In a rush? After a lot of research, I found that the Browning Camping Big Horn Tent is the best 8 person tent on the market today.
Maybe you want to introduce your kids to the joys of camping by taking them on a family camping trip. Or maybe you want to invite a couple of your buddies to join you on an adventure trip.
No matter the reason, sleeping in a smaller tent is just not going to cut it.
You need to find a bigger camping tent that can accommodate the entire group – and that’s where 8 person tents shine.
Best 8 Person Tent: Our Top Picks
See our entire 8 Person Tent Comparison Table and Scoring Methodology.
Browning Camping Big Horn Tent
Type: Cabin, 2-Room | Seasons: 3-Season | Weight: 34.6 lbs | Inside Height: 87 in | Floor: 10 x 15 ft (150 sq ft) | Setup Time: 15 mins
Almost a palace, the Browning Big Horn Tent is enormous – it measures 150 square feet in floor space and has a ceiling of over 7 feet. Combine that with straight sidewalls and a room divider, and you get a camping tent that provides a lot of interior space for both people and gear.
Not only that, but it also comes with two doors, meaning you won’t have to wake everybody up if you need to go pee-pee during the night.
However, all this comes at a price. This tent is somewhat more expensive than some other 8 person tents.
It’s also a bit heavier – almost 35 pounds. However, it’s likely you’ll use this tent for car camping, so that shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
Pros:
- HUGE – 150 square feet of space and a peak height of over 7 feet make it a bonafide castle
- Two doors mean you can enter and exit the tent without tripping over your tent buddies
- With a mesh roof, 4 windows, and two doors, this tent gets plenty of air circulation
- Superior materials like the polyester fly and polyester oxford floor mean you will stay dry even during heavy rain
- Six storage pockets inside make it convenient to store small items
- You’ll get more privacy thanks to a room divider
Cons:
- A bit pricier than some other tents on this list
Best for: families who want as much space as possible in their tent.
Check Price on Sportsman’s Guide
White Duck 10’ x 14′ Prota Deluxe Canvas Tent
Type: Canvas, Cabin | Seasons: 4-Season | Weight: 94 lbs | Inside Height: 78 in | Floor: 10 x 14 (140 sq ft) | Setup Time: 20 mins
Made with 10.10 oz. Army Duck Cotton Canvas, the Prota 10′ x 14′ Cabin Tent weighs 94 lbs, but makes up for it in durability with YKK Zippers and a high-density groundsheet tub make sure this tent lasts.
Canvas tents have a lifespan decades longer than polyester tents.
This Prota Deluxe gives you 140 square feet of interior space, with a huge exterior awning, and a peak inside height of 78 inches.
Next is the roof construction, which uses a thick 12-oz silver-coated sunblock canvas to help reflect UV rays. If you live somewhere with excruciating heat like Arizona, this tent could be a good fit.
This White Duck Canvas Tent also has windows on every side. That’ll give you a little more ventilation and viewing capacity than the other tents, but it isn’t totally necessary.
Pros:
- Similar design to the standard canvas style tents, with small differentiators
- A quality canvas tent at a reasonable price that doesn’t skimp on quality
- Windows on all four sides mean gives you improved ventilation and panorama views
- The heavy-weight ceiling is coated with silver to protect you from UV rays and keep you cool
- YKK zippers, 100% duck canvas, and a high-density groundsheet tub make sure this tent lasts
Cons:
- Much pricier than a standard 8-person tent
Best for: Families looking for a durable tent that will last for decades.
Check Price at White Duck Outdoors
Eureka Copper Canyon LX
Type: Cabin, 2-Room | Seasons: 3-season | Weight: 34 lbs 15 oz | Inside Height: 84 in | Floor: 156 x 120 in (130 sq ft) | Setup Time: 10 mins
This freestanding cabin tent from Eureka boasts a huge 130 sqft. space, with a peak height of 84 inches. Not quite as roomy as the Browning Big Horn, but pretty damn close.
