Best Tunnel Tent For Camping In Comfort
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BEST FOR 1 PERSON Eureka! Solitaire AL 1 Person
BEST FOR 2 PERSONS ALPS Mountaineering Tasmanian 2-Person Tent
BEST FOR 4 PERSONS Coleman Tent Oak Canyon 4
BEST FOR 8 PERSONS Coleman Elite Montana 8-Person Tent
BEST FOR 9 PERSONS NTK Arizona GT 9 to 10 Person
Tunnel tents are great choices if you are looking for higher headroom and bigger space. Its shape creates an aerodynamic structure, making it more sturdy against external elements for extra protection.
Why Trust Us
We are Jules and Ken. We are outdoor lovers, travelers, and writers all rolled into one. You have seen our posts here reviewing lots of different types of outdoor gear, camping equipment, kayaking to cycling. Our reviews are guided by our years of experience being outdoors. We are happy to share our knowledge with you so that you can make a better choice for the Best Tunnel Tent for camping in comfort.
Whether you are camping alone, with a family of 4, or with larger group settings, we have listed here the top tent brands of travel tunnel tents, based on different groups of categories.
Eureka! Solitaire AL 1 Person is an ultralight tunnel tent, weighing only 1.8 lbs. This makes the tent is a great choice for backpack camping or kayak camping. Thanks to its usage of lightweight 7000 Series aluminum poles, the tent structure is pretty durable and can withstand strong winds.
It has a floor area of 21.5 sq ft, and it is quite spacious for one person to sleep in. Its floor length is 8 feet long, sufficient to accommodate most campers. To maximize the usable volume of the tent, you will need to stake the tent. You will find the ceiling height is rather low, so you will not be able to sit upright in this tent.
While most single tents have 1 or 2 windows at the max, this quick tent allows you to have a full view of the outdoors. At night, you can lay down and enjoy gazing at the stars. There is certainly great ventilation allowing air to circulate through the tent.
Within the tent, you will be able to find storage pockets to keep your essential items such as your keys or glasses. The only setback is the tent does not have a vestibule space to keep your shoes dry. You will need to bring your shoes in.
This tent is a doubled wall tent. It is covered with mesh on the inside and has a full coverage rainfly on the outside. This tent is reasonably waterproof using 68D 185T polyester taffeta for its rainfly. As for its floor, it is built with a high seam-taped bathtub floor with durable 1500 millimeter coating to prevent water from soaking in.
The tent packs down to only 4 X 18 inches. It is great camping essential for solo campers who want to go on camping on long hiking trips or bike camping.
Pros
Lightweight
- Mesh ceiling
- Great ventilation
- Spacious for 1 person
- Bathtube style floor
- Able to withstand strong winds and rain
Cons
- Not sufficient room to store gear
- No vestibule
This is a 4 season tent. Its heat retention is superior, so it can keep you warm on cold winters without showing much condensation. In heavy rains and strong winds, the tent holds up flawlessly. You will not find water seeping inside the tent.
The tent is also made for summer. Its polyester fly is constructed with UV protection against strong UV rays. There are 2 doors with vestibules, allowing ventilation across the tent.
It is made to accommodate 2 average-sized persons with a floor size of 5’2 x 7’8 ft. But if you are camping solo, the extra space is great for storing a large amount of your camp gear. There is sufficient room for you to sit up
There is an option to stake this tent, as it is a freestanding tent. This tent uses pole clips over sleeves, which helps prevent the poles from being easily bent or broken. It is easy to set up and pack up is a breeze.
Even if you did not roll up the tent, it still fits well in the bag. Weighing 8+ lbs, you will find it rather heavy for backpacking. But considering it is a 4 season tent, the weight relatively reasonable.
You will feel so comfortable in this tent, that it feels like being in a mobile hotel room.
Pros
- 2 Person Tent
- 4 Season Tent
- Free-Standing Tent
- Great heat retention
- Uses pole clips
- 2 doors with vestibule
Cons
- Heavy
Coleman Tent Oak Canyon 4 is a large tent made for 4 persons. It has 141 sq ft of floor space inside. The poles are pre-curved, so it creates enough headspace so you can stand up and change.
One of the highlights of this tent is its blackout room feature, which removes 99% of light. It keeps the room amazingly dark even if is super bright outside. That way, you can sleep in longer, especially in the mornings. The bedroom temperature is lowered up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, keeping it cool inside.
