The 6 Best Camping Tents of 2026: Tested

A spacious, lofty tent often comes with a tradeoff: The extra surface area makes it more susceptible to collapsing in windy conditions. Not so with the Westward 4 Tent from REI Co-op. This 4-person shelter has a 69-inch peak height—lofty enough for those under 5 feet, 9 inches to stand at its center and taller campers to sit upright—and held firm amid 30 mph gusts during a tester’s February camping trip in Wyoming. 

“We staked it down and didn’t have any issues with bending poles or the wind coming through the fly,” says Courtney H., who tested the shelter in Curt Gowdy State Park in Wyoming. (Related reading: Gear Review: Testing the REI Co-op Westward 4 Tent) 

At about 15.5 pounds, it’s also light enough to haul from car to campsite—as long as you’re counting the distance in steps, not miles. “I was camping at a designated campsite where we could pull our car up and unload, so I didn’t have to carry the tent very far,” says Brooke B., our tester in Florida. “I thought the weight of the tent was manageable and not too heavy.” 

Other features testers loved: a generous vestibule large enough to store packs or a gear bin, a wide mesh ceiling that offers primo stargazing, two doors for after-dark bathroom breaks without stepping over tentmates and a zippered port for routing a charging cable from the car or a charging station into the tent. 

When packed in its stuff sack, the shelter fit in testers’ roof boxes and truck beds. One tester notes it could be tight for campers short on cargo space but that it’s worth making room for. “I would rather have to make more space in my truck for the tent to come with us than to have a smaller or less sturdy tent,” says Brooke.

For all the tent's interior room, testers report a shared sentiment about the Westward’s capacity: Fitting four people can feel cramped if all four are sleeping on plush pads. A tent’s listed capacity equates to how many sleeping pads can fit on its floor. But if the pads are wider or longer, they can make things feel tight. The good news: This tent also comes in a 6-person size. Buy here.

With more than 86 square feet of interior space and a 44-square-foot vestibule, The North Face Wawona 6 offers ample room for your whole crew and gear storage without sacrificing durability. “After being in the wind all day, it was great to hang out in the [tent’s] vestibule to get away from it,” says Halee K., a member-tester who was able to fit two chairs and a small table while dispersed camping in Illinois. “We were able to shut one side of the vestibule to block the wind and still watch the sunset out of the other side.” 

While the tent is made to sleep six people, filling to capacity could feel tight. It makes up for that with ample standing room, though, topping out at over six feet—enough space to change clothes without crouching. Tents this tall can become wobbly in rough weather, but the Wawona 6 earned high marks for being a reliable shelter on windy nights. “The tent held up wonderfully in 30-mile-an-hour gusts,” the Illinois-based tester says. “There were no loud flapping noises.” 

Color-coded poles simplify the tent’s setup—just make sure to read the directions in full beforehand as some testers found their first setup attempt less intuitive than that of other shelters. Tearing it down and packing it up is a breeze, though, thanks to the tent’s duffel-style stuff sack. “All tent bags should be made like this one,” says Halee. Although our testers found the Wawona 6 lighter than most comparable tents this shelter’s spaciousness does require a bit of sacrifice in the weight category (its packed weight is more than 19 pounds). Consider it for car camping or short pack-ins, splitting the pieces among your group for easier carrying. 

Testers also praised details like smooth zippers and durable materials. One note: This shelter has a compatible footprint, but you’ll have to purchase it separately. Buy here.

Cramped quarters? Not with the Base Camp 4 from REI Co-op. This four-person shelter maximizes space with a deep awning (John F., our member-tester in New Mexico, stationed a camp chair beneath it to wait out a squall) and a generous vehicle attachment (like a large vestibule; sold separately) that’s spacious enough for four camp chairs and a table.  

All that, and it packs down to about the size of six Nalgene water bottles. 

“No four-person tent is ever going to pack down small, but this packs down smaller than the [other] 4-person tent I have been using for years,” says John. 

Because more people typically means more gear, testers appreciate the shelter’s interior and roof pockets as well as hang loops that make organization a cinch. Additionally, four roof vents encourage air flow (a must when housing several stinky campers) and offer primo stargazing if you ditch the fly. Two wide-mouth doors on either side allow access without crawling over campmates and, if you’ve maxed the capacity, can make the tent feel a little less claustrophobic. 

