Overall Winner: Best 12 Person Tent

NTK Super Arizona GT 12 Person Tent

The NTK Super Arizona GT tops our list thanks to a combination of excellent waterproofing and solid materials. That said, we feel the waterproofing is the most important thing to look at, and this 12 person tent tops our list with a 2500 mm hydrostatic waterproof rating.

On top of that, this 12 person tent is one of the few that employs heat-welded seams to keep water out. It also does not hurt that the NTK Super Arizona GT uses a “bathtub” style floor, so you do not have to worry about water seeping in.

Beyond the waterproofing, this floor also includes a silver inner lining to prevent the development of fungus. The NTK Super Arizona GT is also a bit larger than average at 20.6’ x 10.2’, providing 210 sq ft of space.

Better still, this 12 person tent takes full advantage of its large windows and doors which provide reliable ventilation for warmer climates.

Bottom Line: For an overall experience, the NTK Super Arizona GT provides enough space in all directions but, more importantly, keeps water out better than others without the risk of tearing.

Introduction

While most camping trips might be for a couple of friends or a single-family, sometimes you want to enjoy the outdoors with a large group of people. With everyone chipping in, it is easy to make sure your group has everything it needs for a fully-stocked camping trip.

Of course, sleeping arrangements can be a bit tricky, and if you are not careful, they can also be pretty expensive. Thankfully, there are plenty of high-end 12 person tents on the market that allows you to reduce the equipment and cost of housing a large camping group.

That is why we put together our list of the seven best 12 person tent reviews of 2020, highlighting what each one does best. We also provide a helpful buyer’s guide so that you can choose the right 12 people tent for your next group camping trip.

Buyers Guide to the Best 12 People Tents

Comfort

Space & Height

When trying to fit 12 people into a single tent, space will always be a significant concern, but the total square footage is not the only space consideration. While the total amount of space is important, the portioning of that space can be just as important. Generally, 12 person tents work best when they have a longer profile shaped more like a rectangle than a square– so long as the short side can still accommodate the length of a queen-size air mattress.

Privacy

This aspect depends far more on the members and composition of the camp group than anything else. That said, even close family members appreciate some privacy, and it can be inconvenient for everyone to leave the tent for one person to have some privacy. The inclusion of room dividers to split larger camping tents into rooms can make everyone feel more comfortable.

Ventilation

Ventilation depends more if you camp in a warmer climate, but that also tends to be when and where people do most of their camping. The best ventilation is a mesh roof which allows the heat to rise out of the tent altogether, though it does not make the best 3-season tent. Large windows, doors, and even floor vents also help to increase a tent’s ventilation.

Quality of Materials

Walls

This is always an important quality, regardless of the product in question, but large cabin tents tend to follow similar patterns. Polyester is almost always the primary material used because it is durable, lightweight, and naturally water-resistant. Keep in mind, the “D” rating refers to denier while the “T” refers to Tex, but both of them are similar. The denier rating will tell you how generally durable the polyester is based on weight. In contrast, the tex rating tells you how tightly the polyester is woven– which also contributes to durability and waterproofing.

Floor

For the floor, you almost always want something a bit stronger and more naturally water-resistant than polyester with polyethylene, or PE, and polyurethane, or PU, filling that role. Both of these materials are waterproof without treatments, but PE is lighter, whereas PU is naturally more durable.

Poles

Finally, the choice between pole materials almost always comes down to steel or fiberglass, though some manufacturers split the difference to get the most out of both worlds by using both. Steel is significantly stronger than fiberglass and holds up better in windy conditions while fiberglass is considerably lighter and more flexible than steel.

Ease of Setup

The ease of setup is a significant convenience factor. Still, it should not necessarily be the reason you favor one 12 people tents over another. part of this is due to some of the long term limitations the easiest tents to set up present when something goes wrong.

For example, many newer tents include pre-attached poles, which makes setting up a tent much quicker and easier. On the other hand, if one of the poles breaks or the mechanisms fails, it can be impossible to fix or replace, making the tent worthless.

A better approach is to assembly the tent at home without rushing or worrying about using it, so you are already familiar with its assembly when you go camping.

Waterproofing

Depending on when and/or where you go camping, this might be the most critical factor to consider. Keeping in mind that the weather can be unpredictable, we think this is one of the most important aspects, even if you do not expect rain.

While the polyester’s weave density can influence a tent’s waterproofing, most waterproof tents include a PU-coating for added protection. One way to gauge a tent’s waterproof rating is to look for its hydrostatic rating, which is rated in millimeters.

Outside of the general material waterproofing, a tent can include structural qualities like sealed and taped seams to reinforce the tent’s waterproofing further. Another feature to look for is a “bathtub” floor, which raises the edge of the floor up to prevent water from seeping in.

