9 Best 8 Person Tents For Group Camping [2020 Review]

Our Pick – Best 8 Person Tent

NTK Laredo GT 8 to 9-Person Tent

During our research, we came across some great tents, but the Laredo GT Tent was the obvious best choice out of them all. It’s sturdy but lightweight at only 23.5 pounds and is a champ at keeping you and your group dry. Not even heavy winds can take out this tent. NTK outdid themselves when they put this superbly manufactured product on the market.

Most tents (that don’t cost a fortune) have a PU rating in the 400 mm to 1,200 mm range. NTK put this range to shame by making the Laredo GT with a 2,500 mm water column. That is much more than you need – maybe even overkill. However, it’s better to have it and not need it…well, you know the rest.

We loved the full rainfly, and NTK was even considerate enough to design it with a rain-protected entrance. Pair this with the welded, tub floors, the anti-fungal floor material, and the patented 100% nano-flex fiberglass poles, and you have a real winner among them all.

Reviews of the Best 8 Person Tents for Large Camping Groups

Group camping is fun and fulfilling when you feel the need to get closer to nature. Having the right tent ensures that your experience is about creating fond memories instead of struggling to have a good night’s sleep. You don’t want to fall into the trap of picking the wrong tent, so it’s great that you’ve come to this guide to learn everything you need to know about buying the best 8 person tent.

In this guide, we’ll go over the most important qualities and features you should consider when buying an 8 man tent. We also curated a list of the best 8 person tents on the market and found one that came out on top. Keep reading to find out why.

Important Features to Consider

Comfort

The level of comfort you get from a tent depends on your preference for specific features and qualities. For example, if you’re over six feet tall, it can be uncomfortable for you to have to continually stoop down while walking in a tent. There are plenty of tents for tall people. Most 8 person tents are at least 6 feet tall.

Ventilation is a big deal when it comes to comfort. Without proper ventilation, your tent can become unbearable in hot weather. You’ll also have problems with condensation building up on your tent walls, which will lead to mold problems. It’s safe to say that proper ventilation will keep you comfortable and healthy.

Having a certain level of privacy can also bring you a sense of comfort. To help with this, many tents come with room dividers so that you can split the tent into two or three rooms.

Another big area of comfort to look at is space. You don’t want to be sleeping right on top of each other. Despite being called an 8 person tent, putting eight people in an 8 person tent means you would be sleeping shoulder to shoulder with no room to move around. A good rule of thumb would be to have at least 30 square feet of space per person for comfort.

Quality of Materials

There are quite a few materials that tents can be made of, but the two main ones you’ll come across are nylon and polyester. Out of these two, polyester is the most common as well as the better choice for large tents. We’ll explain why soon. The quality of the material, as well as the material itself, will have a significant impact on the longevity of your tent. Nylon and polyester are both durable fabrics, but there are a few critical differences in them that make polyester the fabric of choice for family tents.

The most significant difference is what happens to each fabric when it rains. Although nylon is waterproof, it’s an elastic fabric, and when it’s caught in a downpour, it will stretch and sag. This means you’ll have to deal with a tent that could cave in somewhat when it rains. Polyester doesn’t stretch or sag when wet making it ideal for large tents.

Another concern is that nylon tears easier than polyester. Nylon is strong overall, but it doesn’t handle pressure in a focused point well. In other words, it can easily be punctured. To combat this, manufacturers use ripstop nylon, but we won’t go into that here because it’s still not the best choice for large tents.

Polyester has all the great qualities you need for a large tent, so we recommend this fabric no matter which brand of tent you choose.

Ease of Setup

You get to choose how easy you want your tent set up to be! Instant tents or pop-up tents are all the rage right now because they can be set up in as little as a minute or two. Most of the time, it will only take one person to set the tent up. This saves so much time over the traditional way of pitching a tent.

The reason these tents are so quick and easy to set up is that the poles come pre-attached to the tent. Since the poles, which are usually fiberglass, are flexible and telescopic, it’s easy to fold them down to a packable size that’s easy to carry. The process is so easy that even kids could set up an instant tent if they could reach the top.

With this in mind, you’re probably wondering why everyone wouldn’t go with this easy option. The main reason some people would choose a traditional tent set up of an instant tent is that the poles on an instant tent aren’t as hardy as traditional poles. We’re not saying they aren’t strong; we are just pointing out a quality difference.

Waterproofing

Most tents are made with some type of waterproof coating. For polyester and nylon tents, it will likely be a polyurethane (PU) coating. PU coatings are very effective at blocking out moisture, but this is dependent on what is called the hydrostatic head rating, which is given in millimeters (mm). It may also be called the water column. A fabric can genuinely be considered waterproof if the hydrostatic head rating is at least 1,000 mm. Otherwise, the material would fall into the category of “water-resistant.”

Tent Season

There are five tent seasons, but most 8 person tents are two or three-season tents. Two season tents may not have the level of waterproofing you need, so we’ve included mostly three season tents in the list. Three season tents have adequate waterproofing, and they’re durable enough to stand up to most weather conditions except snow.

Weight & Packed Size

You may have come across the terms packed size and packed weight before. Packed size is precisely what it sounds like – the size of the tent when it’s packed in a storage bag. This can vary widely from tent to tent, so you’ll need to make sure it’s a size that will fit comfortably with the rest of your gear.

