Best Family Tents for Primitive Camping
- Eric Beuning
- Apr 1
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 12
Primitive camping means camping without electricity and running water. It’s the most common and financially affordable way to stay at popular places like Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Black Hills, and Glacier National Park. Yet, you also have to weigh the cost of buying camping gear against the cost of renting an expensive lodge or cabin.
There are some high-end extreme environment tents out there that have extreme price tags. Yet if you’re not a camping enthusiast or aren’t planning to become the type of person who camps a dozen times a year, they’re probably prohibitively expensive. Especially if you have a family and you’re already running on a tight budget.
One of my father’s last wishes was for me to take my daughter to all the places he took me. So, I needed a family tent or two that could take care of us and our golden retriever without breaking the bank. Along the way, I’ve borrowed, bought, and tested a bunch of family tents, and I wanted to bring you my top picks for various occasions.
Disclaimer: With nearly two decades of experience as a product tester, reviewer, and promotional product specialist, I bring you my honest, unbiased opinions. If you make a purchase through my site, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Primitive Family Tent Buyer’s Guide
Size, weather resistance, and durability are top considerations when choosing the best family tent for your next primitive camping trip. Ease of set up can also be a factor, if like me you often have to put the tent up alone. Yet in the real world, it’s less of a factor when you have the many hands of the family helping to make light work.
Size and Sleeping Capacity
The size and sleeping capacity of family tents are often obscured by the manufacturer’s claims. When you one described as a “Ten Person Tent” the manufacturer is claiming that there are enough square inches for 10 average-size people to sleep shoulder to shoulder on the floor of the tent. Which in a family setting is a living hell, and there’s no room for your gear.
My rule of thumb is to take the number of people the manufacturer claims and divide it in half. This will give you room for shoes, gear, sleeping bags, and enough space for everyone to roll over. Meaning a so-called “Ten-Person Tent” can comfortably sleep 5.
NOTE: A tent with a room divider included is a must to provide privacy. Especially for the ladies in the family. You don’t the men in the family to be forced outside while they women change clothes on a rainy day.
Weather Resistance
A family tent’s ability to withstand rain and wind is a key factor. A tent that’s blown flat or leaks on one family member in the middle of the night will ruin the night’s sleep for everyone else.
Look for polyester or nylon tents with a polyurethane coating for water resistance. Ideally, the tent should have a waterproof rating of at least 1,000m, with sealed seams and a tub floor.
NOTE: If you find a tent you love, but the waterproof rating is low or there’s no tub floor, you can still use it comfortably. You’ll just need to lay down a heavy-duty camping tarp when you set up the tent and then spray it with a tent waterproofing treatment like Camp Dry.
Look for reinforced zippers and double-stitched seams to prevent wear and tear. A family tent with aluminum poles will be stronger and more durable than fiberglass poles, as well as less likely to blow over in a storm.
Ventilation & Breathability
Large mesh windows and doors improve airflow, which is critical when you’re camping in hot weather, while still keeping insects out. Multiple vents also help reduce condensation inside the tent during humid conditions. If you’re going to be camping in cold conditions, a tent with double-layer designs allows for better temperature control.
Weight & Portability
The overall weight of the tent becomes an increasingly important factor if you’re going to use the family tent for backcountry hike-in camping. However, if you’re staying in a primitive drive-up “Car Camping” campground, like you find at popular national parks like Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, and Grand Tetons, weight is a non-factor.
Ease of Setup
The best family tents come with color-coded poles and other features that simplify setup. This is handy if you need to put up the tent by yourself, of you have one of your kids helping you. For primitive camping, a tent with a 10–15-minute setup time is ideal to avoid frustration.
Freestanding tents require no staking, making them easy to set up and move if needed. Yet they are very prone to blowing flat or blowing away in a strong storm.
Best Family Tents for Primitive Camping
The following are my top picks for various family tents to fit specific scenarios. These recommendations are based on my past experiences and the time I spent professionally reviewing tents for a camping outfitter.
Best All Around Family Tent for Primitive Camping
Of all the tents I've tested and owned, the Coleman Weathermaster 10 Person Tent is the best all-around tent for family camping and my personal tent to this day. There is a version of the Coleman Weathermaster with a screen porch, which takes away some of the living space. There’s also a smaller Coleman Weathermaster 6 Person Tent for a small family or couple.
It has rigid steel poles, a tub floor, a large rain fly, and plenty of ventilation. The 6'6" interior ceiling is nice for a tall man like me and also leaves you room to hang an electric lantern.
It’s made with Coleman’s WeatherTec system, which includes welded corners and inverted seams to boost the waterproofing. It has a tub floor with very durable corner welds, protected seams, and a covered zipper to help keep water out.
