20 Best Tent For Summer (2022 Updated)

Ho-ly cow. this thing is HUGE! When I first decided to go with this tent over the similar instant-up tent I was a little worried I had made the wrong decision. Yes, it takes a lot longer to set up and tear down, but in my opinion it is WORTH it when you realize the real-estate you’re creating.

Things to note: We have a family of 5, camp a few times a year, and typically stay on site for 3-4 days (an extended weekend or longer). The GOOD: –The space. it’s incredible to have headroom and walking-around room in a tent like this.

–Front porch. this hybrid area can serve as a mudroom or a bedroom if that makes sense, and it’s great for keeping bugs out of the main cabin. –Built like a brick house. during out first camping trip with this tent we had torrential rains for 30+ hours and major wind gusts and this thing just laughed at the weather.

Obviously it’s not going to protect against things like tree branches falling, but rain and wind didn’t affect this thing at all –the BAG! Finally a tent that actually fits back in it’s storage bag with room to spare.

Use the tent pole bag to roll the tent around – works great. The BAD (no deal breakers here!): –It’s heavy. You’re not hauling this thing much further than your car, but that’s also the trade off for the incredible space you get out of this tent.

–25+ minutes to set up, and the same (or more) to tear down. and much more difficult if you’re by yourself. Did a backyard test before taking it to the field and learned the hard way how to best set it up solo.

Stake it in BEFORE adding poles and it will save you a LOT of time and effort. The UGLY (Being super nit-picky here): –I wish the 3 sides of the rain fly over the main cabin curved outward to better cover the windows during a rain storm.

–Not a fan of the split in the material where the poles go through across the sides (grey and orange poles especially. ) Not sure why this isn’t one continuous sheath for the poles to go through, but perhaps that’s just a limitation of the manufacturing process.

It’s super annoying to have to fish the pole through the second half of the sheaths they go through. — The rain fly metal rings (for lack of a better word) on the black ground poles are not well-designed and two of them came out during the first set-up.

Not a huge deal, and I found a way to replace them with actual metal rings (keychain rings) for a more reliable anchor for the rain fly hooks. Despite my critiques (being overly critical in hopes it helps tweak future models), I still need to give this tent 5 stars because it is just incredible, especially for the money I paid (and THANK YOU for offering a military/veteran discount, Core!) Now this tent is clearly designed for a very specific use – big family, longer duration trips, etc.

– so consider this before buying, but if you are anything like us, you’ll find that the weight and the extra setup time is 100% worth the benefits gained from a large, high-celine cabin with front porch that keeps the dirt, rain, and bugs out of the main cabin.

Great product, Core. Thank you!.

This was my first time purchasing a Core tent after years of using the other C brand. I set it up for the first time pretty easy to understand. I was concerned with how tight and difficult it was to insert the pins into the poles.

I am hopeful that the next time will be easier. The tent is HUGE with plenty of room for my family. I am tall and really appreciate being able to stand up straight in the entire tent. I am excited about the amount of ventilation ability with this tent during the hot summer months.

The biggest issue I have is that there are already small holes at the top of the ten cross beam. A defect that I am concerned will continually get worse after each trip. Core customer service started out great with communication.

However, it has been over a week after I have reached out to them about the holes and it has been radio silence. I am still hopeful.

I only have 4 people in my family but wanted a tent that would grow with us (and our stuff). Some of the things I was looking for during my research were: screened in porch with a sealed bottom, large interior space to fit 4 comfortably, random perks like hanging pockets/pouches, an electricity flap for plugging things in, easy setup, and affordability.

I think this tent crossed those things off! While I wouldn’t think you’d actually want to fit 11 people in here, you probably could, though it would be a tight squeeze. For our maiden voyage, we only had one queen-sized air mattress and had at least 2-3 feet of space on either side (even more in front).

The front porch area is spacious enough to store gear or have a couple camping chairs and small table. There is a lot of ventilation and even with the rain fly on, it felt like we had decent air flow.

I can also attest to how it handles water, after personally experiencing getting caught in a multi-hour thunderstorm. For the first 30 minutes, there was no rain fly and plenty of rain, both in and out of the tent.

After getting the rain fly on, the rain stayed out for the rest of the night. This did result in us having to tear down and hang the tent out to dry, but I can now attest that it dried out fully in the sun and was able to be set up again later that day without any problem.

Set up and tear down were both relatively easy. Set up is easier with 2 people but could possibly be done with 1. Tear down is doable with 1 person as well. Fitting it back into the bag takes some trial and error, but again, doable.

The ability to stand in both sections is really quite nice. The only “downside” is that the tent is big and heavy, though you can’t really expect anything different for an 11 person tent. You probably would not want to take this backpacking unless your hike was very short.

Overall, highly recommend and can’t wait to camp again.