If you’d rather have 2 smaller rooms, you can. This tent comes with a divider curtain that you can put up to divide the space however you like.
The walls are nearly vertical, which means the space inside is open, so you won’t be feeling claustrophobic.
Aside from being spacious, this tent is also super tough. The entire tent is made of 75-denier 190T polyester taffeta, so you’ll have nothing to worry about if a storm hits.
Large mesh windows provide great ventilation. Things can get stuffy with a lot of people sharing a tent. Not in the Copper Canyon LX, though.
Pros:
- Very roomy, with 130 sqft. of floor space and an 84″ high ceiling
- Divider curtain lets you create 2 smaller rooms
- Near vertical walls mean you can walk around inside without hunching over
- Great ventilation thanks to large mesh windows
- Made of durable polyester taffeta, providing excellent water resistance
Cons:
- Doesn’t feature a vestibule
Best for: campers looking for a spacious family tent that will hold up well in the rain.
CORE 9 Person Extended Dome
The CORE 9 Person Extended Dome tent weighs only 18.21 lbs, but with a 16′ x 9′ layout still manages to eek out 144 sq ft of space.
You can easily fit two queen air mattresses in this tent, with plenty of space to spare for gear.
A 72 inch peak height means that you’ll be able to stand up in the middle portion of this dome tent.
Where the Core really shines is in its ability to fend off weather on a budget. The dome design along with the CORE H20 Block Technology keeps rain and wind out of the tent.
Lastly, the Advanced Ventilation System provides a ventilation pocket behind the tent, provides excellent ventilation compared to other tents of this style.
Pros:
- Lightweight for a tent of this size at 18.21 lbs
- Weatherproof design and CORE H20 Block Technology keeps rain and wind out
- 144 sq ft, means plenty of room for 2 queen air mattresses and gear
- Mesh fabric ceiling allows for great views in fair weather
- Great value for the price
Cons:
- Stakes are flimsy, will want to buy heavy duty stakes instead
- Only one door
Best for: Families looking for an excellent budget tent that can withstand the elements.
NEMO Wagontop 8 Tent
Type: Cabin | Seasons: 3-season | Weight: 30 lbs. 3 oz. | Inside Height: 80 in | Floor: 180 x 100 inches (124.9 sq ft) | Setup Time: 20 mins
The Wagontop 8 Tent from NEMO is a real beauty.
It’s got plenty of room for a small family, with just under 125 sqft. of floor space and a 27 sqft. vestibule.
It boasts a peak height of 80″, and the frame is shaped uniquely in a way that lets you walk around upright inside the tent.
It features panoramic mesh windows that allow air to circulate while allowing you to take in the stunning views of nature around you.
Most importantly, it’s made of high quality materials. The canopy is made of 75-denier polyether urethane-coated polyester, while the tent poles are aluminum. This means your tent will be able to withstand downpours and high winds with no problems at all.
Now, this tent is everything but cheap. You’ll have to dig deep into your pockets for this one. Rest assured, though. NEMO promises you’ll love this tent and use it for many years to come. In fact, they guarantee it with a lifetime warranty.
Pros:
- Lots of space, with a floor area of 125 sqft. and a 27 sqft. vestibule
- Extremely durable thanks to 75-denier polyether urethane-coated polyester and aluminum poles
- Plenty of mesh windows provide good ventilation
- Unique structure allows you to walk around upright
- Covered by a NEMO lifetime warranty
Cons:
- Very expensive
- Only has 1 door
Best for: families that don’t mind paying top dollar for a top quality tent.
Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent
Coleman’s Montana 8 Person Tent is a good entry-level tent for casual camper families who want to upgrade to a large tent but are not willing to pay a small fortune.
With 112 square feet of floor space and a ceiling of 6’2’’, this family camping tent is roomy enough to accommodate families with several kids.
Setup and takedown are quick and easy and can be done in 10-20 minutes if you have several people helping you.
