum and an upgrade from our budget pick, the Kelty Discovery Basecamp 4, they are pre-attached to the tent — good in theory, but in practice was a bit fussy to manage. Even still, once set up, the Skydome Darkroom stands tall at 6″ tall and is easy to move in and out of.

The tent fly is, as promised, quite dark, and it is pretty easy to get situated on the tent itself. This is, however, one of the more skimpy coverage flies in our review (only the toupee-style fly of the REI Co-op Skyward is smaller), and only comes down to about half the height of the tent walls. And while the brow pole does a good job of covering the door from rain from above, it was no match for wind-driven rain in our testing.

Campgrounds these days can be pretty crowded, and if you end up next to the all-night-ragers, it can be tough to get some shut-eye with other tents. That’s where we think the Skydome Darkroom shines, even despite the shortcomings. Stuffing the tent away isn’t the easiest — we cycled through multiple testers before concluding that the tent wasn’t going back into the bag quietly — but it can be made to work.

Available in 4-, 6-, and even an 8-person size, the Coleman Skydome Darkroom Tent was made for weekends at the campground.

This Big Agnes Big House 6 ($600) will keep the whole group comfy all weekend long. You can easily stand up inside. There’s plenty of room to spread out with 83 square feet of interior space.

The welcome mat gives muddy shoes a place to stay, and the eight interior pockets keep gear organized and easily accessible. For more storage, there’s even a gear loft sold separately.

One of our favorite features is the ability to set it up as a sun shelter. Simply set up just the poles and rainfly without the tent insert. It was easy to pack up, and the backpack stuff sack design makes carrying the tent much easier.

Unfortunately, as with most large family camping tents, it doesn’t do great in extremely windy weather due to its non-aerodynamic shape. Also, it’s possible to set this tent up alone, but it’s easier with two people.

The Big House 6 from Big Agnes is a great option for family get-togethers to sleep in or to quickly create a bit of shade with just the fly.

If you’re a beginner or perpetually struggle with tent setup, look no further than the Quechua 2 Second Easy Camping Tent ($399) from the French brand Decathlon.

Once you unfold the tent and place it on the ground, its setup — apart from staking out the tent — really can be accomplished in 2 seconds. Just pull the two bright red ropes (complete with handles) and the tent’s structure locks into place. Stake it out, and you’re done.

Takedown is just as straightforward — but in reverse. Remove the stakes, press the two buttons to release the pull ropes, and the tent collapses just as quickly as it sprang to life.

The simple setup and takedown instructions are sewn into the stuff sack so you can’t lose them. If you need a video demonstration, check out the “How to Install” and “How to Fold” videos on Decathlon’s website.

The lining of this waterproof three-person tent is black, so it keeps out most light for undisturbed slumber, which is nice if you’re a light sleeper.

The floor space in the Quechua 2 Second Easy measures 83.5 by 80.7 inches — plenty of room for our tester and her 6-foot-tall partner. However, the low ceiling height is a drawback. The vestibules are small and due to the tent design, you cannot remove the rainfly. This is unfortunate should you want to stargaze or drop some weight.

This tent is perfect for the efficient at heart. Why waste time setting up a tent? Let the engineers at Quechua do the work for you and let it pop open, almost on its own.

Read Review: This Tent Blocks the Sun and the Heat: Quechua 2 Second ‘Fresh & Black’ Review

Made to withstand the rigors of camping with little ones, the MSR Habiscape 4 ($500) is the newly minted cousin of the uber-popular Habitude series of tents from the brand — fine-tuned to be a more approachable and family-friendly design. 

Let’s talk big news: the second door! While we love the Habitude series of tents already, our one major hang-up with those tents was the lack of a second door. No longer with the Habiscape! We greatly enjoyed the increased ease of access with a second portal, and were happy to see that it is a fully-fledged design covered by a vestibule (if small).

In addition to the added door, MSR also did away with many of the finicky pole-hubs used in the structure of previous tents, and produced a simplified design that we found was easy to set up, even single-handed. That’s no small feat for a family-sized shelter. The pole design is a bit less protective than more complex designs, but we had no problem with the Habiscape holding strong against wind and rain.

On the interior of the tent are 10 total pockets, set at high and low stations, as well as a Pass-Thru Pocket that is accessible from both the interior and exterior of the tent. We found this to be a helpful feature late at night when fumbling around for things like car keys and the like. 

When it comes to weather resistance, this tent lands at about the middle of the pack. A full-coverage rainfly goes almost all the way to the ground, but nearly vertical sidewalls do provide more surface area for wind to catch. There is also a good bit more mesh on the Habiscape versus the Habitude, which can be beneficial for knocking back condensation, but a bit harder to keep warm during cold snaps.

If you’re willing to trade off a bit of weather protection (or just are a fair-weather camper to begin with), the MSR Habiscape is an excellent option for getting the whole family outdoors.