The Best Camping Tents of 2025, Tested by Outside

Updated August 19, 2025 04:21PM

Stooping in a lightweight, minimalist backpacking tent while camping out of your car isn’t much fun. Neither is getting blown over in a flimsy big-box store shelter. With that in mind, we tested 24 car camping tents designed for families who prioritize spaciousness, convenience, and storm-worthiness above all else. These seven options had us lounging in comfort and style no matter what conditions rolled through the campground.

Updated July 2025: After months of additional testing, we added three new tents, including The North Face Wawona 6, a weatherproof option that speaks to adventurous families. Snow Peak’s Amenity Dome earned kudos from our test team for its overall simplicity, functional design, and airflow. Last but not least, we included the Zempire Pro TM V2—a high-end inflatable tent that’s as liveable as it gets. We’ve also updated info and pricing on some of our previous picks that we still highly recommend.

Best Car Camping Tents: At a Glance

The Reviews: The Best Tents for Camping

The Aurora Highrise 4 stood out in our test thanks to its supreme livability. Unlike many other four-person tents out there, this one does, in fact, comfortably house a family of four thanks to its 75-inch peak height, steep sidewalls, and two generous 19.5-square-foot vestibules.

During testing, two families of four remarked on the internal geometry, which maximizes space and freedom of movement. Its steep walls create more headroom above the 62.5-square-foot floor area than other dome tents—a 6-foot-2 tester could easily stand upright and move around freely. Two doors on either side allowed campers to enter and exit the tent without disturbing others and were tall enough that our 6-foot-2 tester didn’t have to crouch to get in and out.

With just two base poles that set up the main body of the tent and two cross poles that pitch an awning at the top, the Aurora Highrise proved easy enough for first-time campers to set up without having to look up directions. One veteran tester was able to set it up by herself in about 15 minutes. It was just as easy to break down and pack up thanks to its oversized stuff sack.

Testers who camped out in Crescent City, California during a 17-hour rainstorm applauded the tent’s waterproofing and ventilation. The hearty 68-denier polyester body material and burly 150-denier polyester floor make this freestanding tent a hoss. It proved impervious to 20 mile-per-hour wind gusts without any help from the included guylines. The PU polyester rainfly, rated to 1,2000-millimeters, boasts a structured overhang that extends six inches beyond the mesh windows, which kept the tent dry even with its two windows opened for ventilation

We loved the small details on this tent that made a big difference in comfort and convenience, like a light-diffusing pocket in the canopy for pre-bed rituals, and the slightly opaque mesh on the windows that offered shade on the hottest days but didn’t spoil views.

Our only dig on this tent is its mostly-white floor, which proved impossible to keep clean—a problem for anyone bringing kids or pets along for the ride. Overall, the Aurora Highrise 4 is a standout in the car camping category for its balance of comfort and performance at a reasonable price.

At $230, the eight-person Darkroom Skydome costs less than half what other popular eight-person tents cost (like The North Face Wawona 8 and Big Agnes Bunk House 8), making it a great entry-level option for families. You don’t get the same high-performance materials with that price, but for casual frontcountry camp trips in mild temperatures and weather, the Darkroom Skydome gets the job done.

Besides the price and easy setup, the tent’s light-blocking fabric is what made this tent stand out, especially for folks with little kids. Coleman uses a dark-coated polyester on the rain fly and inner panels of the Skydome to block out 90 percent more light than the brand’s normal car-camping tents. Besides creating ideal sleeping and napping conditions even when the sun is still up, the dark fabric also helps keep the interior cool during the day.

While inexpensive tents don’t always have the best track record in terms of durability and weatherproofing, the Darkroom Skydome proved surprisingly robust for a budget option. After over a dozen days in the rain, testers gave its 300-millimeter-rated polyurethane rainfly high scores for waterproofing in spite of the low rating. One tester used it for over 30 nights—including on three different rafting trips, which are notoriously rough on tents because they’re exposed to the elements not only when they’re pitched, but also while being transported on the water. It held up admirably to rain and rough pack jobs until sustained 20 mile-per-hour wind gusts snapped one of the two aluminum poles.

