Tents and Shelters
Ready for a night out? Whether you’re an ultralight alpinist, family of backpackers, devoted hanger, or comfort camper, you'll find the best tents, tarps, and hammocks for your outdoor overnights right here.
Check out our top picks below—including price comparisons—to shelter you in any terrain, trip, or season: winter mountaineering, three-season thru-hiking, warm weather car camping, hammock hanging, alpine bivys, tarps, and emergency shelter.
Or you can browse our thousands of independent tent and shelter ratings and reviews by product type, brand, or price. Written by real-world hikers, backpackers, alpinists, climbers, and paddlers, Trailspace community reviews will help you select a dependable, field-tested, outdoor abode just right for your next adventure.
Category
Four-Season3-4 Season Convertible
Three-Season
Warm Weather
Bivy Sacks
Tarps and Shelters
Hammocks
Bug Nets
Accessories
Brand
Eagles Nest OutfittersHilleberg
MSR
Marmot
Grand Trunk
Kodiak Canvas
EMS
Black Diamond
Eureka!
Mountain Hardwear
User
UnisexMen's
Kids'
Price
less than $25$25 - $49.99
$50 - $99.99
$100 - $199.99
$200 - $299.99
$300 - $399.99
$400 - $499.99
$500 and above
Recent Tent/Shelter Reviews
Heroclip
Missing item i ordered 5 clips as gifts and only received 4. After several attempts to resolve this I still have had no response. Full review
Eureka! Amari Pass 3
A great, easy to set up tent if light weight is not your primary concern. I stands up to wind and rain and is a roomy place for two people and their gear. I bought this tent back in 2014 and have stayed in it for weeks at a time. Usually it is just me and my trusty Irish Setter, but it is plenty roomy for two. It is rated as a three-person tent, but if there are three adults they will likely know more than they would like to about each other after an evening. My tent weighed in at just over six… Full review
3F Gear Lanshan 2
When it comes to quality/weight versus price, I don't think this tent can be beaten. Great for one-person backpacking. First, some housekeeping. There are one or two minor thing which need adjustment form the "as supplied" condition which will make your life a lot easier before you take it out on a trip: 1) You'll need to seal the areas where the guy lines attach as they've been taped and then stitched through. Sealing otherwise looks good. 2) The adjustable straps at the peg points were threaded… Full review
Hilleberg Kaitum 3 Footprint
Expensive, but useful, addition to your valued Hilleberg tent. Provides great level of floor protection against wear and mechanical damage, introduces floor in vestibules, extends the possible pitching options. The footprint stays connected to the tent during transportation and storage, which is simply great. Drying the footprint after night Purchasing the footprint for my Hilleberg Kaitum 3 tent was a difficult decision for me. The floor of this tent is already strong, and the footprint is quite… Full review
TNH Outdoors Two-Person Backpacking Tent
Durable tent that won't leave you wet! Easy to set up and should last for years. Low cost makes this tent a very viable option for weekenders, car campers, backyarders, and section hikers. I bought this tent in February and had the chance to take it through some tough weather conditions. We had a good snowstorm which started as rain then sleet then snow for about 6-8 inches all with high winds. The tent performed flawlessly in these conditions. No worries about weather. This tent was a budget purchase… Full review
MSR 1-Person Tent
I did own an MSR 1-person, color red tent (very similar to the Carbon Reflex 1 tent), which I gave to a nice kid who was 5 ft. 9 in. tall with a smaller body than my dainty 5'11" and 195 lbs. It is far more pleasant to have more space inside so that you do not feel trapped into a bivy bag configuration. In the earlier model MSR 1-person, I was camped in a lonely camp area opposite the Taylor River near Middle Fork of Snoqualmie in the late autumn. The small tent was really cramped. As I was drifting… Full review
Kodiak Canvas 10x10 Flex-Bow Canvas Tent Deluxe
I bought this four-season tent several years ago primarily for use at Burning Man, where you see 100s of these. It's because, well—if it's water-proof, it's going to be dust-proof—and it definitely is. A lot of people make the mistake out at Burning Man of using mesh-roofed tents and thus get badly dusted. With a Kodiak, it's dust-proof and you can completely zip it up. Only issue is, for desert environments, you need a shade structure over it because it gets pretty hot without one. I suspend… Full review
Outdoor Research Helium Bivy
Spacious lightweight bivy, waterproof, and breathable with minimal condensation issues. I have spent almost two weeks in the Outdoor Research Helium Bivy and found it to be pretty acceptable for my use. I bought it from Massdrop for $148.07, and when received, tried it out on my back lawn without turning off the early morning sprinklers. I slept comfortably all night and did not get wet from the sprinklers, which were on for 20 minutes. More recently, I took the bivy on an almost two-week trip… Full review
Kelty Mantra 7
I camped with the tent for eight years. At first, the poles were too long and ripped the tent. Kelt gave us new poles and fixed the tear. This tent held up in severe winds and rain and kept us dry. Another storm off Lake Michigan, our family went to sleep in the car. When we returned, the tent was blown up the bluff, lodged between two trees, and was still intact (it needed more weight to hold it down or bigger stakes to keep it down). This spring the tent leaked and I was told the polyurethane… Full review
Top-Rated Tents and Shelters
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What’s the “best” tent or shelter for you? Consider your personal outdoor needs, preferences, and budget:
- Conditions:
First, and most important, in what seasons, conditions, and terrain will you use your tent, tarp, or hammock? Choose a shelter that can handle the conditions you expect to encounter (rain, snow, wind, heat, humidity, biting insects, an energetic scout troop), but don’t buy more tent than you truly need, and don’t expect one tent to do it all. - Capacity:
Tents are typically classified by sleeping capacity (i.e. one-person, two-person, etc). However, a tent's stated sleeping capacity usually does not include much (or any) space for your gear and there’s no sizing standard between tent manufacturers. Some users size up. - Livability:
Will you use the tent as a basecamp or is it an emergency shelter only? To determine if you and your gear will fit, look at the shelter’s dimensions, including floor and vestibule square areas, height and headroom (including at the sides), plus the number and placement of doors, gear lofts, and pockets, to assess personal livability, comfort, and footprint. - Weight and Packed Size:
If you’ll be backpacking, climbing, cycling, or otherwise carrying that shelter, consider its weight, packed size (and your pack it needs to fit in), and its space-to-weight ratio before automatically opting for the bigger tent. Paddlers and car campers have more room to work with, but everyone should consider how the tent and its parts pack up for stowage. - Design:
Tents come in various designs. Freestanding tents can stand alone without stakes or guy lines and can be easily moved or have dirt and other debris shaken out without being disassembled, though they still need to be staked out. Rounded, geodesic domes are stable and able to withstand heavy snow loads and wind. Tunnel tents are narrow and rectangular, and large family cabin tents are best for warm-weather campground outings. - Other features and specs to consider include single versus double-wall, ease of setup, stability, weather resistance, ventilation, , and any noteworthy features.
- Read more in our guide to tents.
