Choosing a 6 person tent
It's difficult to choose a single one and call it "the best" due to the fact we all have different needs. More so as I have hand picked 43 different six person tents, from 12 different manufactures. Including different types, sizes and prices for us to compare.
To make things easier I divided the 6 person tents up into 5 different sections, "shown below"
This way we are able to compare apples with apples so to speak.
Size is a major factor, they can be anywhere between 80 sq feet up to 150 sq feet
Current prices can range from as low as $114.95 up to $899.99 info_outline
Maybe you are simply looking for a cheap 6 person tent? If so, your in luck. I took all those that are currently under $125 and created a section devoted to the cheapest"this is updated daily" at 4:30 PST
Would you like a lot of space for an extended trip? A few of the tents are bigger than those that are supposedly designed for eight. One of the weird things about buying a tent is that not all 6 person tents are remotely equal in size. Some could even be considered too small for six children. If you need a couple of rooms check out the largest
You can also read about the most popular sometimes a product does not fall into a simple category, it does though have lots of happy owners. Cheap does not always equal the best value often a little extra gets you a whole lot more. Then there are those that just have stellar reviews, for what ever reason they have great ratings and lots of them.
TLDR To busy to read through each section? Jump straight to the best 6 person tents from each of the groups.
Top Rated 6 Person Tents
Four of the 6 person tents have an excellent score and lots of reviews.Kodiak's Flex Bow Deluxe 6 Canvas tent first appeared around 13 years ago at the beginning of the 2011 season. Since then it has not missed a beat getting rave reviews year after year. Chris gives us a two year update in the video below which pretty much sums up all you need to know about this high quality tent and the manufacture. Quality comes at a price though.
The least expensive of the four is an instant cabin tent made by Core Equipment "pictured below" it sets up easily in a couple of minutes. With 99 sq feet of sleeping room and 6 feet of standing room, it falls squarely in the middle of all the six men tents, when comparing them all by size alone, for six people it could be considered just a tad small, the larger 9 person version costs around $50 extra making it a good deal for those wanting more space and privacy.
Kelty is another brand that has a long history of creating quality tents for camping, their Trail Ridge 6 excels in all areas except size. It is the smallest of the four and smaller than the largest 4 person tents for two or three people this would be a nice spacious tent. Also worth noting, is that Kelty has discontinued this exact tent replacing it with a newer version that includes a footprint, which previously needed to be purchased separately. At the moment it is getting quite hard to find this older version. Under normal circumstances the new one should perform just as well.
Last of the four is one of Browning's largest tents. Belonging to the Alps Brands group it is easy to see why this tent has grown in popularity over the last few years. I first started to see sales of this tent back in early 2015 Since then rarely a month goes by that I don't see another couple of purchase during the summer months. With sales increasing significantly in the second year as people get to know about the brand. Browning's Big Horn checks all the boxes if your looking for a 6 man tent that's large in size and easy on your pocket. "Update 04-25-19" Whilest editing this page I noticed the Bighorn is in fact an 8 person tent, because of its price I have left it on this page for now and written a detailed review of the Big Horn 8 on another page.
Another page containing thirty-six tents in total each with lots of reviews and great ratings, that I track daily, highlighting differet types of tents included on optimumtents.com.
Six Person Tents Representing Great Value
Yesterday morning six of the 6 person tents where discounted 20% or more. Needless to say choosing a product based solely on the fact that it has been deeply discounted, can be problematic.
The three tents listed below all have good overall scores, and currently retail for a lot less than the average price per square foot for all the 6 person tents on this website. The most expensive of the three will only cost you $1.64 per square foot. Compared to an average price of $2.22 making it a good deal when discounted.
The discounts mentioned below and above, where calculated yesterday morning
- Coleman's Steel Creek Fast Pitch Dome Screened discounted 36%
- Coleman's Steel Creek Fast Pitch Dome Screened discounted 36%
- Coleman's Steel Creek Fast Pitch Dome Screened discounted 36%
Best of the three above, is the Steel Creek Fast Pitch Dome Screened made by Coleman "pictured below" Yesterday morning it could be bought for the low price of $147.95 info_outline With 5 ft. 08 inches of headroom and 90 square feet of sleeping space, it is smaller than the largest 6 person tents that are covered in the next section.
The Largest 6 person Tents
Only 1 of the 43 tents have 125 square feet or more. In a class of it's own, is Browning's Big Horn Two Room Tent with 150 square feet and 7 ft. 03 inches of headroom. It's larger than the majority of tents advertised as been suitable for up to 8 people. Two large rooms each having their own doors and windows makes this a great tent for grown ups with teenagers, planning a vacation that lasts more than a weekend.