Pros:
- Angled windows allow air circulation even when it’s raining
- Spacious – 122 square feet of space and a 6’2’’ ceiling make it easy to move around in the tent
- Affordable – great price for an entry-level tent
- With the rain fly on, the tent is quite sturdy and will stand up to strong winds
- Covered porch area allows you to open the door during rain for extra ventilation
Cons:
- Some people have reported that the tent is not fully waterproof and can leak
- Only one door, which can make getting in and out of the tent a bit harder
Best for: casual camping families looking for an affordable tent.
Wenzel 8 Person Klondike Tent
Type: Cabin | Seasons: 2-Season | Weight: 26 lbs | Inside Height: 78 in | Floor: 16 x 11 ft (98 sq ft) | Setup Time: 15 mins
If you love tents with a screen room, you might want to invest in this tent.
The Wenzel Klondike Tent is roomy – the inner room is 98 sqft. and the screen room has more than 60 sqft of extra space. The inner room also has a 6’5’’ high ceiling, so you can easily stand upright in the tent.
The screen room can be zipped up to act as a second room. If the weather is good, it can serve as a porch, and its mesh walls will allow you to enjoy the view without getting any bugs in your tent.
Pros:
- Quick setup time of under 15 minutes with two people
- Sealed seams and a bathtub floor will prevent rain from getting inside your tent
- Roomy – rooms are 98 sqft. and 60 sqft. with 6’5’’ of headroom
- Mesh windows keep the bugs out and provide good ventilation
- Pretty affordable given its size and features
Cons:
- The screen room has a ceiling that is 6 to 8 inches lower than the interior room, which means you won’t be as comfortable moving around
Best for: campers who want a tent with a screen room to relax in.
Coleman 8 Person Red Canyon Tent
Type: Dome | Seasons: 2 – 3-Season | Weight: 22.4 lbs | Inside Height: 72 in | Floor: 17 x 10 ft (170 sq ft) | Setup Time: 15 mins
I’ll be honest: I wondered whether I should include this tent or not.
On one hand, this Coleman tent is inexpensive, roomy, and easy to set up.
On the other hand, many people complained that the tent didn’t last more than a few trips before they noticed rips and tears.
Just know what you’re getting yourself in for.
If you only camp a few times a year, the low price and big size of this tent are still reason enough to buy it. Just be sure you are camping in fair weather.
Pros:
- Affordable – like most Coleman tents, this one has a great price to size ratio
- Dividers can create 3 rooms for even more privacy
- Setup is less than 15 mines with two people
- Bathtub floor gives extra protection against rain building up under your tent
Cons:
- It’s not made out of the highest quality materials, so rips and tears are possible
Best for: people looking for an affordable 3-room tent to use in fair weather.
REI Kingdom 8 (Currently Out of Stock)
Type: Dome | Seasons: 3-season | Weight: 25 lbs 4 oz | Inside Height: 75 in | Floor: 150 in x 100 in (104 sq ft) | Setup Time: 15 mins
The REI Kingdom 8 will take your family camping trips to the next level.
This freestanding tent is made of 75-denier nylon taffeta, with a polyester floor and rain fly.
That means 2 things: it’s incredibly tough, and it’ll protect you from the rain, no matter how hard it’s coming down.
With a peak height 75 inches, 104 sqft. of floor space, and a vestibule that measures just over 33 sqft., this tent is quite roomy. It isn’t the largest 8 person tent out there. As you’re about to see, some of the others on this list are larger. However, it definitely comes out on top when it comes to quality.
This kind of quality doesn’t come cheap, though. This camping tent is definitely more expensive than most. However, you get what you pay for, and in this case it’s definitely worth it.