Weight & Packed Size

There is no getting around the fact that a 12 person tent weighs more than most other sizes of tents. Keep in mind that the sheer size of this kind of shelter often requires more and sturdier poles than smaller tents, which also adds to the weight.

If you plan to hike to a remote campsite, the weight and packed size of a 12 person tent will be more critical. On the other hand, if your group can simply drive up to the site and unload without travel, this may not be a significant concern.

Best 12 Person Tents: The Results

Ozark Trail 12-Person Instant Cabin Tent

Largest 12 Person Tent

Ozark Trail is a Walmart-owned brand which allows it to offer some of the best value that we came across, especially with their cabin tent. Specifically, this is the largest tent that we reviewed and provides the most functional space on our list.

The functional space begins on the interior with an L-shaped design of two 8’ x 8’ wings offers three separate rooms and 256 sq ft of total area. It also does not hurt that this 12 person tent is taller than some at 7’ so most people can stand up without having to stoop. However, the Ozark Trail instant cabin tent also offers additional functional space with the inclusion of an awning that provides covered space outside of the tent.

On top of that, the Ozark Trail instant cabin tent comes with pre-attached, steel tent poles to make the assembly that much quicker and easier. Unfortunately, the pre-attached design means that if a pole breaks, you cannot fix or replace it and have to purchase a new tent.

This would not necessarily be a big deal except the L-shaped design, which is excellent for providing more space and privacy, does not hold up as well against stronger winds. On the other hand, the Ozark Trail instant cabin tent allows for solid ventilation thanks to 7 windows and ground vents that can fit an air conditioner.

Bottom Line: With a unique “L-shaped” design and large, spacious rooms, the Ozark Trail Instant Cabin provides more usable space than any other option we encountered.

CORE 12 Person Instant Cabin Tent

The CORE 12 Person instant cabin tent does not jump off of the page in any category but instead offers plenty of solid features at a good value. For example, while the waterproof rating or durability are not the highest we reviewed, the 68D polyester tent fabric still has a 600 mm hydrostatic rating, which is better than half of the competition.

Likewise, the CORE instant cabin tent is easy to put up and holds up reasonably well in the wind thanks to pre-attached steel poles that do not include fiberglass. On top of that, this 12 person tent also includes two room dividers to make three interior rooms, so your large group can maintain some privacy.

In terms of true negatives, it is a pretty small tent that we reviewed with an 18’ x 10’ profile that only provides 180 sq ft and stands 80” tall. While the height is the second-shortest on our list, it is still tall enough for a 6’8” person to stand up inside of without having to stoop.

That said, the CORE instant is also one of the heavier tents on our list at 48 pounds, which makes it difficult to carry to a more remote campsite. Still, this 12 person tent comes with two doors, six windows, and two vents, providing the CORE instant with excellent ventilation in warmer climates.

Bottom Line: The Core 12 Person instant Cabin Tent checks plenty of boxes and offers a solid overall product with good ventilation, multiple rooms, and steel poles.

Tahoe Gear Prescott 12 Person Cabin Tent

Lightest 12 People Tent

The Tahoe Gear Prescott cabin tent is easily one of the better values that we encountered, but that is not even its best features. Instead, we think that this 12 person tent shines most for remote campsites thanks to the lightest weight that we reviewed at 31 ½ pounds, which is not “lightweight,” per se but not as heavy as the competition either.

Even better, the Tahoe Gear Prescott cabin tent uses some of the best materials we encountered, including 120 g/sq m polyethylene floor that is one of the hardiest on our list. To further reinforce the floor material, the walls and rainfly are made out of PU-coated 68D, 190T polyester that has both UV protections and a 1200 mm hydrostatic waterproof rating–the second-highest on our list.

On the downside, the Tahoe Gear Prescott cabin tent does not offer the same kind of privacy as other tents we reviewed with only two rooms, leaving no “common” space available. It is also one of the shortest 12 person tents that we saw at only 78” or 6’6,” which makes it much more likely someone in a large group will have to stoop when standing inside.

Still, the Tahoe Gear Prescott cabin tent comes with two doors and 12 windows– the most out of any tent we reviewed– as well as two vents and affords excellent ventilation.

Bottom Line: While a 12 man tent might not be your first choice for carrying to a remote campsite, the relatively lightweight Tahoe Gear Prescott’s 31 ½ pounds might make you reconsider.

NTK Super Arizona GT 12 Person Tent

Most Waterproof 12 Person Tent

The NTK Super Arizona GT is a great tent for handling a wide range of different climates and weather conditions and is one of the few 3-season 12 person tents we saw. Even better, this tent blows the rest of the competition out of the water with its 2500 mm hydrostatic waterproof rating.

Part of the water-tight design comes down to the 68D, 190T Taffeta polyester fabric further reinforced with a PU coating. On top of that, the NTK Super Arizona GT also employs a polyethylene floor with an inner silver layer anti-fungal treatment.