At 68-inches tall, it’s slightly shorter than the other tents on this list. That made it easier to pitch—setup was incredibly simple despite its massive footprint—but didn’t offer the same generous standing height. Testers taller than 5’10” had to crouch significantly in the tent. And like many large-capacity tents, this “eight person” shelter is stretching it with six occupants.

It’s not our pick for seasoned campers who head out into the wild no matter the weather, but for families with young kids and the budget-conscious, the Darkroom Skydome is a smart buy.

Testers loved the Big House 4’s simplicity above all. Though big and boxy, the 90-by-92-inch tent was the easiest to set up across the category. A veteran tester was able to get the Big House 4 up on her own in under ten minutes thanks to its straightforward geometry and color-coded webbing and snaps.

With a 57-square-foot floor area, the Big House 4 is billed as a four-person tent, but testers reported that you’d need to purchase the vestibule—sold separately ($180)—to make room for four folks and all their gear, from the stuff you’d want to keep outside like mud-covered shoes to wet swimsuits.

That said, the generous 70-inch ceiling height meant our six-foot testers could stand upright and move around the interior freely. Testers also appreciated the tent’s two giant doors—spanning 80 percent of two walls—which allowed them to enter and exit the tent without crouching. Eight internal pockets were more than enough for a family of three to stash personal items like toothbrushes, phones, and headlamps.

The Big House 4 also impressed us with its waterproofing and durability. A 75-denier polyester taffeta rain fly with a 1,500mm waterproof polyurethane coating kept the tent body (made from the same material) and the interior perfectly dry through three days of rain in Crescent City, California. That hearty PU coating also appeared to reinforce the durability of the tent—it showed very little wear and tear after over three months of testing.

Our only gripe: The tent’s height proved suboptimal in high winds. Even when secured with its guy lines, the tent blew heavily in 25-mile-per-hour winds.

The Alpha Breeze showcases Snowpeak’s emphasis on designing elegant, simple products with a decidedly luxurious fee. The top-tier materials—in this case, polyester fabric and duralumin poles—are strong and functional, and durable enough to stay that way for quite a while.

The extra-thick copper-aluminum poles gave us confidence when a sustained 15 mph wind picked up during an overnight on Camano Island in Washington. The structure barely flinched under the gusts, and the forearm-length Douglas fir boughs they knocked down onto our campsite. The 75-denier, DWR-treated polyester taffeta rain fly and 300-denier polyester tent floor both looked brand-new after two dusty, rocky trips in Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains.

Besides the fact that it felt indestructible, Seattle-based tester Maeve Axtell loved the boxy tent’s four doors, with one on each side. “It was easy to get in and out without disturbing other people sleeping in the tent, and when it got warm we could get cross-breezes from every direction,” said Axtell. The tent’s high ceiling and two mesh-covered “windows” on opposite walls contributed to the spacious feeling inside that the four doors created, although all those openings only left space for four mesh pockets and 10 loops to stash small essentials inside.

All good things come at a cost, though, and with the Alpha Breeze, the cost is weight. Despite its heft, it’s not excessively bulky and doesn’t take up an unreasonable amount of trunk real estate. Another ding? It’s not especially easy to set up: and the tent’s 6-plus-foot height makes the Breeze a tad unwieldy to pitch. Testers ultimately forgave those shortcomings, since both features made for a rock-solid pitch and roomy, comfortable interior.

In one word, the Wawona 6 is “palatial.” Colorado-based Outside associate gear director Jenny Wiegand said it was spacious enough for her family of four, a crib for her youngest tent tester (nine months old), and an adventure pup to boot, making the weatherproof Wawona a smart play for families.

Our first setup was time-consuming (17 minutes, to be exact). Granted, Mom and Dad purposefully ignored instructions, and both baby and toddler simultaneously required wrangling—conditions that reflect what young families will find in the field. The mesh-walled main tent is fairly self-explanatory: It’s a classic, tall-enough-to-stand dome design, with three criss-crossing poles providing structure. The rainfly, however, is trickier to pitch, as it requires a pole of its own and needs to be staked taut. With time, setup has gotten easier, albeit not much quicker.