Note that there are 2 XXL design bedrooms in this tent, where you can give your kids more privacy. Each room fits 2 persons. But you can remove the divider to create 1 large comfortable bedroom.
In front of these 2 bedrooms, is a large screen room. If you need another bedroom, the screen room can be fully sealed up to create your 3rd room. There are 2 large doors, so you can fully open them to let in lots of fresh air. There is a high vent on top of the bedrooms to allow warm air to exit the tent.
Made with polyester fabric, its shell has an impressive 4500 mm waterproof rating. Also, it is assuring to know that the fabric is fire retardant, ensuring your family is safe. It has SPF 50 protection against ultraviolet rays. This is great if you are camping at an elevated level where there is high exposure to UV rays.
This tent structure is solid. It uses steel and fiberglass poles. They are all color-coded for an easier setup. It is not a free-standing tent, so you need to stake it down. You may find this tent rather heavy to carry around, as it weighs 41.4 lbs. So you may want to consider this tent only for car camping.
Coleman is one of the best tent brands in the camping community, so you can trust this tent.
Pros
- Blackout room feature
- 2 rooms and 1 screen tent
- Screen tent can be converted to a room
- XXL design bedrooms
- SPF protection
- Fire retardant
Cons
- Heavy
This tent has an area measuring 16 X 7 ft which is spacious enough to fit up to 8 persons. The center height measures 6 ft 2 in, giving ample headroom to stand up fully. Officially it can fit 8 sleeping pads side by side, but there will be no room left for any gear. It is a single room tent, but it can accommodate up to 3 queen-size airbeds. So if you are looking for comfort, then this tent is comfortable for 4 to 5 persons with ample space for gear.
As it is a 3 season tent, it is designed to be breathable. At the same time, it still gives you protection from the wind and rain. Its 3 windows contribute to good ventilation within the tent. There are 2 windows at the two far ends of the sides that provide cross-breeze while sleeping. These windows can be closed if the temperature drops at night. The third window is at the door.
It even has a 68D polyester mesh at the top allowing constant airflow throughout your tent. You will love the auto-roll windows that neatly roll down when you unzip them. There are 2 hanging storage pockets to hold your water bottles.
The tent packs down into a carry bag, measuring only 27.5 x 9.25 x 9 in. It is important to observe how the tent was packaged when you are unpacking it. This is so that you will know how to pack it back in a way that will fit snugly back into the carry bag. This portable size bag makes it easier to transport around, even on a bike.
The tent is designed with its patented Coleman WeatherTec System, which comes with weather-resistant features. Its wind responsive frame made of 11mm fiberglass poles performs exceptionally well under high winds. The tents are anchored strongly to the ground due to their redesigned poles and guy-out triangles. Its inverted leak-free seams and protected zippers block sideway rainwater from seeping in, giving any camper peace of mind.
Another handy feature that many other tents do not have, is its built-in LED lighting system that comes with six built-in CPX LEDs. The lighting is wired in a way that is integrated into the tent. This allows you to move around comfortably at night without shining your torch around. You can control the brightness using the high (100 lumens), low (42 lumens), or nightlight (5 lumens) modes.
You can power it with four D batteries or a CPX 6 rechargeable power cartridge (which you have to get separately). With batteries, it should last you 1 to 3 days depending on your usage. You can put the kids down leaving a night light on, and they will fall asleep easily.
Check here for a more in-depth review of this tent.
Pros
- Roomy and enough headroom to stand up
- Built-in LED lighting
- Hinged door
- Patented Coleman WeatherTec System
- Auto-roll windows
Cons
- Need to replace the stakes with better stakes
- Narrow at 7 feet wide, better with 8 feet
- No dividers available to split into smaller rooms
- Would be better with more windows and doors
Arizona tent line is one of NTK’s premium tents. This tent is rated number 6 best family tent in the USA in the year 2016. If you have a huge camping party for 9 to 10 persons, this large family tent is for you. The interior is spacious to fit in 3 queen air mattresses. It has a ceiling height of 6.2 feet which provides room to walk around.
It is 2 room tent, which is divided using a curtain which is attached to the walls and ceilings with toggles. There are 2 doors to allow easy access to the tent.
NTK Constructed with 100% virgin NANO-FLEX shock-corded fiberglass rods. It comes with 5 poles which will create a shape of a dome, a dome extension, and finally the tunnel shape of the tent.