One caveat: Larger campers may feel squished. Peak height is a little less than 5 feet, 3 inches. Even so, one of our taller testers felt that the shelter’s superior weatherproofness made up for that: “I was prepared to not like this tent because it did not have standing headroom,” says John, who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall. “But, after using it through hot days and several violent, windy thunderstorms, I really came to like it.” 

It's also worth noting that the Base Camp 4 doesn’t include a tent footprint. To extend your shelter’s life and make clean-up easier, you can purchase the matching footprint separately. “I needed to clean the bottom quite a bit and it's much more awkward to clean the bottom of a tent than just a footprint,” says Ever Meister, REI Co-op Hike and Impact editor who tested the tent in Minnesota. Buy here.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Zempire Aerospeed 6 Air Tent offers nearly as much square footage as some of the smallest apartments in New York City (95.5 square feet, count ’em) plus enough height (80 inches) for pretty much anyone except professional basketball players to stand fully upright. With a unique inflatable frame standing in for poles (more on this later), this tent is made for spreading out and getting comfortable with as little added bulk as possible. 

As with all tents, the caveat remains that the amount of people who could technically fit differs from the amount that can comfortably fit. The Aerospeed 6 Air Tent is designed to fit six people, but if all six are adults, there’s really only room for people to sleep and not much space for gear. But if your campmates include small children or four-legged friends, you’ll be fine.  “This was a good amount of space for six people that are small,” says Kristen C., a member-tester who camped alongside her spouse and five small kids with ease.

What really sets this tent apart is its inflatable frame. It takes less than two minutes to blow up using the included pump and comes with brow poles to support the tent’s two entrances. And while the sheer size of this shelter feels indulgent, the weight is far less than other tents of the same size (19 pounds without the pump) thanks to the airy design. Some testers were initially skeptical about the sturdiness of such a frame, but in the end were pleasantly surprised at how solid it felt in fair-weather conditions. Their only caveat: The size of this tent makes it vulnerable to toppling or sagging in blustery weather, as member-testers Halee K. and Elena K. experienced. If you often camp in windy conditions, consider a different shelter.

The tent’s size and limited portability (unlike other shelters like the The North Face Wawona 6, you can’t divide the components among a group for easier carrying), the Aerospeed 6 Air Tent is best suited for car camping or short walk-in sites. Packing it down can be challenging, too: Halee who camped at a designated site in Missouri, found the tent “almost impossible to get back in the bag,” so be prepared for some possible wrestling. 

But if your priorities are sprawling comfort and lighter weight, this shelter has you covered.  “This tent packed down to almost the same size as my wheeled cooler,” says Elena, who camped at a beach in Maryland. “I drive a Prius, and fitting all of our gear wasn't an issue. If your priority is campsite comfort, go for it!” Buy here.

"One minute," declares REI Expert Advice Camp editor Sarah Grothjan. "That's how quick this thing goes up." Once you unroll the body, the T4 Hub from Gazelle pops up instantaneously. Stake it down, then you're done. If you're wondering why all tents aren't built like this, there are downsides—namely weight (30 pounds) and packed size (8.6 inches by 67.5 inches—not a typo). That means you need ample storage space when it's not in use, both in your home and vehicle. But, if you're set there, enjoy the easy-breezy pop-up design. The T4 Hub is also surprisingly sturdy in 20 mph winds, thanks to its weight, hefty poles and 210-denier polyester fabric. Inside, there is enough space for most people to stand up in, plus double doors and plenty of pockets and windows. Buy here.

A six-person tent for less than $200 is a bit of a unicorn, especially when that tent weighs less than 14 pounds. But that's exactly what you get with the Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6. Of course, at this price point you're bound to lose a few bells and whistles. This shelter is admittedly far simpler than a more feature-rich tent, but sometimes the basics are all you need for a night under the stars.

During a test in eastern Kansas, one tester found the tent comfortably fit a family of six and stood up to a nighttime shower. It shed the two inches of rain that fell during the night, and the dome shape handled wind better than other similar-size tents in this lineup. Plus, it was easy to set up, even with just one person on the job. One tester's biggest concern was the tent-door zipper that occasionally became stuck or snagged on the fabric—a problem he worried could worsen with use. Buy here.