Best portable tent air conditioner: what’s the best portable AC unit for camping in 2023?
Our roundup of the best portable tent air conditioners for small to large tents
A tent that is as hot and humid as a sauna is one sure fire way to ruin your camping trip.
While fans can help keep you a little more comfortable in average heat, nothing can beat the power of an air conditioning unit in scorching hot weather.
The most important things to consider when purchasing a portable tent air conditioner are –
What BTU do you need to cool your tent?
Tent size
4-6 person
8-10 person
12-14 person
Required BTU
5000 BTU
8000 BTU
10000 BTU
In a hurry? Here’s our top 3 picks for the best portable tent air conditioner.
Quietest portable AC
The Vremi is the quietest portable AC unit available for camping. An important feature to not only ensure you get a good nights sleep, but your camp neighbors too.
Best portable AC for small tents
A feature rich portable AC unit designed specifically for tents and camping. At 1100 BTU’s it’s only suitable for smaller tents up to 4 people.
Best value AC unit
The Black + Decker is one of the best selling portable air conditioners of all time. It’s powerful, reliable and dehumidifies as well as conditions the air. While it does the task at hand extremely well, it’s quite loud in comparison to the Vremi.
Best portable tent air conditioner
Zero Breeze 2 portable air conditioner
A feature rich option MADE for camping
The Zero Breeze is the only air conditioner specifically designed for tents. Brought to life via Kickstarter, this little machine has tonnes of neat features beyond its air conditioning capabilities.
With a BTU rating of 1100, it can adequately cool a 4-person tent from 90℉ to 72℉, though it is much more effective in a 1-2 person tent or a tent that is well insulated.
Being designed for camping and outdoor use in mind, the Zero Breeze features a TONNE of neat features that can dramatically reduce what you need to pack for your trip.
Its 5-in-1 design includes air conditioner, fan, USB charging station (2 ports), bluetooth speaker and LED lighting.
You can also power it in a multitude of ways to suit your needs including – wall outlet, gas/propane or lithium powered portable generator and a 12V car battery.
So if you have a small(ish) tent and are looking for the most convenient and feature packed air conditioner then this is definitely your top choice.
Check current price on ZeroBreeze
Black + Decker portable air conditioner
A top quality tent air conditioner for medium to large tents
The Black + Decker AC unit is one of the most well respected portable air conditioners on the market, and has been for many years.
The Black + Decker AC not only air conditions but dehumidifies too, making it perfect for camping in humid climates such as Florida.
The dehumidifier tray is large and takes a long time to fill up so wont require you to constantly keep emptying it or worrying about it leaking over night.
One of the coolest features is the removable and washable filter. Keeping the air in tent cold AND clean.
The unit features 3 standard modes of low, medium and high, plus a sleep mode that automatically adjusts the fan speed as required.
The Black + Decker 8000 BTU is a great choice for medium to large tents and will keep you comfortably cool in even the hottest weather.
However, it is definitely not one of the quietest AC units, so if you struggle to sleep with any kind of background noise then this wont be a good choice.
IcyBreeze v2 portable AC unit and cooler
A fun and quirky take on a portable air conditioner
The IcyBreeze is a super fun portable air conditioner that also doubles as a drinks cooler.
It can dispense cool, dry air up to 35 degrees below outside temperature, while the three speed fan can produce currents up to 25 mph.
While it’s not really powerful enough to replace a “proper” AC unit, if you’re looking to cool down a small tent to make it more comfortable while you sleep or chill out, it’s definitely a capable choice.
One of its main benefits over other AC units is its ease of use and set up. There’s no technicalities to figure out, no parts to fiddle with and nothing that needs “adapting”.
Unlike most other AC units it does not produce exhaust heat.
If you’ve ever used an AC unit before, you’ll know just how much of a problem the exhaust can cause. In fact, when installed improperly an AC unit can increase the heat of your surroundings.
But with the IcyBreeze you don’t have to worry about any of that!
Another neat feature is the directional flexi-hose. The flexi-hose allows you to blow the cold air exactly where you want it without having to move the position of the unit itself.
You also get 38 quarts of cooler space for food, drinks and ice.
Vremi portable air conditioner
Quietest tent air conditioner
The Vremi portable air conditioner is one of the quietest on the market. In fact, it’s actually much quieter than significantly less powerful units.
It also includes some neat features that you don’t find in most portable AC units.
Similar to the Black and Decker, the Vremi features a removable and washable filter to keep your air clean as well as cool.
It includes 4 modes including cool, fan, dry and sleep mode. While even sleep mode isn’t silent, it offers a pleasant, white noise that fades into the background easily.
The LED screen is a great feature to see the current temperatures and settings of the unit. The LED screen also has a sleep mode that dims the brightness, though this may still be too bright if you like sleeping in complete darkness.
The unit automatically drops its fan speed when the temperature reaches your desired level, a great addition if you are running it via a generator and don’t want to waste energy or have to get up to turn it down during the night.
It’s the perfect choice if you want something quiet and is suitable for most sized tents from small (8000 BTU) to extra large family tents (14000 BTU).
Recommended accessories
WEN 56200i 2000-Watt Portable Inverter Generator
If you don’t yet have a generator and want to hook one of the AC units listed above up to one then the WEN 56200i is your best bet.
The maximum watts of any of the AC units listed is 1200, and allowing for extra start up power, a 2000 watt generator is more than adequate.
