What is an Instant Tent?
An instant tent is a tent with no hassle in setup and takedown and which provides all the protection you would get from a regular tent. There are many tents on the market that come with an instant “popup” design which one person can set up with ease. The best of these tents are lightweight and durable, and they are available for individuals, couples, small families, and large families alike.
In this post, we’ve put together reviews of five of the best instant tents, from small to large. Choose the one that fits your needs best – there is something for everyone!
5 Best Instant Tents Reviewed
- ABCO Sport Cabana Beach 2 Person Tent
- Coleman 4 Person Cabin Tent
- Moon Lence 5 Person Pop Up Tent
- OT Qomotop 6 person Cabin Tent
- Core 9 person Cabin Tent
Best 2 Person Instant Tent
ABCO Sport Cabana Beach Tent
The ABCO Sport Cabana Beach Tent is a fold-out, popup tent. The tent pops open to fit up to two people easily. The tent comes fitted with double doors, so you and your camping partner can enter the tent from either side. The inner door is a mesh door that allows air to filter into the tent with an outer door that rolls up out of the way or blocks the weather.
Two side windows roll up to allow for more air to circulate with nylon flaps that provide privacy as well as breathability. The tent is ideal for quick storage and transport and comes with a carry bag. The tent takes up little room in a car or on the trail.
This tent is high-quality polyester that blocks the wind and prevents rain from soaking through. With double-stitched seams, the tent resists leaks as well as rips or tears during setup and takedown. The tent has solid poles that fold for easy storage.
The inside of the tent comes with four slots around the corners of the tent. The slots allow you to run cords inside the tent for electricity. When not in use, the slots close to keep the weather out of the tent.
Best 4 Person Instant Tent
Coleman Cabin Tent with Instant Setup
The Coleman Cabin Tent with Instant Setup is weatherproof. The design of the tent resists changes in weather from sun to rain. The tent is 150 D polyester with taped seams that keep the rain, wind, and weather out.
Welded corners and inverted seams combined with the tape help to repel water and resist leaks. The fabric is also double thick to resist wind and wear. A rainfly comes integrated into the design of the tent to provide airflow and seasonal changes.
The interior is large enough for multiple family members to sleep comfortably. And, for people of average height, the high ceiling provides plenty of room to sit or stand up without hitting your head. The tent resists changes in weather as well as temperatures.
If you use the rainfly, the tent will block up to ninety percent of the sun. Multiple zip-out windows help provide consistent airflow during the warmest days. The windows also feature darkroom technology to help you block the sun’s rays for a better morning’s start.
The tent is lightweight at a little under twenty pounds and has an integrated floor design. The floor is a tube-like design to prevent leaks and the transference of moisture into the tent seams. It is easy to quickly assemble with preassembled poles that help you have it set up in minutes.
Best 5 Person Instant Tent
Moon Lence Instant Pop Up Tent
The Moon Lence Instant Pop Up Tent can sleep up to five people comfortably. The tent unfolds from the included storage bag, and you can choose from three different colors of blue, green, and orange.
The tent is designed with four large windows that allow for plenty of airflow, including a D-shaped door that comes with dual zippers. The dual zippers allow you to have the door and windows open without the bugs coming into the tent.
The tent comes with ten alloy pegs and five guy ropes that can be used to secure the tent in the wind, and the dome-like structure of the tent increases its stability during storms.
Made with 190 polyurethane (PU) material with a 210D Oxford groundsheet, this tent retains heat and keeps out the cold. The floor is rated at 2,000 mm water-resistance, while the shell of the tent also resists the harmful and degrading UV rays of the sun. The design of the tent allows the wind to flow around the tent without doing damage.
SBS zippers come on the doors and windows that keep them securely closed for harsh weather or maintaining privacy. This tent can be set up in minutes using lifting joints that snap into place, making it a great choice if you want to avoid the hassles of loose tent poles and canvas.
Best 6 Person Instant Tent
OT Qomotop Instant Cabin Tent
The OT Qomotop Instant Cabin Tent is a quick set up tent. The tent comes with a fold-out inner tent that pops up within minutes of your arrival at your campsite. It is easy enough to set up for one person to do alone.
The tent is waterproof with a design that helps it resist leaks and moisture. The floor features a polyethylene (PE) tube floor that has welded corners that keep water from coming in through the floor, and tape covers the inner tent seams to prevent leaks.
The tent is large, with plenty of room for a family to have space with a high center that gives room to move. The size is large enough to fit a queen airbed along with other types of gear. The tent is lightweight at a little over sixteen pounds when carrying it.