In fairness, maintaining such a high-end degree of waterproofing means that the NTK Super Arizona GT is not the best value that we found. On top of that, while this camping tent might be great for various temperatures and heavy rain, it does not fare as well in high winds due to its asymmetrical design and use of NANO-FLEX shock-corded fiberglass poles.

It is worth noting that despite only incorporating three windows and two doors, the NTK Super Arizona GT still provides excellent ventilation thanks to their size and the no-see-um mosquito mesh. It also does not hurt that this 12 person tent is 20.6’ x 10.2’, which makes it just a little bit bigger than average.

Bottom Line: The NTK Super Arizona GT combines an anti-fungal polyethylene floor with a 190T polyester material that has 2500 mm waterproofing for the driest tent on our list.

Eureka Copper Canyon 12 -Person Tent

Most Durable 12 Person Tent

The Eureka Copper Canyon tent makes its best impression with its walls and rainfly that are made out of 75D 190T Taffeta polyester– the most robust material that we reviewed. On top of that, this tent’s walls are also some of the most waterproof thanks to a 1200 mm hydrostatic StormShield treatment.

As if that were not enough, the Eureka Copper Canyon also holds up a bit better in windy conditions compared to most of the competition thanks to the use of steel and fiberglass poles. However, the inclusion of steel poles does not necessarily make it a bad choice for more remote campsites as this 12 person tent is the second-lightest on our list at only 38 pounds.

Of course, for any camping tent that uses higher-grade materials and manages to avoid design pitfalls, the Eureka Copper Canyon is not the best value we found. It also does not help that part of this 12 person tent’s wind resistance comes from a more compact 14’ x 12’ profile that is the smallest we reviewed at only 168 sq ft.

Thankfully, no one in your group should have to worry about stooping while standing inside the Eureka Copper Canyon with its 84” or 7’ height. The two doors, six large windows, and a full mesh roof also ensure that this camping tent supplies excellent ventilation.

Bottom Line: The Eureka Copper Canyon incorporates the most durable material used on our list with 75D polyester while also coming in at a lighter weight than most of its competition.

Ozark Trail 12-Person Base Camp Tent

Best Geodesic 12 Person Tent

Ozark Trail makes another appearance on our list, but this time it is because of the Base Camp tent’s geodesic design. The Ozark Trail Base Camp tent can skirt around several potential pitfalls and still offer one of the best values that we saw thanks to the use of this design.

A geodesic or domed design helps prevent water from getting in and also provides a sturdier profile when resisting the wind. On top of that, this is also the only camping tent on our list that incorporates a ring of LED lights into the design, which can be powered by 3 D-size batteries.

On the other hand, the use of the geodesic design also comes with some downfalls, namely that this is the only 12 person tent we encountered that only has a single room and lacks the privacy of other entries. This is also not a great tent to use for camping in more remote locations due to its heavier weight of 49 pounds.

Still, the geodesic design provides far more benefits than drawbacks, as noted with its large 16’ x 16’ footprint that offers 256 sq ft– the largest single space on our list. Even better, the Ozark Trail Base Camp tent stands 92” or 7’8” which is not only the tallest we reviewed but tall enough to hang things without worrying about bumping into them while standing.

Bottom Line: The geodesic design of the Ozark Trail Base Camp tent allows it to resist wind better than most of its competition and can shed water better too once you get a rain fly.

Bushnell Sport Series 12 Person Cabin Tent

Most Mobile 12 People Tent

Bushnell may be known more for their hunting equipment than camping gear, but the Bushnell Sport Series cabin tent can serve both interests with its inclusion of 3 doors– the most on our list. This not only provides additional ventilation, but it makes using a 12 people tent more convenient with fewer choke points when people try to enter and leave the tent simultaneously.

While not all of the tent’s materials are detailed, the polyester fabric meets flame-resistant guidelines, which is not common. Even better, this is another tent that uses a mixture of fiberglass and steel poles to supply better wind-resistance than many of its competitors.

Still, the inclusion of various uncommon protections and resistances prevents the Bushnell Sport Series cabin tent from offering the best value we found. Also, this is not one of the camping tents to use steel poles while avoiding a heavier weight, as this entry tips the scales at 48 pounds and is not ideal for remote campsites.

On the plus side, the 20’ x 10’ space provides an average 200 sq ft, but the 84” or 7’ height ensures everyone can stand up straight inside the tent. The Bushnell Sport Series cabin tent also comes with two room dividers, allowing you to make three rooms and afford everyone a little bit more privacy.

Bottom Line: The Bushnell Sport Series is one of the few tents on our list made of flame-resistant materials, but it is the inclusion of 3 separate doors that stand out more than anything else.

Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API