Love this tent. Ordered it for some ultra comfortable car camping in the Sierras for a week. We (very comfortably) fit a queen air mattress, the dog’s bed, our clothing bags and even a table for our morning coffee in the main portion.

The main room has the most wonderful screened ceiling. Perfect for star gazing in bed at night. The solid walls with zipper screen windows are perfect for when you want some privacy. The screen patio was perfect for dirty clothing, as a “mud room” and for enjoying the outdoors away from mosquitoes.

The screen room also zips up for privacy but we almost never used that. Sure it’s very handy though. I really hope this tent lasts me many many years and trips because it’s almost the most perfect tent for plush car camping.

I wish the floor was made of a thicker material, it just feels like the forest floor can easily puncture it. Also, wish that the main cabin had a few more pockets. Other than that, perfect tent. Oh, and it’s really heavy, just be aware, wasn’t a problem for us.

Oh oh oh, and I found it easy to set up and pack away once we finished camping. Another win!.

This is my second Core tent (first is larger, family instant tent) Got 4 person straight wall for solo car camping with my cat and dog in dispersed areas. I set it up in 12 minutes first time, 9 minutes second time.

The attached instructions on the storage bag are clear and simple. Despite arthritis and being a solo camper, I had no problems assembling it. (see attached unboxing-setup video) Interior has room for my Coleman XL heavy duty cot, the dog’s travel inflatable mat and my camp toilet.

Decent ventilation, missed the 3rd window though the air vent on that side does help with ventilation. Easily broke down, folded and fit into carry bag. Suggestion for solo campers; bring one small carabiner, use it to secure one hook of the rainfly so you can put it up easier.

The plastic hooks don’t stay connected to the metal clip without tension. Securing just one makes it easy to set up the rainfly. I did it without assistance twice, but the wind catches it and I wished for a helper.

My husband and I used to argue about camping stuff whenever we go overlanding as he gets overwhelmed with all the tent folding and packing it back to its bag. We found out about this tent thru our friend and we decided to give it a try.

No regrets! Best tent ever! I didnt have to ask for his help anymore for folding and packing this tent away, i can do it myself now! Very spacious and convenient. High quality material. Cant imagine myself goinh back to traditional tent.

This tent set the bars high. Glad that we own one:)!.

I bought this tent for motorcycle camping. I went with the Scout with the SMD CF poles rather than the trekker because I’m hard on my gear. I don’t have any issues with sacrificing a few ounces for the thicker material.

I’m very happy with the stitching and overall quality of this tent. It’s lightweight and packs small enough to stow in my side case. I found it easy to set up, take down and repack. I set it up using both the purchased SMD CF poles and my trekking poles.

I didn’t have concerns with the SMD CF poles but I prefer the trekking pole set up as it seems more stable. I gave it 5 stars because it’s well made, lightweight, easy to set up and competitively priced.

Having said that, there are a few things I didn’t care for. I found the oddly shaped floor plan a little narrow as my Nemo xl wide quasar sleeping pad was a snug fit. It pushed against the inner mesh sidewalls but that’s certainly not a dealbreaker.

The only other issue I had was that this tent is marketed as a good fit for taller campers however I was not able to avoid my top quilt touching the canopy all night. I didn’t have any condensation issues on my latest trip but it would be a concern in more humid environments.

I did have a few hours of moderate rain but stayed dry. I seam sealed the scout myself. Not a particularly difficult process and it took less than 30 minutes. Overall I’m happy with this tent and would recommend it to anyone looking for a well made and durable 1P shelter.

Lastly, my sales and costumer service experience with SMD was top notch!.

I’ve only ever used free standing tents in the past, the Lunar Solo is my first foray into the ultralight, trekking pole based tent world. I did a practice set up in my back yard and was able to get it pitched pretty quickly, and with little fuss.

I then took it on a 2 night trip on the AT to test it out. Here are my thoughts: The weight and packability are amazing. It has significantly cut down my base weight, and made my pack much roomier without all the other accoutrements that usually accompany a double walled free standing tent.

Set up is a breeze once you practice it. The vestibule is huge, having ample room for boots, pack and any other junk I want to hang on my front porch. There is plenty of room internally as well. I woke in the night to find I had shifted diagonally inside the tent, and I was still not touching the wall on either end.

Felt super safe and secure, with no condensation issues at all. Tear down was incredibly easy, leaving plenty of time to enjoy coffee and get on the trail as soon as possible. I cannot recommend this tent enough for someone branching into the ultralight tent world.

Great job Six Moon Designs!.

Pros: lightweight and easy to carry around. We were able to take it packed in our luggage on a plane and easily carry it back and forth to the beach from the house we were staying in. Gives plenty of shade (much more then an umbrella) and since it has open sides also stays cool.

