Are you planning on going on a camping trip with your family? Or are your friends looking to head off to the wilderness for a weekend out? No matter who you are, if you’re going on a camping trip with your friends, a decent tent is a basic necessity. A tent is an essential product even if you’re going in with nothing else. Are you after the best 6 person tent under 200 bucks money can buy?
So, if you’re looking for a decent 6-person tent to provide shelter for all your family and friends, you’re at just the right place. Here are some of our favorite tents on the market.
Coleman Cabin Tent With Instant Setup
Coleman is an industry leader when it comes to their camping equipment. Their products are so famous that a simple google search of the word “camping tent” will be mostly Coleman products. So, it’s fitting to have the first product on our list mention none other than the best in the business.
The Coleman Cabin Tent is one of the best-selling camping tents globally, and for a good reason. It has three different variants based on the number of people you want to take on your camping trip. The tent can support four, six, or even ten people. The best part about this tent is that it’s pretty user-friendly. You don’t need to be an expert camper to set it up. Furthermore, Coleman claims you can set this tent up in one minute, and that’s entirely true.
The material used to make this tent is 150D polyester with taped seams. What makes it unique is the double-layered fabric which makes the tent extremely durable against environmental elements. This tent can hold up against all seasons and will be the only one you need to buy for camping trips all over the year. Moreover, the tent holds up to rain as well because of something Coleman calls a WeatherTec System. Coleman welded the corners shut and inverted the seams to keep any water from seeping in. Coleman also wants you to get your sleep uninterrupted. Therefore, their Dark Room Technology shades you from 90% of all the sunlight coming into your tent.
What Makes the Coleman Cabin Tent Different?
Tents can become pretty claustrophobic if you’re not used to them. The lack of air circulation is pretty bad, and it’s normal to feel suffocated when inside. Coleman wants to make sure that doesn’t happen. They’ve integrated a rainfly which not only protects you from the rain but also increases ventilation, making sure you’re comfy in your tent.
The interior of the tent is pretty spacious for six people. The dimensions are 10 ft x 9 ft with a 6 ft center height. The tent has enough room to fit two queen-size air beds. It’s a large tent, but Coleman wants to make sure you can easily carry it in a bag pack. Even with its massive size, it can be conveniently packed up in a small carrying bag.
Pros
- Sets up in one minute
- Poles are already attached
- Quite spacious
- Fits into its carry bag for easy transport
Cons
- Not completely waterproof
- Seams can rip if pulled
Pacific Pass 6-Person Camping Tent
If you’ve ever bought something relevant to camping and outdoor trekking, Pacific Pass is a name that has probably come up on your screen quite a few times. They have a fantastic assortment of folding chairs, sleeping bags, and folding wagons, with their main product being camping tents.
The Pacific Pass 6-Person Camping Tent is also pretty easy to set up. It comes with six ropes and 12 stakes that make it reasonably easy to get the tent up and running. It’s not as straightforward or quick as the Coleman, but it’s quick, nonetheless. It’ll take 2-3 people around 5 minutes to set up the entire tent.
How Does the Pacific Pass Camping Tent Look?
The Pacific Pass tent is slightly bigger than the Coleman tent we mentioned above. It has a center height of about 69 inches with a 10 ft x 10 ft base. There’s a separate screen room as well with a dimension of 10 ft x 4 ft. The best part about the tent is that it’s not just for you and your family. There’s extra space as well where you can store your camping equipment. Furthermore, Pacific Pass holds your convenience high up on their list of priorities. They make sure you’re not going to have to share the limited space you have with the equipment you brought along. There’s a small hook at the top of the tent that you can use to mount a small lantern conveniently.
The material used to make this tent is a thick 190T polyester which is a pretty durable material. This tent is also completely waterproof to keep you and your items dry. It has a 1200 mm fabric to keep every drop of water out of your tent. Apart from that, there are three separate windows that you can unzip for ventilation. Summer days will be spent pretty easily with these windows rolled down.
Moreover, the tent weighs 18.26 lbs. which is exceptionally lightweight for a product of its size. You can roll up this 18.26 lbs. of premium camping tent goodness into a small 24 x 8.66 inches carry bag for portability.
Overall, the Pacific Pass 6-Person Tent is an incredible product when we talk about the price-to-performance ratio. It provides an impeccable experience with an insane amount of interior space. It’s one of the roomiest tents you’re going to find on the market, and it will allow you to enjoy your camping trips.
Pros
- Comes with a screened-in porch
- Spacious
- Provides good ventilation
- Comes with a rain fly
- Lightweight
- Equipped with mesh bags for organization
Cons
- Poles tend to detach easily
- Screened-in porch is small
Coleman Steel Creek Fast Pitch Dome Tent
This is the second product from Coleman mentioned on this list, and it’s not a surprise. Coleman is such a reliable and well-known manufacturer of camping tents that it’s possible to create an entire list purely out of Coleman products.
This Coleman tent is a bit more complex than the one mentioned earlier. It’s much roomier even though both of them are 6-person tents. It has a separate screen to keep out insects. You could alternatively use that space for extra sleeping space. You could just chuck in all the excess luggage you have in that separate area. Or, you can use the space like a porch and pop up two foldable seats, and have some fantastic conversations over a cup of coffee.
