5 best tunnel tents for camping in 2023
Our roundup of the best tunnel tents for camping and backpacking
Tunnel tents are the perfect option if you’re looking for maximum head room and ease of set up.
The tunnel shape provides a more vertical wall structure than dome tents, allowing you greater space and more liveability.
For this reason, the tunnel tent design is most commonly found in family camping tents, though some backpacking tents are provided in tunnel format.
In a hurry? Here’s our top 3 picks for the best tunnel tents.
Best premium tunnel tent
Made from premium materials from head to toe, the Travel Lodge is a tent that will last you a life time if you want it to. Supplied with the ability to have 3 separate bedrooms and suitable for up to seven people, it’s the perfect luxury tunnel tent.
Best tunnel tent for large families
The NTK Arizona is a top-notch, high-quality tunnel tent for large families. Available from 6 to 12 person capacities, it can handle any weather your trip might throw at it.
Best 4-season tunnel tent
A rare tunnel tent that is built for 4-season use as well as backpacking. Suitable for up to 2-people it’s a cheap option for anyone looking for a 4-season tunnel tent.
5 best tunnel tents
Coleman WeatherMaster
A large tunnel tent with screened porch and hinged door
The Coleman WeatherMaster is a high-quality tunnel tent suitable for both small and large families.
It provides tonnes of space, a screened porch, a hinged entry door and a room divider.
The 6-person version has enough room for one queen sized air mattress with plenty of space to spare, or two queen sized air mattresses with no room to spare.
The 10-person version is large enough for two queen size air mattresses with tonnes of room to spare for gear and furniture.
Its inclusion of Coleman’s Weathertec coating ensures you’ll stay dry in wet weather, while the overhanging rainfly allows for windows to be open even in rain, providing excellent ventilation at all times.
With a peak height of 6 feet 8 inches, there is ample headroom to comfortably stand.
Jack Wolfskin Travel Lodge
A premium tunnel tent for groups and small families
The Jack Wolfskin Travel Lodge is a premium tunnel tent cram packed with features.
Not only is the tent large and full of features, it also uses extremely high quality materials throughout.
The supplied DAC aluminum poles are some of the best and most durable on the market.
The waterproofing capabilities are also some of the best currently on the market.
The rainfly has a hydrostatic head rating of 4,000mm, while the groundsheet has an almost unheard of 10,000mm hydrostatic head rating.
For context, a hydrostatic head rating of 2,000mm means the fabric can withstand heavy rain and driving wind, while anything above this can withstand water being pushed through by something physical, such as your body weight when laying on the groundsheet.
So if you’ve had bad experiences in the past with cheap tents leaking during rain then you can rest assured this tent will never leak on you.
Suitable for 5 to 7 people depending upon how much space you would like, the tent comes supplied with two interior tents to create three separate areas.
There is one small interior tent that you can hang in the vestibule to create a sleeping area.
There is also a large interior tent that you can attach to the main area of the tent and partition into two bedrooms or keep it as one large bedroom.
Along with the ability to design the layout of the bedrooms, you can also reposition some of the interior storage pockets to suit your needs.
With a peak height of 6.7 feet, there’s plenty of room for most people to comfortably stand up in.
The tent comes supplied with awning poles, footprint, 3 mesh-screened doors, 6 windows, 6 closable air vents and 24 interior storage pockets.
NTK Arizona
Best tunnel tent for larger families
NTK largely fly under the radar when it comes to quality camping tents. While they are not as well known as some of the other brands on this list, the quality of them is top notch.
The NTK Arizona comes in a variety of sizes to suit almost any family.
Where NTK’s tents truly stand out however is in their durability, reliability and hardiness.
They are one of the only tent brands (at least in this price range) that build tents strong enough to be left up for long periods of time, while also being perfectly easy to set up and take down for shorter car camping trips.
One of the reasons this is the case is that NTK’s tents were originally designed for the Amazon rainforest.
So they can handle fast-changing weather with ease.
At 6.73 feet tall, you can stand up, walk around and chill out in comfort.
In terms of interior space, the easiest way to illustrate the sheer size of the tent is that it is large enough for three queen air mattresses plus room to spare for your belongings.
And if you need any more convincing that this a worth while buy, NTK offer a lifetime replacement on any broken poles.
Alps Mountaineering Tasmanian
Great for hiking and backpacking in all seasons
The Alps Mountaineering Tasmanian 2-person tent is a spacious tunnel design backpacking tent suitable for all seasons.
While many 4-season tents are usually only used in winter due to their weight, the Tasmanian is light enough to be comfortably used all year round.
Being double walled and utilizing mesh doors, it also provides ample ventilation to prevent condensation in both summer and winter.
In terms of its winter capabilities, it can handle all the harsh weather you can throw at it. From wind and snow to rain and hail – none of it will make it inside your tent.
It comes with multiple mesh storage pockets and a gear loft to store your valuables and hang lanterns or lights.
The two vestibules allow for easy entry and exit, as well as space to store your boots and backpacks.
While the tent isn’t super lightweight at 7lbs 15oz, it’s extremely lightweight for a 4-season tent. If you were to split the weight between two of you, it would be comfortable enough to backpack with.
Coleman Oak Canyon
A great tunnel tent for couples and smaller families
The Coleman Oak Canyon is the perfect tunnel tent for couples and small families looking for a camping holiday with a little bit of luxury.
Particularly when it comes time to sleep.
The two rooms include black out technology to allow you to sleep easier and longer.
Not only does the dark room technology keep your tent darker, but cooler too. Allowing you to sleep in past sunrise without feeling like you’re in a sauna.
The bedroom divider can be removed to create one large bedroom if you don’t have a need for two separate rooms.
If you do remove the divider, there is enough space for one queen size mattress and a little room for belongings, or a double mattress and tonnes of room.
If you do keep the divider in place, you can squeeze, and we mean squeeze, a double bed in both rooms if you really need to.
Along with the generous sized bedrooms, the tent also features a large living area that has enough space for an inflatable sofa and other bits of furniture.
With a peak height of 6.56 feet, it’s tall enough for most people to stand up in comfortably.
Recommended accessories
Enerplex single layer queen sized air mattress
Coleman double layer queen air mattress
Coleman queen size camping cot
Luminoodle string/rope light
Odoland battery powered LED light and fan
