Best Instant Tents: Field-Trialed & Tested [2023 Update]

The Core Instant Cabin tent is durable, waterproof enough for moderate rain, spacious, easy to set up, and packed with practical features, earning it our editor’s choice award.

The pre-attached poles in the Core are telescopic, so all you have to do is extend them, snap them into place, and your home for the night is good to go. While not as quick to set up as other tents on our list, the whole pitching process should take 2-3 minutes for one person.

Measuring 11 x 9 feet, the Core has plenty of room for 6 sleepers plus gear. There’s also a huge wall organizer with multiple pockets that helps you keep your gear tidy and off the floor.

While we wouldn’t recommend using the Core in a torrential downpour due to its use of only a partial-coverage rainfly, its H20 Block Technology provides enough water resistance to keep you dry in moderate rain. In warm weather, on the other hand, it comes into its own, mainly thanks to its large ground vents and huge mesh windows, which together ensure ample airflow.

If you like the look of this one but need a little more space, check out the Core 9-Person Instant Cabin.

Not all instant tents can withstand serious hostilities from the elements, but the KAZOO instant family tent is definitely one of them.

The Kazoo uses a double-walled design. The inner is made with 190T breathable polyester with a mesh ceiling and large mesh panels to boost airflow and stave off stuffiness and condensation. The rainfly is made with tough, 210T ripstop polyester, and has an impressive waterproof rating of 3000mm, which is more than enough for 3-season camping.

At 17.5 lbs., the Kazoo isn’t the lightest option out there, but it is several pounds lighter than the Ozark Trail tent, the Coleman Instant Cabin, and the Coleman Tenaya Lake, despite having similar dimensions to all three and comfortably sleeping six.

The only real downsides to this tent are the lack of a vestibule and the shortage of interior pockets. On the plus side, the doorway converts into an extended awning, so you’ll have a sheltered place to kick back or store gear during the daytime.

For a durable and highly waterproof dome tent suitable for three-season camping, the Toogh 3-Person Instant Dome deserves your consideration.

The Toogh is made with burly, 210T oxford fabric, making it one of the toughest tents on our list. The waterproof rating of the walls and flooring are 3,000mm and 10,000mm respectively, so it’s also the most waterproof, although this does make it more prone to condensation and stuffiness in warm weather.

When it comes to setup, the Toogh is a dream. All you need to do is roll it out, lift the central pole hub, and, true to its name, it will pop into place. While setup takes a few seconds longer than the Core 6-Person, we found the Toogh much easier to pack away.

The features in this tent are, however, a bit of a letdown. While we love that the two doors can be extended into awnings, we don’t love the shortage of storage pockets inside. Another downside is that, like most instant dome tents, the Toogh has considerably less headroom owing to the curvature of the walls.

The Coleman brand name is virtually synonymous with affordable, high-quality outdoor gear, and the ‘dark rest’ instant cabin tent is no exception.

The standout feature of this shelter is the use of ‘dark rest’ technology, which essentially blocks out 90% of sunlight. This helps to keep the interior cool on warm, sunny days and prevents the sunrise from waking you up in the morning – ideal for campers who like to sleep in late!

Cool bonus features aside, this is a great tent for a family car camping trip. It may be heavy, but it’s exceptionally sturdy, performs well in strong winds, is waterproof enough for three-season camping, and can be set up in two minutes tops.

This Coleman instant tent comes in 4-person, 6-person, or 10-person sizes, with each scoring high in the liveability stake thanks to their cabin-style design and steep walls. The 4-person model is just under five feet tall, so you can’t stand in it, but the 6- and 8-person models both have a peak height of over six feet.

The Ozark Trail is comparable to the Coleman Instant in terms of size and functionality but outperforms in wet weather, offers more storage, features a unique built-in lighting system, and all at a slightly lower price.

This spacious cabin-style tent measures 10 x 9 feet, giving you a generous 90 square feet of interior floor space. Despite this, it can be set up in circa 60 seconds thanks to its pre-attached tent poles and central pole hub. This means that all you need to do is unpack and unfold the tent, extend the poles, peg it out, and you’re good to go.

While the OT only has a partial-coverage rain fly, the inner tent is rated to 1,200mm, so it’s a solid performer in all but the wettest conditions.

In terms of features, the OT serves up a mixed bag. There’s no vestibule or awning, sadly, and only one door, but there are a few add-ons that score it some serious points. The most impressive of these is the LED lighting in the pole hub that provides ambient lighting with the flick of a switch.

Other nice features include three mesh windows, an adjustable AC vent, an electrical port for hookups, and a full-wall organizer with multiple mesh storage pockets.

The pricey Coleman Tenaya Lake is the five-star hotel version of cabin tents, offering a luxurious camping experience with its generous storage and floor space.

Unlike many so-called “eight-person” tents out there, this one breaks the mold by actually providing enough room for 8 adult sleepers. It measures 13 x 9 feet, giving a total of 117 square feet (14.62 square feet per sleeper). The 6’ 8” center height and vertical walls also mean there’s plenty of headroom from end to end and side to side.

What we love most about the Tenaya Lake, however, is the inclusion of two non-standard “bonus” features – namely, a duo of built-in “closets” and a detachable privacy screen. The storage closets have mesh shelves and pockets that help keep your gear organized and free up space in the sleeping area, while the screen lets you create two separate rooms.

The Tenaya Lake is the priciest option on our list, and takes a little longer to set up than others, but is still a great choice if you value comfort and liveability and are happy to spend around three minutes setting up instead of one.

If you’re looking for a lightweight, frill-free pop-up tent for occasional family camping trips in fair weather, the Ayamaya Pop-Up is well worth considering.

The Ayamaya weighs just 12.5 lbs, making it the lightest option on our list. Despite this, it’s fairly sturdy and one of the most waterproof options we reviewed, boasting a waterproof rating of 3,000mm in the tent walls and 4,000mm in the groundsheet. While we feel it didn’t perform as well as the Kazoo in wet weather, it’s still waterproof enough for three-season camping.

The Ayamaya is the quickest and easiest tent to pitch on our list. When you reach your campsite, all you have to do is unzip the carry bag and let go, then the tent assembles itself instantly. Throw a few stakes in and then setup is done! We did find it a little trickier to get the tent back into the bag at the end of the trip, but this should still only take 2-3 minutes.

The Ayamaya’s features aren’t anything to write home about but aren’t a cause for complaint, either. There are 2 large doors, rear hooded vents, a duo of small storage pockets, and four large windows. The front door also extends into an awning for outside lounging.

The only downside to the Ayamaya is the peak height, which, at 51 inches, is the lowest of any tent on our list.