One of Kelty's newer three season models, the Trail Ridge 6 With Footprint get a honorable mention "pictured above with it's fly sheet" In it's self the 6 person version does not warrant appearing in this section, the larger 8 person version though has 120 square feet and 6'5" of headroom and only costs a little extra.
Both are quality tents for serious campers who have budget of $400 to $500 First introduced in 2016 the model is available in five different sizes, all sizes are getting rave reviews. Its nice to see Kelty including the footprint, so you don't find out after buying the tent that you need to purchase a footprint separately.
Cheapest 6 Person Tents Under $125
Yesterday morning two of the tents where available for less than $125 info_outline of these even cost less than $100 Within this group of 2 most score well in all areas, the two "listed below" really stand out from the rest, neither are normally discounted this much, making them both a good buy at their current price. Another that scores well is the "Evanston Screened 6" it is covered in more detail below in the top selling tents section.
Prices and discounts mentioned above and below in this section, where calculated yesterday morning
Another one that jumps out, is the Salmon River 2 room tent "pictured below" It is made by Mountain Trails a subsidiary of Wenzel
With 112 sq feet of living space and 6' 9" max headroom in the center. It is good value at this price. It is also one of the largest tents on the market in this price range. New campers not looking to invest much in a tent, that they may only use once, could do a lot worse for considerably more money.
The cheapest of the two are covered in detail on a page devoted to budget tents
The Most Popular 6 Person Tents
Coleman basically own this section with 17 of the top 10 selling six person tents that are in stock and currently available. It is worth noting that seven of seventeen are in the process of been phased out as they are no longer showing up on the manufactures website. 2018 saw lots of new models replacing the old favorites.
Head and shoulders above all the others is the Instant 6. I have covered it's pros and cons in more detail on a page devoted to the first generation of Coleman instant tents that first appeared on the market in 2011
Second best selling is the Coleman's Evanston 6 pictured below. Just one thing keeps this tent from been an amazing tent, that is, it's "headroom" with only 5'8" in the center. An extra few inches would have been nice! I have wrote an indepth review of the Evanston Screened 6
Third most popular, is Coleman's Weathermaster 6 with porch. I have written about it and the "Elite and Standard version" on a page devoted to the Weathermaster Model It has a lot of happy owners and a lot more headroom than the Evanston above.
Browning's Big Horn 8 slips into the bottom of the top ten, making it the best selling of all when excluding anything made by Coleman. Another sneaks in, it is Suisse Sport's Mammoth It's a popular tent that has been around for quite some time and gets good reviews.
Top Five 6 Person Tents
It's always hard to single out one tent and call it the best, particularly when you are comparing 43 of them side by side. Campers require different things. With that I have selected five based on the data. These pretty much cover all the areas and should fulfill the needs of most folks.
Browning Big Horn 8
If you have read through all the different sections above, It is probably no surprise to you that Browning's Big Horn 8 drops into the top position. It literally outperforms the rest in practically all areas. It is largest of them all, with lots of great reviews and not at all expensive at the current price of $ 329.99 info_outline
Kodiak Canvas Flex Bow Deluxe 6
For those willing to invest more than a couple of hundred dollars in a good quality tent, two other tents are worth taking a look at. Second of the five is Kodiak's Canvas Flex Bow Deluxe 6 it gets stellar reviews. This is the type of tent that will last you for many years. It is a sturdy canvas tent good for camping in all seasons. The only drawback is it is quite small when compared to the largest 6 person tents. For an extra few dollars it is possible to get a slightly larger version You can see in the video at the top of the page that Sean Kent also gives it a huge thumbs up.
Eureka Copper Canyon 6
Eureka's brand name is well known and trusted by campers. It's Copper Canyon 6 pictured below, Just like Kodiak's tent above excels in all areas except size, apart from this they make an excellent choice for smaller groups not needing a lot of space.
I have covered in a lot more detail Kodiak's tent in a section on the best rated tents page. Bigger versions of the two that would still suit groups of six, wanting a little more space and comfort can be found on the Cabin Tents page.
Coleman Sundome 6
Often available for less than $100 Coleman's Sundome 6 is an easy choice for first time campers thinking of testing the waters. With an overall score of 95%, 6ft of headroom and hundreds of positive reviews this tent is an easy choice for those not wishing to invest a lot of money. The last time I looked "yesterday morning" It was only $ 144.98 info_outline
Core Equipment Instant Cabin 6
Last but not least of the five is one that shot to fame in 2016. In it's first year on the market Core Equipment's Instant Cabin 6 out sold many of the favorites that have dominated the industry. As advertised it sets up quickly, in under a few minutes. It is not expensive and to say the reviews are good would be an understatement.
You can compare all of the six person tents side by side in an Interactive Comparison Table
