Just remember not to ask your kids to take the fly off, as the locking mechanism requires some serious force to get out. It begs the question, how useful is the tent for a small group? Will it fit two dogs and a friend or three and still be comfortable? Though some of these aspects fall under other categories, we felt it was important to our readers to look at them again but with this viewpoint in mind. Several other tents scored among the best in the weather resistance category.
Several of our tents scored high in this category, but one worth calling out is the Snow Peak Alpha Breeze. This tent has a 300D fire-resistant PU-coated Oxford polyester floor, crazy thick poles, metal guylines, smooth zippers, soft pole sleeves… the list just keeps going. The Gazelle T4 Hub sets up even faster than the Coleman Instant. In fact, some of our testers had it pitched in under 40 seconds, making it the easiest tent to set up on our list. However, in this metric, we also considered weight and packed size, and this is where the Gazelle T4 falls behind a bit, as it’s the heaviest tent in our lineup and it has one of the largest packed sizes.
Like the MSR Habiscape, this one has a sideways opening (if not the same generous extra-large size), making this easier to deal with than vertical-open models. All in all, this was the fastest I had ever put away a camping tent, even though it was my first time doing so with this model. Another awesome feature of this instant cabin is the ability to have two divided rooms. This allows you to fit two queen air mattresses comfortably. You can also make one room a screen room for air to cool the main cabin.
The Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 not only went up fast but also was a snap to tear down and get back into the bag. Add to that the simple fly deploy, perfectly sized bag, and intuitive center clip, and you have a hassle-free tent. While not our favorite, the hub also allows for easy solo pitching. It’s the only 3-person tent in our lineup and weighs in at only 7.1 pounds for the full package with a trail weight of 6.2 pounds — this tent is light enough to trek a few miles into the wild.
And finally, we looked at pockets, clips, and storage options. The Wawona 6 is more complex to set up than a classic dome-style tent like the Wireless 6, but not by much. We recommend doing it with two people, but one person can manage in about 15 minutes.
The tent itself has just two poles that cross like a dome tent, although it feels more like a cabin tent. It comes with a rainfly that has a bit of an overhang at the entrance to keep rain and bugs out. To tear it down again, you simply remove those stakes, then push the buttons attached to the red pulls.
In terms of flaws, there aren’t much to speak of with the Wawona 6, apart from the price. The North Face offers a limited lifetime warranty on the tent, and will repair most flaws and damage at its discretion. Throughout all our testing, we wanted to know how it felt to be inside the tents for long periods of time. If we had to spend a day in the tent during a storm, would it be comfortable?
We love this tent’s removable floor, two large doors, eight massive windows, and seven humongous storage pouches. It packs tons of space and features into a functional, good-looking design. Most instant tents are so easy to set up that you don’t need an instruction manual. They have pre-attached ozark trail instant cabin poles, an integrated pole system, or at least poles that are easy to install. Most rainflys, if they aren’t already attached, should also be fairly simple to install. If you can’t put your instant tent up in a few minutes, its design is flawed—or you didn’t buy an instant tent.
Canopy tents and screen houses are great ways to create food preparation areas as well, so consider taking one with you on your next camping trip. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). It is also important to consider the way in which the tent poles attach to the tent. Many of our picks use grommet attachments, which are more secure and simple to repair than key attachments if anything should break.
Keep yourself organized and connected with the four pockets and electrical port access. The Kelty Wireless 6 is a spacious tent that is easy to pitch, and it offers solid ozark trail instant cabin weather protection and durability for a reasonable price. Like the Mineral King 3, it has a simple, dome-style design that maximizes livability and minimize headaches.