The Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 Tent is the best car-camping tent choice for couples. It has everything you need for three-season camping, with the bonus of being light enough to double as an occasional backpacking tent. Although it’s designed to accommodate three people—hence the “3” in its name—we found that at 42.5 square feet, the tent is more comfortable for two, plus gear and maybe a medium-size dog.
This portable shower/utility tent is great for those who want a little privacy when showering outdoors. It features 2 rooms, one with a 5-gallon solar-powered portable shower bag and the other one with pouches and a rack so you can store your toiletries, hang your towel and clothes while you shower and then use it as a changing room. If you’re looking for a unique outdoor experience, glamping destinations in Oklahoma should be on your radar. Glamping, which is a combination of camping and glamour, provides a comfortable and stylish way to enjoy the great outdoors.
The Sundome’s tarp is clearly a budget material, but for what it was, we found it user-friendly. It’s easy to mop up after wet paws and spills, and it doesn’t hold moisture. It’s unlikely to be as durable, though, ozark trail canopy tent as the softer, stronger polyester found in our other picks. Though the Wireless’s fly kept water out of the tent’s interior, it took longer to fully dry once the rain stopped than some others we tested.
One night during testing, for example, clouds loomed in the distance with clear skies overhead. After we pitched the tent, the Mineral King 3’s adaptable fly let us leave half the mesh dome uncovered. At the first sign of rain, it took only a few seconds—and a quick hand stuck outside the tent—to unfurl the fly and secure it for a dry night’s sleep.
The hook at the top holds a 5-gallon shower bag and the mesh at the bottom perimeter ensures water drains properly. An exterior towel rack provides a place to keep your things dry while showering and an ideal place to hang your wet towel. A shelf and storage pockets keep your toiletries off the floor. The Ozark Trail Deluxe Shower Tent can also be used as a changing station or a lavatory. The mesh ceiling and window ensure ventilation while allowing for privacy. Hang a lantern on the hook at the top of the tent for nighttime use.
For this guide, we focused on tents that suit the most common terrains you’re likely to encounter when car-camping—grassy lawns or clearings, beaches, dirt campsites, and basic platforms—in spring, summer, and fall. We’re not looking at tents designed for such specialized activities as mountaineering, backpacking, or winter camping, though some of our recommendations have cross-over potential. A full rain cover, two ozark trail canopy tent vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole structure make this the best choice for families who want to get outside in any weather. That mesh also keeps the tent feeling airy and cool in hot climates. The Wireless 6’s drawbacks have mainly to do with material quality. These can be as strong, or even more so, than aluminum poles (especially cheap ones), but they’re always bulkier, heavier, and not as nice to handle.
We then rotated the tents looking for structural weaknesses, and we tested their guy lines and tabs to see which tents had the best and most intuitive design for withstanding wind. If you can afford to spend more on a family tent, we recommend The North Face Wawona 6. Everyone who tested this tent loved it, and it’s not hard to understand why. With plenty of interior space, near-vertical walls, and a gigantic vestibule that could accommodate a golf cart, the Wawona feels more like a tiny home than a tent.