Once the rainfly is deployed, the Wawona shines. Wiegand and Co. treated the capacious vestibule like a living room during a rainstorm. At night, the enclosed chamber housed camp gear and clothes, a kid carrier, and the dog, freeing up room in the main tent. “We fit a double air mattress in [the main tent], a single sleeping pad for our two-year-old, and a regular-sized Pack-N-Play for our baby,” said Wiegand. “Even with all of that, we had a narrow, one-foot corridor at our heads that we could use to walk around freely in the tent.” But for larger families with older children, the six-person capacity might be cramped. Luckily, The North Face makes a Wawona 8 ($750).

During a stormy stint in the Rockies, the 75-denier, polyurethane-coated rainfly handled precipitation like a pro, staying dry after 72 hours of constant rain. It even withstood lateral sprinkler fire during a backyard test—a solid proxy for sideways-blowing storms. “No leaking at the windows, seams, or doors,” reported Wiegand.

However, the rainfly wasn’t without issue. Testers noted the heavy-duty material wasn’t immune to condensation when pitched in soggy settings, although a mesh front door and windows can help manage moisture. What’s more, the bright orange fabric glows in sunlight, which makes it hard for tuckered little ones to nap during the day.

The North Face nailed the internal organization features though, including mesh pockets on the ceiling and walls. “My favorite pockets were the three stacked on the rear door, which were so helpful for stashing essential baby items that we might need in the middle of the night (like diapers, wipes, extra pacifiers, headlamp, etc.),” reported Wiegand, who was also grateful for the rear door, which enabled quiet exits during naptime.

Lastly, while the Wawona’s apparent durability and proven weatherproofing help justify the cost, if you’re a fairweather camper, there are cheaper options that’ll get the job done.

Another attractive, well-made, and durable option from Snow Peak that exemplifies the Japanese brand’s commitment to heirloom-quality camp gear, the Amenity Dome is a top pick for campers who value simplicity.

According to a crew of Eastern Sierra testers, the spacious, three-poled dome tent can comfortably accommodate four adults or a young family of five or six. The main tent pairs with a waterproof, PU-coated 75-denier polyester rainfly, creating a massive, utilitarian front vestibule. “It’s basically a hotel room with a balcony,” joked one tester, who loved the ample gear storage, outdoor living, bug protection, and privacy provided by the main vestibule. “It adds a ton of space and an expansive feel to this tent. It makes a roadside campsite feel private, and allows you to spread out and enjoy the space you have while camping.” He also gave the Amenity Dome props for easy setup, noting that even though the instructions came in Japanese, the first setup was “casual and intuitive,” and took him 15 minutes solo.

One of our favorite aspects of the Amenity Dome was its notable airflow. Both the front and back doors unzip to reveal a mosquito-proof mesh panel. The rainfly rolls up above the rear door, and the front vestibule has a side door in addition to the front door. The combination of these design features facilitates airflow without letting gnats and mosquitoes crash the party. If you’re looking for max airflow and shade, you can prop up the front of the vestibule and turn it into an awning using either Snow Peak’s aftermarket awning pole kit ($70) or a jerry-rigged alternative.

Like the Alpha Breeze, the Amenity Dome impressed our testers with its durability. Everything from the hard-wearing 210-denier, PU-coated polyester floor to the thick Duralumin poles seems brawny and built to last.

Our one major complaint? The Amenity Dome has the lowest peak height of any tent in this guide. Shorter campers (5’3” and under) can stand up in the center of the tent, but anyone taller will be stooping. What’s more, taller campers will struggle to use the vestibule’s side-entry door, as it’s lower than the main entrance. However, while the low height is a dealbreaker for many, the Amenity Dome’s low-slung design and more dynamic curvature of the rainfly handles wind better than many of the taller tents in this guide, especially if you make use of the guy lines and batten down the hatches.