The windows and doors come with double zippers that provide plenty of air. A mesh roof lets air pass in and out of the tent. The design has an added tarp over the top to keep the rain and the wind out while you are inside.
Made of 68 D polyester, the tent is resistant to moisture and other types of weather. Telescoping poles ease tent set-up upon arrival, and a 125 gsm PE floor keeps out the ground water.
Uniquely designed with floor vents, the airflow helps cool the tent during the hottest weather. Once assembled, the tent is resistant to wind and weather without flapping or popping open. The tent zippers for the door and windows are easy to open, with double zippers to keep the tent solidly closed.
Best 9 Person Instant Tent
Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent
The Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent is a quick set up tent. Sleeping nine people comfortably, the tent can fit two queen-sized air mattresses with a maximum center height of 78 inches. You can divide the tent down the middle to make it into two separate rooms to keep adults separate from kids.
The design of the tent comes with multiple ways to add comfort and convenience to your camping experience, such as the wall storage pockets. You can keep your smaller items handy and organized inside the tent. The tent has solid walls regardless of the number of items stored within the pockets, and telescoping steel tent poles make the tent sturdy and easy to set up.
The tent comes electricity-ready with an electrical cord port, which lets you run electricity into your tent for computers, a light, or even a heater or fan. The access port comes with a closable hatch to keep water out when not in use.
The tent comes with everything you need for set-up, including tent stakes to tack down your tent and a rainfly to ensure your camping trips remain dry. The tent also comes with a carrying bag that makes it easy to transport or store while not in use.
The tent is one hundred percent 68 D polyester, while the floor mat is a durable 125 gsm (grams per square meter).
Our Top Choice
The Moon Lence Instant Pop Up Tent stands out from the rest for its durability. It is a three-season tent with 2,000 mm resistant rainfly and a thick floor. The tent will protect everyone from the elements while providing plenty of airflow through the multiple windows and D-Shaped door.
But what makes this tent remarkable is the ease of setting it up. Simply lifting the tent from the center and locking in the joints completes the set-up, and this can be done easily by one individual in under a minute. The tear-down is similarly simple, and you can have the tent packed up and ready to go before you know it.
If you are looking for a tent that is budget-friendly, easy to set-up, and light to carry, we recommend the Moon Lence Instant Pop Up Tent as the best instant tent for your next camping excursion.
What should you look for in the best instant tent?
The right kind of tent for your adventure will come with multiple benefits for family trips and backpacking trips. But, choosing a quality tent can be difficult, so here are some things to consider.
Tough Material
Quality tents will be made from durable material such as canvas or polymers, most commonly polyethylene (PE) or polyurethane (PU).
Polyester & Nylon
A polyester or nylon tent is resistant to rain while providing you and your family an easy way to set up. Polyester and nylon resist mold and dry quickly. The tents made from these fabrics are also lightweight and easy to carry.
Polyester and nylon are good tents for warmer weather as they most frequently come with plenty of windows for airflow. If the tent comes with an ultraviolet resistant coating, they will last longer and be less likely to show wear from the sun or deterioration from use.
Cotton or Canvas
The benefits of cotton and canvas tents are almost the opposite of nylon and polyester. They are more durable than polyester and nylon tents, and they maintain a more consistent temperature, making them a good choice for multiple season adventures. Cotton is more breathable than canvas, but both weigh much more than nylon and polyester.
Cotton and canvas tents are also resistant to wear, but due to the weight of the material, they are not easy to carry on a quick trip into the great outdoors. They can also smell musty if stored wet. These types of tents require more maintenance and can absorb moisture easily, making them difficult to pack up after a night of rain.
You can read more about the types of materials used in tents in our other post on some of the Best Waterproof Tents.
Zipper Strength
Zippers will protect you from the wind and rain, and they also provide windows and ventilation. However, if you haven’t already discovered with a sleeping bag on a previous camping experience, zippers can also cause the biggest headaches when they snag or become stuck.
Look for zippers that have wide and thick teeth as they will grip together better and be less likely to break or jam, and choose tents with zippers that have large tabs for a better grip.
Seam Tape
Tents leak without seam tape. Most modern tents come with double-stitched seams as well as with tape to ensure water will not leak through the stitching. If you have the option, choose a tent with heat-welded seams, or at the very least, that comes from the factory with tape.
If the need arises, you can also buy the tape separately to add strength to the tent seams or mend a popped seam in an emergency.
Rainfly
A rainfly is not something that always comes with a tent. The rainfly provides an additional barrier between the tent and the weather, and it acts as an insulator by trapping air against the interior walls of the tent. Although you can get away without one, we definitely recommend having a rainfly in the case of a sudden drop in temperature or inclement weather.