We were able to have 4-5 chairs plus my over six foot husband napping under it. This definitely gave us a nice escape from the sun and we used it daily for a week during our beach vacation without any issues.

Made hot beach days much more enjoyable! Cons: there is a little bit of a learning curve to setting it up especially to set it up facing into the wind. If you don’t get it set up right into the wind, the sides get whipped around by the wind and can cause it to fall over.

If the wind shifts significantly, you might have to take down and re-align with the wind. Once you get it up aligned with the wind, can withstand significant wind. Do agree with others that it works best to bury the sandbags.

Also, if it is not windy, the back slopes down quite a bit making the roof more limiting, but we still had plenty of room for our family of 5.

The instructions are attached to a tab on the inside of the bag, almost didn’t find them, they are like wash instructions. The pictures are indistinct, does not show which poles go through which slots, and there are a variety of ways.

I think I have it figured out, but not pleased with this aspect. The unit is fairly well made, seems to have good reinforcement at the key points, will look good when set-up. The tips of the poles come off easily, lost one under a heavy cabinet.

It may be water resistant, but doesn’t appear to be “waterproof”. It will be good for going to the park and playing games.

It was perfect. I purchased it because we were heading on vacation and needed something to cover my baby from the sun. It is lightweight and fit in my suit case. Was very easy set up. There was some high winds in at the beach and thanks to the tent coming with stakes it held up pretty well and fit 4 of us in it.

I love going to the beach, but hated my husband complaining all the time about carrying all the gear including a shade tent. This tent is super easy to put up and best of all, we can both fit our beach chairs inside, unzip the side windows and enjoy the view, the breeze and the shade all at the same time.

I highly recommend it.

easy to assemble, nice size, kept most sun out. I would recommend that sunscreen be utilized if you have fair skin. I got a sunburn from just sitting inside the tent. does not provide enough UV coverage.

Shade isn’t bad, but with the exception of the main opening in the front, there is no other ventilation. We got it for our baby to be out of the sun, but if there is a nice breeze and she is laying in there, unless it’s blowing from the front, you’d never know.

No side screens or vents. Could be better.

Sun Shelter had clean cut, slash marks on the outside carrier and on the tent itself. Sad, it’s a cool tent, easy to set up and take down. We were camping when we noticed the cuts, too late for a return.

If purchasing, inspect the carrier and tent well before using. Otherwise, you won’t be able to return it. Guess we’ll use duct tape to patch, looking sorta ghetto! Ugggg.

Bought this as we wanted an air tent to speed up pitch time but also wanted something that could cope with the weather better. This is brilliant! We used for a family of 3 so had so much space, the blackout bedrooms meant we slept for much longer and the airflow design made it so much more comfortable and warm.

The click system meant no noisy zips to open at night and the tinted windows after privacy and light. Would highly recommend this 2021 model, pitched in 20 mins. We bought the optional footprint form a camping shop and it makes the porch area completely usable as living space.

Excellent value for a quality product.

Brilliant tent, extremely versitile in terms of how you can divide the internal areas up as all walls between rooms are removable if needed. This tent was also very warm. I also really liked the flysheet covered awning.

This meant I was able to cook under complete cover with no pesky insects bothering me! Ive given this 4 stars as when we camped it was extremely misty for the duration to the point that the damp air had saturated the material but this may be have been inevitable regardless of the tent.

The only feature I didn’t like was the doorway. Due to the sloping enclosure it made it was very difficult to get a good grip on the zip to open and close the door and unfortunately as a result the rope broke off the zip while we were camping which made it even more difficult to get in and out.

This is an exciting, high quality design with innovative options. Although heavy and bulky, due to it’s large, tunnel style, it is a breeze to setup and would be ideal for larger families and very comfortable extended stays.

The ridged “air” column design, numerous guy point, great ventilation and especially the “dark” inter tent lining makes for a very comfortable environment. Modular accessories would “grow” it’s capabilities and extend it’s life.

Unfortunately, after several calls to customer service, it was confirmed that REI does not current plan on offering highly useful items like an extended vestibule and a protective outer roof covering to protect the tent and reflect heat.

These and other accessories can be purchased affordably by overseas resellers. Due to it’s size, it may be hard to find a site that can accommodate this tent. Recommend looking it the same tent in a medium or small size if you are intrigued by the design potential.

“Air” tents are the “standard” in some foreign markets where they have been around for many years and are ideal for extended family holidays and foul weather. If you can manage the weight, bulk and larger footprint and don’t worry about dealing with accessory/warranty issues from a foreign maker, I highly recommend Zempire and like designs.

Do your research and encourage our beloved REI to further support these designs with new offerings and accessories.

This is a great family camping tent. In addition to using with our family of four, we’ve lent it to a family of five (kids ages 8/6/1), and they raved about it too! Pros: – Great size: Spacious and easy to stand up inside.