Pros:
- Mesh roof and paneling provide excellent ventilation
- Roomy interior with 104 sqft. of floor space in the main section, plus a massive 33 sqft. vestibule
- Color coded parts make setting up a breeze
- 2 doors allow for easy movement in and out of the tent
- Vertical walls give you a more spacious feel inside
- Freestanding, so you don’t have to worry about tent stakes and guylines unless the wind really picks up
Cons:
- Hefty price tag
- Not as large as some other 8 person tents
Best for: campers who want a good quality family tent that will last them for years.
8 Person Tents – Everything We Recommend
What To Look For When Buying An 8 Person Tent
Buying an 8 man tent is a more complicated process than buying smaller tents. Since they are bigger, pricier, and have more features, nobody will blame you if you feel overwhelmed when you’re trying to choose the best one for you.
To fix this, I whittled down the criteria you should be mindful of to just a few. Now we’ll discuss them below.
Space
Obviously, an 8 person tent can fit 8 people…right?
Well, yes and no.
Eight people can fit in if you enjoy being crammed in like packed sardines, feeling everybody’s body heat around you.
Realistically, these types of tents can fit around 6 people comfortably. That will give you some room to maneuver and store your camping gear inside the tent.
Also, pay attention to the height. Most 8 person tents have a high ceiling (around 6 ft.) so standing upright shouldn’t be a problem – but it’s still something to keep in mind.
Lastly, be mindful of the weight. Backpacking is out of the question unless you enjoy carrying around 20-30 pounds of tent on your back. Their larger size and extra features make them ideal for car camping, though.
Ease of Setup
Besides the size, assembly time is one of the main differences between a large camping tent and smaller tents. While two and four-person tents can be assembled within minutes, expect the setup of an 8-person tent to take you about 20 to 30 minutes.
Of course, the main advantage here is that you’ll have someone to help you pitch the tent, so the process can go quicker.
With that said, most of the tents on this list should be easy enough to assemble (even just by yourself).
One good piece of advice is to practice setting up and taking down your tent in your backyard first. That way you won’t waste too much time reading instructions when you’re camping and can focus on having a good time and enjoying the outdoors.
Features
A good thing about larger tents is that they come equipped with a lot of cool extra features smaller tents lack.
Some of these features include:
- Multiple doors
- Room dividers for extra privacy
- Extra storage space and large vestibules
- Several windows for better ventilation
When you have several people sleeping in a tent, getting in and out can be a problem. If you have to go in the middle of the night, you have to step over everyone just to get to the door. Having two doors solves that problem, since it makes the exit closer to everyone.
Another great feature of larger tents are extra rooms that can be created using a room divider. This is a lifesaver if you have a mixed group of men and women camping together, or if you just want to give your kids more privacy.
With bigger size comes more storage space and vestibules. This allows you to pack more gear and luxuries without having to worry about where you’ll put all that stuff. That way you can enjoy your camping trip in the kind of comfort that people with smaller tents just don’t have.
Having several windows is terrific since it not only provides better ventilation, but it also means you get a better view of the outside. You can enjoy looking at nature, and you can check to see if there’s danger outside of the tent from all sides.
Ventilation
Proper ventilation is always important, but it’s doubly so when you have 6 or 8 people camping together in a tent.
Since ventilation is primarily provided by windows, you want to make sure your tent has several of them. Additionally, check for air vents that will allow air to circulate through the tent.
Dome Or Cabin Style
Choosing a dome tent or cabin style tent comes down to personal preference.
If you go with a dome tent, you’ll get better wind resistance, however, you won’t be able to stand up and walk around in the tent.
While a cabin tent provides more space and comfort, they are not the best when it comes to enduring harsh weather conditions.
Durability
As any seasoned camper knows, it’s wise to invest a bit more to buy a durable tent that will last you for years. Since your tent is your home away from home, you want to be sure that it is as strong and sturdy as it can be.
Now, a tent’s durability mostly depends on the materials it’s made of.
The most common materials used are:
- Canvas
- Ripstop nylon
- Polyester
A canvas tent is highly durable and has great breathability, however, it is not waterproof right out of the box and it is very heavy. This makes it less practical for most people.
