We enjoy testing out different tents and gear.
We test out tents that we already own and love. We buy them at retail (just like you) or have them sent to us by the manufacturers.
Objective Tent Reviews
Every tent is tested thoroughly, from its height to the materials used and weather resistance, among other things!
We aim to be as impartial as possible.
Irrespective of how a tent is sourced, we aim to test each item in depth for review purposes before rating it against others within the category.
We take notes, photos, and videos and compare minor details.
Everything, from the product’s dimensions to cost comparisons, user ratings, etc., goes into a spreadsheet for analysis.
Our Review & Rating Process
We Do What You Do We Go Camping
I pitched a White Duck canvas tent at a campground in Williams, Arizona. After hours of testing each tent, reviewing them, and analyzing them, we graded each one based on the following metrics:
1. Space & Comfort
2. Quality & Durability
3. Value
4. Weather Resistance
5. Ease of Use
6. Intangibles (unique features and key selling points)
User Reviews from Amazon-verified purchasers
Different tent buyers will rate specific criteria more than others depending on what they want to find in the tent.
Overall Score
Tent Product Ratings & Review System
Our master database of tested and reviewed tents
These metrics are input into our scoring algorithm to produce an Overall Score.
Therefore, an Overall Score will be best for the most superior tent in all aspects, including materials, weather resistance, and excellent user reviews. This tent must have unique qualities, be suitable for all seasons, and not be too expensive.
The top scores for tents are 8.0 or higher
Average tents will score between 7.5-7.9
Solidly performing ones receive marks within 7.0-7.4 orange
Bad ones have a score below 7.0
Or maybe you’re just looking for a great value on a great tent. In this case, their tent may not be rated the highest because it might not be made out of the best materials available, but it definitely has the highest value-to-price ratio.
But it should be considered as only some things about It!
Space & Comfort
There Are Two Rooms in the Fully Integrated CORE 11-Person Dome Tent with a Screen Room, Front Porch, and Window, available at Amazon.com for $229 to $349. The last line above is used to determine how roomy/comfortable a given tent is compared to its peers.
However, if you’re buying specifically for backpacking (and especially ultralight backpacking), the space and comfort factor tends to become less important compared to quality/durability (especially weight-related) by far.
For every individual tent, we review space and comfort within that particular category where it occurs.
In other words, similar sizes are compared when rating this item—so if it is a four-person one, then scores against other four-person ones would apply.
A ten-foot long by six-foot wide vestibule does sound pretty big until you realize that there are no walls, just a roof supported by poles and no floor at all.
You should also consider overall height.
A high peak makes a tent feel like it has more space than a flat dome that is only as big around as the base.
Quality & Durability
MSR Hubba Hubba 2 Person Backpacking Tent (Green) – Lightweight, Ultralight Design, Waterproof Footprint for Camping Hiking Outdoors
This MSR Hubba Hubba 2-Person Backpacking Tent is made from rugged materials, such as Easton Syclone composite tent poles and ultralight fabric, that will last for many years to come. What makes this product unique in terms of quality and durability are its components.
Most tents have either nylon or polyester as their tent fabric, which are perfectly fine options.
However, what makes one brand better than another is not the type of material but rather how well it is put together.
When evaluating quality, we look at things like stitching, zippers and other construction aspects of the tent.
Another very important thing to consider is the warranty. If you buy an item with a warranty, you are buying either a defect-free product or your money back.
Quality assurance gains extra points for products that have warranties, according to us.
1.0 Value
CORE 6-Person Instant Tent
The CORE six-person instant tent is such a good deal at $129 on Amazon (as of date of publication)
Not all tents are the same, and their prices vary. For example, Coleman makes a great budget tent, while Mountain Hardwear produces a bombproof one. These two will not be anywhere near each other in terms of price.
So, we’ll consider both the price and some other factors, such as materials used to make it, warranty, and manufacturer, among others, when evaluating the value of each tent.
Even if it is twice as expensive as another one, you can still have a high-value tent. But again there are many things which influence this. Tents differ in price. However, not every model will give you the same bang for your buck.
If you’re buying a cheap tent or looking for an expensive one, determine which offers you more value for money.
Weather Resistance
This is why dome tents like this Coleman offer better water protection than other tents.
A dome-shaped tent like this Coleman offers a better water shield than any other design type.
Does the tent let in water or not? Can it withstand hurricane-force winds, or does it cave in on itself? Does the fly keep out insects but allow circulation during summer days, or does it get too hot and stuffy?
At the end of the day, though, this is quite an easy gauge for comparison purposes; we look at just two things:
Tent material
Floor material
PU rating
Quality of seams
Rain fly length
You should also remember that larger tents tend to have more problems.
Ease Of Use Setting up And Taking Down A Tent
The Coleman pop-up tent sets up and takes down fast!
By ease of use here, we mean mainly how quickly you set up and pack away your shelter. Nobody likes spending lots of time pitching a tent that could have been up much faster.
To rank the tents in this category, we considered their number of pieces and how long it usually takes a single camper to set them up.
You may also notice that smaller tents score higher in this respect, and there is a reason behind it.
It doesn’t matter if you can pitch one tent with just a few steps; its size matter when it comes to an individual doing so.
Intangibles
Awesome Ventilation
The REI Wonderland Tent has excellent ventilation, inverted V-shaped windows, and a huge mesh canopy.
Not all models are created equal.
Some of them have many pockets inside. This makes it easier for users to keep their essentials in one place and access them when needed.
Many larger tents have more than one door, making it convenient for other campers who would like to use the facility through those doors.
What do you look for when buying a tent? Is there room for two people? Maybe it has an extended fly vestibule? Is this double-chambered shelter perfect for the kids and pooch? Is the footprint included in the price?
All these things are factored into the intangibles score.
User Ratings
We also cannot forget about what others have said about these specific tents.
We think that some models could have worked in our case, but the chances are high that someone else did not experience the tent the same way we did.
All reviews are read—good ones, bad ones, and ugly ones—and then compared to find out what is generally said about a particular model.
Depending on the product type, we analyze it while rating and reviewing every single product we look at.
Editorial Process
We then cut through all this noise until we narrowed it down to a few that would fit our audience well.
This is where we give you the most value because doing this yourself would cost you a lot of time and coffee.
Then, we begin writing.
From such information mountains collected, we go through revision after revision. This ensures that only relevant points are mentioned.
In summary, our approach is similar to what anyone would take when purchasing camping or hiking gear; however, it includes significantly more work per review than an average person does.
Consider us as a research service:
We conduct research and evaluate tents and outdoor equipment so you receive relevant results in a straightforward format.