“Two bedrooms, a living room, covered patio for indoor-outdoor living…” The Zempire Pro TM V2 reads like a Zillow listing, not a camping tent. Unsurprisingly, this massive, multi-room mansion is our top pick for liveability. If we were lucky enough to ditch real-world responsibilities and camp in one tent for months on end, you could find us living large in this Zempire.

Setup is relatively simple: The tent is inflatable (Zempire’s specialty), with a single inflation point that pumps up a tubed TPU frame. A Tahoe tester who erected the tent solo said the maiden voyage required referencing the instructions, but his second setup was sub-ten minutes and instruction-free—not bad for a six-person tent of this size. That said, he noted that the 70-pound tent is hefty to handle alone without help. “Getting the tent to the campsite is the hardest part,” he explained, also noting he couldn’t fit the packed tent in his Thule roofbox. Instead, the 32.3 by 21.1 by 18.1-inch bundle took up the bulk of his hatchback’s trunk space. Deflation was more involved, and coaxing the rolled-up tent back into its carrying case was a two-person job.

Any skepticism as to the efficacy of an inflatable tent in real weather evaporated when 30 mph winds rolled through the Sierra. “Plentiful stake-out points and the semi-rigid skeleton made the tent feel like a brick house,” he reported. Testers had no issue with air leaks during testing, and both the TPU frame and the tent fabric itself felt “bombproof,” according to the tester in the wake of the storm. “I’m confident that with minimal care, this tent should hold up to extended use for a long time.”

The real magic of the Zempire Pro TM V2 stems from its tube-style layout. Zempire broke the tent into three separate sections: a covered entryway up front, an enclosed living room in the middle, and dedicated sleeping quarters in the rear. The main entryway is a covered, protected porch, perfect for setting up camp chairs and enjoying the outdoors without exposure to the sun or rain. Tinted PVC skylights even allow for more natural light. “We fit our double-wide love seat, a table, dog bed, and stools under the awning for maximum chill vibes,” reported our Tahoe tester. A zipper along the edge of the awning is compatible with additional awnings or a zip-on wall set (sold separately) and enables further camp customization. Bug netting, in particular, was at the top of our wish list.

Even without netting covering the patio, testers loved relaxing in the shade. When swarms of mosquitoes descended at dusk, testers happily retreated to the living room to play board games. They even had a dance party in there, complete with a disco ball. “There is so much space and headroom that most trailers and truck campers feel cramped in comparison,” approved our Tahoe tester.

The main bedroom is seriously spacious, and can be divided into two rooms that each comfortably sleep two campers. Both bedrooms have access to a large, separate side door, facilitating stress-free trips to the bathroom at night. Those doors are “airy when opened up and weather-tight when storms roll in,” reported a tester. While the tent can sleep six if you convert the living room into a sleeping space, testers agreed it’s best as a four-person tent. However, if you happened to invest in the accessory wall to enclose the entryway, fitting eight would be possible, albeit cramped.

Additional features—like a gusseted rear window for airflow, shelf-like storage ladders, and slots for snaking extension cords—only increase the Zempire’s utility. All of that liveability does come at a cost though, and you might need to take out a second mortgage to pay for this inflatable camp cabin.

Best Tents Comparison

Other Tents We Tested

How to Choose a Camping Tent

Tent	Price	Capacity	Peak Height	Interior Space
NEMO Aurora Highrise 4	$400	4-person	75"	90" x 100"
Coleman 8-Person Darkroom Skydome	$265	8-person	68"	12' x 9'
Big Agnes Big House 4	$500	4-person	70"	90" x 92"
Snowpeak Alpha Breeze	$500	4-person	73"	109" x 102"
The North Face Wawona 6	$550	6-person	76”	120” x 96”
Snow Peak Amenity Dome	$540	4-person	64”	114 x 114”
Zempire Pro TM V2	$1,500	4-person	83"	155” x 120”

Size and Dimensions

Start with the number of people who will be sleeping in the tent and add at least one. No one ever complained about a little extra elbow room, and ultra-wide camping pads often need extra space. Next, consider packability: If you have limited storage or trunk space, a more packable option will make jamming it between all of the coolers and propane easier. Height is crucial, but comes with a tradeoff: Being able to stand up to get dressed or stretch your legs is nice, but means it will be harder to set up, especially if you’re doing it solo.