Tents made out of ripstop nylon are a popular choice nowadays. That’s because they’re lightweight, and they’re made out of fabric that will stop cuts and tears from spreading and destroying the entire tent.
Polyester tents are very similar to nylon tents, except they’re better at resisting UV damage. If you and your tent are going to be spending a lot of time in the sun, these should be your first choice.
Weather protection
The last thing you want when you’re camping in a large group is a tent that leaks water all over you.
While most tents these days claim to be waterproof, in reality, this is not the case.
Look for features such as a high HH rating (over 1500 mm); inverted seams, and bathtub floors. These features are present in the best tents and will make sure you stay bone dry during heavy rain. If you want to cover all your bases, investing in a good waterproof spray is a good way to make sure you’ve got a waterproof tent.
A good rain fly is also essential. Check to make sure that the rain fly extends all the way down and covers the entire tent. If it doesn’t, the rain can still get in and you could wake up in a puddle of water in the morning.
How We Tested, Reviewed, and Rated 8 Person Tents
We love to test and review gear. You’ll find us testing gear that we already own and love, are purchasing for retail prices (just like you), or items that are sent to us by the manufacturer.
No matter how we procure a product, our goal is to thoroughly test and review each item and rate it against its peers.
Our goal is to remain as unbiased as possible.
We take tedious notes, and compare even the tiniest of details. Everything goes into a spreadsheet for analysis from the dimensions of the product to cost comparisons, user ratings, etc
After hours of testing, reviewing and analyzing thirteen 8 person tents we grade each tent on a the following metrics:
- Space and Comfort
- Quality and Durability
- Value
- Weather Resistance
- Ease of Use
- Intangibles (unique features and key selling points)
- User Reviews
Depending upon what you are looking for in a tent, you’ll want to pay more or less attention to each specific item.
Overall Score
All of the above metrics are factored into our algorithm to create an Overall Score. The Overall Score is going to be the best for tents that are top notch in every category accordingly.
Therefore only a tent that provides great all-around value, weather resistance, high quality materials, along with intangibles AND great user reviews will score better than a tent that is specifically made for 4-seasons, but is also extremely expensive.
Or perhaps you are looking for a great tent at a great value? In this case, your tent may not be rated the highest, because it may not be using the best of the best materials, but it will surely have the highest value to price ratio.
So while the Overall Score is important, it is not everything.
Space And Comfort
From family camping to romantic couples camping, this is a huge determining factor as to whether the tent is going to live up to your expectations.
You don’t want to get this one wrong…but if you are a backpacker, you will not care as much for space and comfort, as you would for quality/durability and most of all weight.
We rate space and comfort for each tent within their tent category and size. So for a 8-person tent, it is rated in comparison with other 8-person tents. But this does not mean that a 8 person tent will comfortably fit 8 people. It simply won’t. You’ll be more likely comfortably fitting 4-5 people.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the top 8 person tents by height:
As you can see the Browning Camping Big Horn tent is the tallest tent in this category, followed closely by the Eureka Copper Canyon LX.
This is what we’d expect from Cabin style tents, but the rest of the gang isn’t too shabby either. Many of the dome tents on this list top out between 72 and 78 inches. Honestly, height wise, unless you are a very tall person, I would’t worry too much about it.
Now, let’s take a look at the overall square footage inside each tent:
Not all square footage is created equal. For instance, the Coleman Red Canyon is clearly the big size winner, but due to it’s dome design, there are spots where the height of the tent is only 3 feet. We also see that in the design of the CORE 9 Person.
Cabin tents like the Browning Big Horn, NEMO Wagontop, or the WHITEDUCK Canvas Tent, will wow you with plenty of square footage and plenty of headroom as well!
So as you can see, all of these metrics factor into the overall Space and Comfort score.
Quality And Durability
This metric is pretty straightforward. We rate the tents based on their actual materials and the quality of the construction.