I’m 5’7″ and have space above my head. We have plenty of room for gear, and we could sleep more people inside. – Surprisingly easy to pack! The tent bag is well-designed, with easy “load from top” vs.

the “cram it all into a narrow opening” style. I’m always amazed how the whole tent fits inside easily. Definitely a win vs. other tents we’ve owned. – Light weight – Good ventilation: Features like pop-out top windows in the fly and a back window for both the tent and the fly ensure great air flow.

– Gear loft – Included footprint helps keep the tent cleaner and protected from rocks/sticks – Nice styling and love the yellow color! Cons: – Hard to set up with only 1 person. This wouldn’t be a problem if you have multiple adults (or a larger kid) around.

which is likely true if you’re using a 6-person tent! But if you’re the solo adult with lots of tiny kids, prepare for a bit of a challenge. – Due to the lightweight materials, they’re not super super durable.

Our toddler dragged the heavy pole bag on asphalt, and it instantly got a few small holes. I don’t blame the tent-maker for this, I blame my kid! The bag still works fine, and it was a good opportunity to teach my kid a lesson about taking good care of our camping gear.

But if you need something completely indestructible, this tent might not be your first choice. We absolutely love the light weight, and will teach our kids to take good care of these higher performance materials.

We look forward to taking this tent on many more family camping adventures!.

Extremely happy! We’re a family 3 (2 adults and a 10yo) plus a large dog and with all of us and our gear, there was room to spare. The tent was extremely easy to assemble with easy-to-follow waterproof directions (for both set up and breakdown) attached to the handled bag.

We’ve now set it up twice now and each time took us less than 10 minutes to fully set up from beginning to end. It has excellent ventilation, a large entry opening, roof and side pockets for storage, and we all absolutely love the star view window! We slept without the rainfly the first night and second night with.

Construction-wise, everything is extremely well made, and the design is well thought out. The poles are very sturdy but lightweight, strong grommets and the tent is well reinforced so it should hold up for years of excursions and use.

Breakdown was also very simple and we were easily able to get it down and back in its carry bag with zero struggle. We all love it and look forward to creating many wonderful memories and adventures with our Peak1 Tent!.

The tent itself seems to be decent quality, but unfortunately one of the tent poles broke on the very first use. One of the metal sleeves that connects the pole pieces split apart and also caused the fiberglass pole to split.

Fortunately we had pliers and zip ties to hold it together for the weekend. Will be returning this tent first chance I get to Bass Pro.

I am new to camping so when I wanted a smaller tent for solo events I found this. It’s very easy to set up, easy to take down, and it fits back in the bag, There is enough headroom to sit upright but certainly not enough to stand.

Entry and exit are reasonably easy and the fly sheet goes all the way to the ground – no rain so it’s untested. Packed, the tent is smaller than my sleeping bag, and a twin air mattress fits just fine.

I think it would be “cozy” with two people, but doable if they are on good terms.

don’t buy this tent. the pole snapped the second time i put it up!. i’ve had a eureka tent for 15 years and have used it numerous times. no problems. save your money.

Disclaimer: I have not camped in this tent yet, I just received it today and set it up in my living room. Set up is super easy without instructions (I found them after I had it 90% done). Spacious for a 2 person tent, decent sized vestibules, The weight in the product specs is not accurate: the tag on the tent says pack weight is 4lb 11.

75 oz (2. 15 kg) and minimum weight is 4 lb 1. 75oz (1. 86 kg). On my scale it weighed over 5 lbs before I opened it. However, for the price and considering I am a beginner who will only be going on short overnights at first, I am going to keep it.

It comes in a bag that isn’t absolutely necessary and maybe there are lighter stakes out there. Great communication from Sunny Sports and very fast shipping.

Beware buying a Sierra Designs tent. If it falls apart prematurely they will not stand behind it and will just ignore your warranty request. I know this from experience. My Sierra Designs tent single wall tent coating started to flake off literally everywhere, thus rendering the tent completely useless.

I tried for 2 months to get a reply from their warranty division and they completely ignored it, not even having the courtesy to reply. They did later send me a generic email regarding a totally different kind of tent.

When I pointed out their mistake they ignored again. I will never buy a Sierra Designs tent again despite being a loyal user for decades. Buy a Mountain Hardwear tent instead, their warranty service is too notch.

I sent in a failing tent to them and they replaced it at full value without question.

Sierra Designs always delivers. Solid design, easy to use/set up and just enough details to make it useful. There aren’t internal pockets but it’s the lower priced option. The rain fly can be rolled half way back for night views or ventilation at the feet end.

Plentiful space for a two person. My last Sierra Design Meteor Lite has lasted about 20 years. Too bad I lost the fly and they don’t sell them anymore otherwise I won’t be here.