Feature Set

Look for ample pockets for staying organized, big vestibules and/or high bathtub walls that protect the interior from blowing rain, multiple venting options, and roomy doors. Of course, a tent’s principal job is to protect you from the elements, so weatherproofing should be a primary consideration. A fly that reaches to the ground provides the most coverage, but can also limit venting, making for uncomfortably stuffy conditions when it’s hot. A tall pole structure is susceptible to high winds, so make sure the tent has plenty of guy-out points for stabilizing and protecting the tent from gusts.

Budget

Price is always important, but try to prioritize value. Spending a bit more for a tent with more durable materials, like higher denier fabrics and burly aluminum poles, will save you money in the long run. You can find a no frills, serviceable four-person summer tent in the $200 range, with waterproofing, durability, and reparability generally improving as you start getting into higher price ranges.

But if you’re looking for a tent to use three seasons of the year, that you expect to get a lot of use in stormy weather, or that you’d like to use for the rest of your life, we recommend budgeting between $350 and $600. That’s the cost of more reliable construction and waterproofing—which, as all of our testers who have woken up to puddles inside their tents can tell you, is priceless when you really need it.

How We Test Car Camping Tents

For this test, we mainly considered four- to eight-person, three-season tents because they tend to be the best fit for most car campers who prioritize comfort and space over weight and packability. When all was said and done, our crew of 26 testers tested 24 tents—newer options on the market as well as some perennial favorites—to find the best for frontcountry campers.

We tested these tents in the mountains of California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. Most testing went down from May through November, although some of these tents we’ve been testing for years. Conditions ranged from sub-freezing temps and sustained rainstorms to blazing hot rafting trips on the Klamath River in Northern California.

In addition to weekend camping trips, we also put tents through a month-long field-testing stint in Crescent City, California. Testers at this event included four families with kids ranging in age from two to eleven, and parents in their early 30s to their mid 50s. Some were first-time campers, while others were seasoned.

We asked all testers to evaluate tents on their functionality, ease of setup and take-down, standout features, durability and overall comfort and livability. Finally, our gear team compared tester feedback before putting together the reviews in this guide.

Meet Our Lead Testers

Joe Jackson has been professionally testing gear for Outside for over a decade and has pitched and slept in over 90 tents during that time. While he is proud of the breadth of tents he has tested for this publication, his biggest flex is that he lived out of an Ozark Trail tent in Oregon for eight months.

Drew Zieff is a Tahoe-based freelancer who is a regular contributor to Outside. A few years back, he and his partner turned a plumbing van into their dream adventure mobile. After a couple years of vanlife, the highlight of which was surfing from Canada to Mexico, the couple put roots down in Tahoe, though they still take van trips to the coast when there’s swell. Familiar with the needs of both weekend warriors and full-time road trippers, Zieff happily directs our camping gear testing each summer, finding the best camping items for every style of camper and backpacker.

The 7 Best Camping Tents for Couples and Families

Table of Contents

Best Car Camping Tents: At a Glance

The Reviews: The Best Tents for Camping

Best Overall

NEMO Aurora Highrise 4

Best Budget Buy

Coleman 8-Person Darkroom Skydome

Easiest Setup

Big Agnes Big House 4

Most Durable

Snow Peak Alpha Breeze

Best for Families

The North Face Wawona 6

Best For Simplicity

Snow Peak Amenity Dome

Splurge

Zempire Pro TM V2

Best Tents Comparison

Other Tents We Tested

How to Choose a Camping Tent

Size and Dimensions

Feature Set

Budget

How We Test Car Camping Tents

Meet Our Lead Testers