We also get feedback from tent owners who put it their tents the test over a long period of time.
Many tents utilize a combination of the same polyester or nylon materials, but their construction can be just as important. This all gets factored into the quality and durability score.
Also factored in the Quality and Durability score is the warranty.
While most tents have some sort of Limited warranty, many have Lifetime Limited Warranty’s, but REI for instance, only has a 90 day return policy and warrants only that the product is free from defects at the time of sale.
Value
All tents are not created equally, and not all tents are priced equally either. Coleman for instance produces a great budget tent, while WHITEDUCK produces a superior canvas tent that can withstand the elements. These tents will not be priced anywhere close to each other:
If you are looking for a real budget tent, you can see that the Coleman 8 Person Red Canyon is THE budget winner. Obviously the Coleman Montana is no slouch either. But based on our overall scoring, you are getting the best deal with the CORE 9 Person Tent.
On the flipside, the WHITEDUCK Prota Deluxe is the most expensive 8 Person Tent in our rankings, but it’s superior performance still delivers great value because the tent will last you decades.
Weather Resistance
Weather resistance is a simple metric.
Does the tent let in water, or does it not? Does the tent withstand high winds, or collapse onto itself? Does the tent have good ventilation during the summer months or does it get too hot and stuffy? This is what matters to us when we rate a tent for weather resistance:
As you can see the NEMO Wagontop is excellent when it comes to weather resistance, but the WHITEDUCK Prota and the CORE Extended Dome also proved to be excellent contenders.
Ease Of Use
How fast can an average user pitch this tent? How easy it is to take down and/or utilize additional features?
Also, how much does the tent weigh? A tent weighing 70 lbs is going to score lower than lightweight 8-person tent that weights 20 lbs total that can be pitched in the same amount of time.
So here is all of the data that goes into this rating:
We don’t have any super fast setups in the 8-person tent category, but the Eureka Copper Canyon and the Browning Big Horn both go up fairly quickly in 10 and 15 minutes respectively.
There’s no tent in this category that is too challenging to put up. As with any tent, two people helping to pitch a tent is going to make it go twice as fast, if not more!
Intangibles
These are the unique features or selling points of each individual tent that give it a leg up on the competition.
Does the tent have two doors? Perhaps the tent has a large vestibule for storing equipment? Is the tent is a two-room tent with a special space for the kiddos or a dog? Maybe the footprint is included in the price?
This ALL gets factored into the intangibles score.
User Ratings
Last, but not least are user reviews!
We can get a lot of great feedback from user reviews, but they aren’t perfect. The average tent owner won’t ever leave a review, so reviews are typically left by users who either have a really favorable or unfavorable experience.
Of course even that is still good information, because if 90% of tent owners leave a positive 5-star review, then that is really saying something. So we blend reviews together from various sources and come up with an average user rating score. Here is how they shake out for 8-person tents:
The WHITEDUCK Canvas Tent gets top billing in User Ratings, with the CORE 9 Person Extended Dome coming in a close 2nd.
By looking at this, the REI Kingdom 8 would be the WORST tent on the list. However, we have found after reviewing many many tents, that REI users in particular tend to be very particular and since REI tents are only sold at REI, we also get some return/quality issues there too that aren’t really quality reviews.
So how do we fix this? We go through and read the reviews. We read the good, we read the bad, and then we factor in the quantity of reviews and calculate all of into our final User Rating score.
Our Verdict
After re-scoring using our new 2022 tent review methodology, it’s clear that the Browning Camping Big Horn Tent is the best 8 person tent on the market today with an overall rating of 8.3.
Not only is it incredibly roomy, but with two rooms, a mesh roof, four windows and two doors, it also provides great ventilation.
It’s a bit pricier than some of the budget tents, but finds nice middle ground value compared to the more expensive options.
True, it is a bit pricier than most other large tents. However, if you want a well made, quality tent that you can use for years, you should definitely consider the Browning Big Horn Tent.
