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

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. 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.

We love the Mountainsmith Conifer 5 because it’s a legitimately high-quality tent from a brand we know and trust. Materials-wise this shelter uses heavy-duty (and color-coded) aluminum poles throughout and waterproof 68D polyester in both the fly and tent floor, both of which are built to last for years of regular use. The interior layout is top-notch with tons of floor space, over six feet of headroom, plenty of interior storage options, and two large doors on either side of the tent.They give tiny details regarding this tent, which is highly disappointing. But the poles are fibreglass; you wouldn’t expect any other material for the price. This heavy yet highly resilient material requires some care to avoid damage. One additional pole goes above the door and has a small brim. A good rule of thumb is to go for a tent that's claimed to sleep one more person than you need. If you're a family of four, for example, we'd recommend going for a five-person tent. Combines the convenience of an inflatable airframe design with high-quality materials. Surprisingly affordable for a Zempire shelter. See Review High-quality construction and materials on a shoestring budget. Warmer than average interior design allows for shoulder season camping. See Review

Other highlights of the Zempire Pronto 5 include an insane amount of adjustable ventilation, a rear storage awning with zippered access from inside the tent, and a zippered front port for electronics like a fan or air conditioner inside the tent. The Pronto 5 also comes with a double action air pump, which makes for rapid inflation/deflation of the tent’s airframe system. 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. 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. And, of course, if you’re just getting started learning about 5 person tents, we’ve also included a handy buyer’s guide in the list below to help explain the pros and cons of these unique shelters. In the guide we break down everything that makes a tent worth buying from the poles to the floor plan. As far as cons go, Mountainsmith shelters look, feel, and perform like premium products, and they’re priced accordingly. That means the Conifer 5 is a little on the pricey side, but we wouldn’t consider it a splurge either. Other than that our only other real complaint is that the canopy uses a three pole clip-in/sleeve hybrid design, which takes a little longer to set up than a clip-in only design, especially if you’re using the rainfly since it uses a fourth pole to maximize vestibule space. Those are minor complaints for an otherwise exceptionally livable tent with plenty of space for two adults and three children to sleep comfortably rain-or-shine. Pros:The second major feature of the Zempire Evo TL V2 is its outright size. It’s kind of hilarious that the Evo TL V2 is even considered a five person tent (that’s a technicality, since its “bedroom” is built for five) because it features roughly 200 feet of total floor space between the sleeping room and the massive “living area” that makes up the center of the shelter. You’ll also find another 50 square feet of space in the covered awning at the front of the tent, which can also be sealed off from weather using a zippable door. The Evo TL V2 is also incredibly tough and has some of the most impressive waterproofing we’ve seen thanks to an integrated rainfly that’s laboratory tested to a 6,000mm hydrostatic rating. Once the tents are up, we closely inspect the interior of each one and rate them on how likely campers are to have a comfortable and enjoyable experience that meets their needs. 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

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. They claim to provide an easy way for you to plan where you're going to place your tent without having to pitch it fully, and provide an extra layer of waterproofing and insulation from the ground below. We inspect the interiors of the tents during and after testing to see how each fares against the elements. Some tents manage to stay firm, but others blow over and even have puddles in the sleeping compartments. 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. A tent with more than one door can help with airflow, assisting with ventilation and also gives you more flexibility to enter and leave the tent through the most convenient doorway. 8) Number and size of windows

The limited coverage implies a few things: you don’t have any entrances for the storage area, which is unfortunate, but you do have some views around you thanks to a small front awning, which makes the tent more pleasant; it looks cool to me. However, such a small fly implies less protection. Who is it intended for? We consider how easy it is to get into and out of the main entrances and sleeping compartments, how bright and roomy the living spaces are, and if we consider there to be enough room for the number of people intended to sleep in the tent. 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. 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. 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.

Climate-wise: The tent is designed for warm-weather camping in a quiet setting. There are large mesh sections, which is fine when you need a lot of air circulation but could be better when it’s cold outside. The dome shape is aerodynamic, and this tent should perform well in theory, but such an awning would not perform well in high winds. 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. 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 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.

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Up next on our list is the Coleman Waterfall 5 Deluxe, one of the most well-rounded and surprisingly feature-rich tents in our roundup.