Coleman Polygon 5, large 5-person tent with 360° view, 5 man family tent, sturdy steel pole construction, easy to pitch, 100% waterproof camping tent.

Product Information

A high-quality traditional dome tent with tons of interior space and a great rainfly. A feature-rich tent from a brand you can trust at a fair price. See Review An incredibly rugged tent with more features and interior space than you can imagine. Unique airframe design is sturdy and surprisingly fast to pitch. See Review If you’ve never heard of Zempire tents, it’s a damn shame, but you’re not alone. Zempire is a little-known outdoors brand based out of New Zealand, who specializes in building unique inflatable tents like the Zempire Pronto 5 seen here.

There are also tents with inflatable poles. You'll need to pump up each pole individually, so it can take a bit of effort, but you can avoid trying to feed the poles through the tent canvas. Most tents have thin, collapsible poles made from fibreglass. They often fold up into a compact size and are connected by an elastic cord. They're usually flexible and will need to be bent to fit the shape of the tent canvas during pitching. There don’t exist vents because the fly is high above the ground and has plenty of airflow beneath it. For ventilation, there are two large mesh sections on the sides.You'll want to ensure your tent footprint is the same size as the tent you're pitching – several manufacturers sell footprints specifically to fit certain tent models. The living area itself is another high point of the tent, with double doors for entry/exit and waterproof PVC windows that give the shelter an open and airey feel, even when it’s zipped up tight in bad weather. When the weather is good, however, both doors roll up out of the way, and one even converts into a convenient sun awning using an extra set of poles (which are included with the tent). It’s a unique and attractive structure, made all the more appealing by its budget-friendly price. Not all tents have indoor communal spaces that can house all the campers if the weather turns, and even those that do aren't always large enough for everyone to be comfortable. The floor of the Taurus 5 Outfitter is also impressively wide, boasting a full 10 feet of space that makes sleeping five campers a much more reasonable proposition. Combine that with a sizable exterior storage vestibule outside each of the Taurus’ two doors, and you’ve got a surprisingly livable tent, especially for such a small investment.

If you’re looking for the best 5 person tent for the money, we believe the Alps Mountaineering Taurus 5 Outfitter is the one to beat in terms of value. This is The Wise Adventurer’s roundup of the best 5 person tents currently on the market. If you’ve been searching long and hard for a good 5 person tent, you’re not alone: 5 person tents are hands down the least common tent size on the market, and that’s a shame considering how much they bring to the table.

Get Out With The Kids!

A well-ventilated tent will make for a more comfortable, condensation-free camping experience, and well-positioned vent panels and doors with fly screens allow for the free flow of air while keeping bugs out of your sleeping space. 4) Indoor space and flexible sleeping compartments Taking all the above factors into consideration, we found the Mountainsmith Conifer 5 to be the best 5 person tent currently on the market. The Conifer strikes us as the perfect mix of quality, livability, and value, and is built to last for years of three-season camping in just about any weather. Combines the convenience of an inflatable airframe design with high-quality materials. Surprisingly affordable for a Zempire shelter. See Review The most striking feature of the Coleman Waterfall is its unique tunnel/dome hybrid layout, which combines a tunnel-style sleeping area and a tall dome-style living area into a single shared structure (also called an “igloo” style tent). This solid single-wall canopy is made from PU-coated polyester rated to a 3,000mm hydrostatic head, which simplifies set-up and keeps the weight of the tent low.

However, for actual camping, this is a couple’s tent. They claim it can fit two queen-size beds, but there isn’t an inch of space left. It's very common for manufacturers to be generous about the number of people they say can fit inside their tents. The number they give will be technically true, but it probably won't account for the space needed for campers' belongings, or the space people need for a comfortable night's sleep. The Pronto is the most compact camping tent Zempire offers, but with roughly 84 square feet of floor area, it’s no slouch in the livability department either. The Pronto 5 even has its own attached “gull-wing” style awning, which makes for a big shady hang-out spot when the weather is good, but also converts into a weather-protected space with doors on each side when closed. Tent footprints are available to buy separately from tents at outdoor retailers. They're essentially an extra groundsheet that you can pitch before your tent, with the aim of pitching your tent on top of it.

The only thing worse than spending the night in a leaky tent is spending the night in a leaky tent with young children and/or a family pet. If you plan on camping rain-or-shine, pay close attention to both the design and water worthiness of your rainfly. We prefer tents with full-length rainflys that stretch all the way over the tent and stake in close to the ground.