The steel poles in the frame make it heavy, but it’s rated to withstand 35+ MPH winds. I’ve personally seen it withstand straight-line gusts of 55 MPH!
The hinged door is one of the Coleman Weathermaster’s secret gems. It lets you and your kids get in and out quickly. Then you can easily zip it from either side to keep little kids or dogs from pushing their way through any time they want.
The drawback to the Coleman Weathermaster is that it isn’t easy to set up. I’ve never set it up alone in under 20 minutes and without cussing out the rainfly at least three times. Yet it’s much more manageable with another person helping you.
Pro Tip
When putting up the Coleman Weathermaster it helps to drive the tent stakes into the rings at the four corners. Securing them into the ground after inserting the rigid ceiling poles, but before installing the legs, will make it much easier to stand everything up and keep it up while you finish putting up the tent.
Bottomline
Coleman Weathermaster 10 Person Tent is the best family tent I’ve ever found for a family of 5 or smaller. I’ve put it through it’s paces in the real world, from hot nights on the Straits of Mackinaw to 26-degree nights in the Mountains of Montana, and it’s never let me down.
Just recruit a helper and stake it down before putting it up to deal with the difficult set up. It’s also heavy, so it’s meant more for primitive car camping, and I wouldn’t recommend it for back country hike-in campsites.
Best Inexpensive Tent for a Family of Four
I owned the previous version of this Campros CP 8 Person Tent, and it got me and my friends through a lot of rainy wilderness retreats. It’s probably best for a family of three or four, where the adults sleep on one side, the kids sleep on the other, and the middle of the tent is a communal space.
It’s made from high-quality 185T polyester with a PU1000mm waterproof coating, which really impressed me. However, you do have to keep anything from physically touching the side walls during a heavy, prolonged rain, as there is a tiny bit of capillary effect possible as the fabric ages.
The generous floor space and a center height of 6 feet allow for a reasonable degree of movement without feeling cramped. The tent’s two large mesh windows and top mesh panel offer excellent ventilation. I felt like it did a very good job of preventing condensation buildup and ensuring fresh airflow throughout the night.
It has a large D-shaped door with a smooth zipper, allowing for easy entry and exit. The included rainfly gives great coverage but can be a little tricky to put on by yourself. Especially if you’re not over 6 feet tall.
Bottomline
The Campros CP 8 Person Tent is another good all-around tent for a family with small children. It has the weatherproofing to handle wet conditions and is light enough to be packed in for back country camping.
Best Family Tent for Backcountry Camping
The Coleman Montana is like a lightweight, little brother to the Coleman Weathermaster. Except at only 22 pounds, it’s something you can carry comfortably to take your family on a back country camping trip and still have everyone in the same tent. If I had two young kids but still wanted to hike into a backcountry campsite in Yellowstone, the Coleman Montana is my top pick.
It’s made with Coleman’s WeatherTec system, which includes welded corners and inverted seams to boost the waterproofing. It has a tub floor with very durable corner welds, protected seams, and a covered zipper to help keep water out. The rainfly is extra-large with great coverage
The sturdy fiberglass poles are rated to withstand 35+ MPH winds or more. So, you don’t have to worry about a storm blowing it flat.
The hinged door is one of the Coleman Montana’s secret gems. It lets you and your kids get in and out quickly during the day. Then you can zip it shut at night.
Bottomline
The Coleman Montana would be my top choice if I had two young kids but still wanted to hike to a backcountry campsite in Yellowstone, the Tetons or similar type country. All at a very reasonable price. There’s also a beefed-up version of the Coleman Montana Elite, which includes LED lights and heavier poles, but it drives up the weight and the price.
Wildfinder SUV Tent
Best for SUV Camping
If you want to integrate the convenience of your SUV into your tenting experience, this Wildfinder SUV family tent is one of the top options. I inherited this when I bought my “New to Me” SUV, and the previous owner included it. Before using it, I thought SUV tents were sort of a joke, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
Access to your SUV’s power ports is convenient, as is a place to lay an air mattress for the kids comes in handy. Then there’s plenty of additional living space inside the tent's body itself.
It’s made from durable PU3000MM fabric that is surprisingly water resistant. Then additional vestibule area also gives you a place to take off muddy shoes before tracking dirt into the tent floor.
Bottomline
This Wildfinder SUV tent gives you plenty of space for a family of four and helps you keep everything clean. It’s reasonably easy to set up and can handle most normal storms. However, I felt like a powerful windstorm could have blown it flat. So, I would go with a more traditional dome tent for camping in a wide-open area.
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