It is essential to keep in mind that this tent is a lot more complicated to set up. The earlier Coleman tent was pretty straightforward. This one will take around 7 minutes to set up completely.
Similar to most premium quality camping tents, this one is also capable of surviving all three seasons. It doesn’t matter whether you’re taking the tent out for an afternoon in the 100-degree weather or the middle of a rainstorm. The Steel Creek Tent has you covered with its top-quality poly guard fabric and strong frame. The tent also comes with window awnings that allow you to improve ventilation without letting in the rain.
Other neat features include mesh pockets to store your belongings and keep them off the floor and an e-port that can be hooked up to a power outlet to provide electricity inside the tent. And finally, just like all the other tents on this list, you can conveniently pack up the tent into a handy storage bag which can save a lot of space.
Pros
- Has a screen room
- Easy to setup with color coded poles
- Rainproof
- Durable materials
- Spacious
- Has an E-port for extension cords
- Has mesh storage pockets
Cons
- Hard to put back in the carry case
- Clips for the poles are fragile
ALPS Mountaineering Camp Creek 6-Person Tent
ALPS Mountaineering is another company well-reputed in the world of camping equipment. They have all the products in the world any hiker or camper could ask for. Their motto is “Exceed your expectations,” which is precisely what this tent from ALPS does.
The visual aesthetic of this tent makes it look a lot more like your average outdoor wilderness hut than a tent. If you’re not digging the classic dull colors that most tents have, you can go for the elegant gray and red color setup that ALPS provides. This is the only tent on the list that offers the option to select a color.
What Makes the ALPS Mountaineering Tent Unique?
The best part about this ALPS Mountaineering tent is the sheer height it has. If you have some tall folks in the family who have trouble walking around the tent and have to duck every time they’re in one, this tent will be a life-saver for them. The center height of the tent is 7 feet which makes sure that you can freely move around (unless you’re Andre the Giant). Moreover, the extra room is complemented by the fact that there are straight sidewalls which add a bit more room to the tent.
The tent is pretty durable too. It has a free-standing design with fiberglass poles that hold it up even through the toughest of weather. It’s pretty easy to set up. You’re going to construct the entire tent around a hub and pole clips that make it pretty convenient. To further add to the convenience, ALPS also includes an organizational mess storage on the side to better arrange your gear in the tent.
Moreover, like all other products on this list, this tent is completely waterproof with factory-sealed fly and floor seams. The doors, windows, and roof have a layer of mesh you can use for air circulation on hot summer days. There are four windows in total and only one door for entry.
However, one of the major drawbacks that pushed ALPS Mountaineering down our list was the fact that their base has a much thinner tarp than it should. This is a fairly expensive tent, and it’s not really what you’d expect from a product with such a hefty price tag. If the manufacturers did make the base a bit thicker, this tent could potentially be on the top of this list.
Pros
- Easy to set up
- Good ventilation
- Extra roomy with tall center
- Comes with a rain fly
- With mesh storage shelf
Cons
- Windows and door flap cannot be secured when unzipped
- Might require longer stakes for stronger winds
- Tub floor is a little thin
How to Choose the Right Camping Tent?
So, those were some of the best camping tents you’re going to find on the market. However, how are you supposed to find the one right for you? Let’s talk a bit about that.
a)The Right Height
The ideal tent you can find is one with enough center height for you to walk around freely. It’s extremely annoying to have to crouch down every time you enter the tent. You can find tents with heights up to 10 ft. If you’re able to find a big tent, you can walk around easily in it just like you’d walk around your house.
b)Ventilation
If you’re planning on using the tent in the summer, you’re definitely going to need ventilation. Most manufacturers attempt to make waterproof tents, and, in the process, they end up sacrificing airflow and turn their tents into a chimney that is uncomfortable to sleep in. Ideally, you’re looking for a tent with a lot of mesh windows to have a decent flow of air. Having six people locked up in a ball of waterproof fabric is not something your respiratory system will appreciate.
c)Rainfly
Speaking of waterproofing, you need a tent that can hold its own in extreme weather conditions. A rainfly is like a mini umbrella on top of your tent, which keeps the tent safe from heavy rain. Without a rainfly, water would just seem in through the top of your roof.
d)Easy to Set Up
Not everyone is an expert in camping. Most of the folks who want to buy a camping tent are having this experience for the first time in their lives. If you’re one of them, you’d like to buy a tent that’s easy to set up. The Coleman tent we mentioned at the top of this list is a brilliant example of easy-to-set-up tents. Every tent comes with an instructions manual, but it’s always nice to have one that doesn’t take too much work.
e)Storage Space
It’s a real hassle to have your cargo ruffling around the tent while you’re trying to sleep at night. Yes, six-person tents do mean that six people will be able to sleep comfortably in the tent. However, no one accounts for the space that your camping supplies will take around the tent. It’s nice to have a tent that has a separate mesh compartment to store your supplies. It could also have a separate screen for use as a porch to alternatively avail for storing your goods.
Conclusion
Getting a good-quality tent on a budget is no easy affair. It takes hours of research to find a tent that is suitable for your camping needs. We hope our list of the best 6 person tents under $200 helped you narrow down your options, and saved your precious time! A tent of this calibre should definitely be worth considering in your tactical bug out bag.