You may want to know that NTK tents were built to survive the Amazon weather. It is wrapped up at 8.9 in high in bathtub flooring. It comes with a 100% waterproof full coverage 190T polyester rainfly, rated with 2500 mm waterproofing. One thing to know is that you cannot open the windows from inside. This is because they have designed the tent with ultra-thin polyester no-see style mesh to make it very bug-proof.
If there is no rain, you can roll the rainfly up and stargaze from your tent through the enormous mesh windows. There is excellent ventilation from this tent as the tent is 50% mesh. The tent is UV protected so you have some protection against ultraviolet radiation. It helps to make your tent more lasting against the punishing weather.
The setup of this tent may not be easy for a beginner, so you should try it out at home. There are color-coded poles to make it easier for you to put the poles together. It may take a while to set up this tent. This is because it needs to have all the settings in place for it to perform well against torrential weather. It weighs 13 lbs on its own, which is heavy. You need to car camp in this one.
Pros
- Award-winning tent
- Enormous interior
- 2 Doors
- 100% waterproof full coverage rainfly
- Superior quality fabric
Cons
- not so easy to set up
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Buying Guide
Protection from elements
Rain protection is one of the most important features to keep you dry. It is necessary especially in the mountains where the weather changes in an instant. An interesting fact is that not all tents are waterproof. The majority of tents are water-resistant. This means it resists and slows down the penetration of rain. Areas to check for waterproofing are its seams and zippers.
The first thing to keep in mind when choosing a tent is to look for a floor base that is of waterproof material. It should come a few inches up the sides before it attaches to the tent walls. Having the bathtub floor version is helpful as it creates no opportunity for water to seep in.
Most people go for camping activities in spring, summer, or autumn. Thus, choosing a 3 season tent tends to be the favorite choice. It is usually made to be lightweight and cooler for warm weather.
Weight
If you are car camping, then this is not an issue for you. But if you are hike-camping or bike-camping, then weight may be a factor to consider. No one wants to lug a heavy tent when climbing to the mountain peak.
Ultralight tents are great choices but they may have minimal features to save weight. Having extra spacious tents means it will add to the weight of your tent. So choosing a backpacking tent is about trade-offs. Go for a tent that serves the purpose and the situation of your camping style.
Ventilation
You would want ventilation as your top priority if you are living in hot weather conditions. You would not want to end up sleeping in an oven, where it will be stuffy and sweaty as the air cannot get out of the tent. Especially so when someone farts in the tent!
Ventilation features to look for in a tent are mesh walls, windows, and doors. Meshes on the tent help block out hungry mosquitoes. Double-check that the vents are in areas where air can still flow while the rainfly is on.
You can install tent air conditioners or tent heaters through these vents for extra comfort. A tent with great ventilation features minimizes condensation. It allows air to flow through and keep you cool during warm nights.
Access
A tent with multiple doors allows easy access so that you will not disturb others during your night breaks for the washroom. For families with kids or older folks, you will appreciate the full drop-down doors which allow pram or wheelchair access.
Setup speed
Especially when coming back from a long day of hiking, you will not want to find yourself spending hours figuring out how to set up a tent.
That said, usually, with a larger tent, you will have a companion with you to assist you when pitching up the tent. So setup speed may be faster.
Ceiling height
Larger tents usually allow you to stand upright in the middle of the tent. Cabin version tents provide more standing room as it usually has straight sidewalls It will also create more space for tent cots inside.
Room design
As the tents are large, you will find some tents come with room dividers so you can have more privacy between the kids and adults. Having a spacious vestibule is advantageous. You can use it to place your bikes to avoid being wet or cook your camp meals. This will help keep the main living area clean and comfortable.
Summary
Depending on your camp group size, just pick a tent that is ideal for your needs in our roundup list. We have verified that all of them have impressive weatherproof capabilities and are solid in construction. Look no further, happy camping!
BEST FOR 1 PERSON Eureka! Solitaire AL 1 Person
BEST FOR 2 PERSONS ALPS Mountaineering Tasmanian 2-Person Tent
BEST FOR 4 PERSONS Coleman Tent Oak Canyon 4
BEST FOR 8 PERSONS Coleman Elite Montana 8-Person Tent
BEST FOR 9 PERSONS NTK Arizona GT 9 to 10 Person
What's Next
If you are looking for reliable stakes to replace your standard stakes, you can check out the Best Tent Stakes for Camping.
If you are more interested in getting tents of different configurations, then check out our reviews for the:
We hope you enjoyed this review and if you have questions about any of the Best Tunnel Tents, or want to leave your own personal review, feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.
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