Packed weight describes the weight of all the tent pieces as opposed to trail weight, which only includes the tent, rainfly, and poles.

Features

Tents have plenty of desirable features. These features can make your tent-dwelling much more convenient and comfortable. Here are some of the more common features that you’ll find in tents.

Storage

With a group of people in a tent, you’re going to need plenty of storage spaces. Family tents come with mesh pockets that serve as storage spaces. Some tents have more mesh pockets and/or bigger mesh pockets than others. A good rule of thumb is to have at least one mesh pocket for each person that will be in the tent. Gear lofts are helpful as well.

Ventilation

We briefly discussed ventilation when talking about comfort. You should get a tent with ground vents and a mesh rooftop. This allows fresh air to flow in through the ground vents, which will push the hot air through the mesh top roof.

Bucket/Tub Floors

This is a great way to keep water from seeping into your tent through the floor seams. You may also want to make sure your tent’s floor doesn’t have a seam in the middle for the same reason.

No-See-Um Mesh

The windows and possibly the roof of your tent will be covered with a mesh material that keeps bugs out. Not all mesh is created equally – no-see-um mesh is designed to keep those tiny, almost invisible insects out. The openings in regular mesh are too large to do this.

The Best 8 Person Tents for Camping Reviewed

NTK Laredo GT 8 to 9-Person Tent

Best 8 Person Tent

The Laredo GT has a rainfly and floor that will put others to shame. They use some of the highest-quality fabric that you’ll find in a three-season, lightweight family tent. The tent walls and rainfly are both double-walled and made from 190T polyester. The rainfly has a 2,500 mm PU coating.

It also has other popular features like no-see-um mesh, mesh storage pockets, and a lantern O-ring hook. It even has UV-protection even though polyester isn’t particularly susceptible to sun damage.

The tent measures 6.2 ft tall, weighs 23.6 pounds and has a floor space of about 152 sq. ft. We wouldn’t recommend more than five people to occupy the tent to maintain enough comfortable space.

Bottom Line: With welded seams, a bathtub floor, and an anti-fungal silver floor lining, this is one of the most waterproof family tents on the market and our pick for the best 8 person tent.

Marmot Limestone 8 Person Camping Tent

Most Ventilated Tent

The Marmot Limestone is so ventilated that it almost looks like one big mesh net. Half of the tent walls are made of no-see-um mesh. It doesn’t have dedicated windows, but it does have two large doors and a well-placed ground vent.

The product a removable room divider, and each room has its own door. It even has a lampshade pocket so you can use a headlamp or flashlight for ambient light. The tent and rainfly are made from 68D polyester taffeta. The rainfly has an excellent waterproofing of 1,500 mm. The tub-style floor is made from 150D polyester taffeta with a hydrostatic head of 3,000 mm.

Standing at 6′ 5″ with 129.5 sq. ft. of floor space, the tent is excellent for tall people but may only be comfortable enough for four to five people. It only weighs a little over 20 pounds, so it’s easy to carry and set up.

Bottom Line: This is a well-ventilated three-season family tent that is great for keeping your whole group cool and comfortable in hot weather.

Coleman Octagon 98 8 Person Outdoor Tent

Best 8 Man Tent for Floorspace

The Coleman Octagon 98 may not have the most floor space out of the list, but what it has is fully accessible because of how the product is made. The octagonal shape with the vertical walls means that you can access every square foot of space from top to bottom. It stands 6′ 10″ at its center height. It has around 169 sq. ft. of floor space, so it’s comfortable for five to six people.

With this family tent, you’ll also enjoy adequate ventilation with the mesh roof and mesh windows, two doors, and a full rainfly that easily zips on and off. There is one point we weren’t too impressed with – it weighs a little over 45 pounds.

Bottom Line: If space is a big concern for you, the Coleman Octagon 98 can ease your worries while providing you with exceptional quality and performance.

Coleman Red Canyon 8 Person Tent

Best 8 Person Tent on a Budget

It’s okay to save money in some areas and splurge on others. You don’t have to spend a small fortune on a camping tent to get a good one. The Coleman Red Canyon gives you 170 square feet of floor space at a very affordable price point. It’s an excellent product for five to six people.

We’ll admit – this product sacrifices a bit of functionality for the price. One area is the height – it stands right at six feet tall, so it’s not the best for tall people. However, it does its primary job very well, which is serve as a shelter when you’re on family camping trips. It’s made from high-quality nylon material and has excellent ventilation. It comes with a gear loft and a few mesh pockets for storage.

Bottom Line: This is an excellent product for people who are on a budget but still want a family tent that’s going to be comfortable and durable.

Eureka Copper Canyon 8 Person Tent

Best 8 Person Tent for Headroom

If you’re very tall, don’t fret! There is a model out there just for you, and it’s called the Eureka Copper Canyon. It stands at seven feet tall at its highest point. However, it’s not just a tall-person tent – it has all the makings an excellent product for all heights.

The material it’s made of is excellent quality. The floor, fly, and tent are all made from a 190T polyester taffeta fabric and has a 1,200 mm water column. It even has no-see-um mesh to keep those invisible pests away.

There is one negative that the 34-pound family tent has – it’s small in terms of square footage. It only has 130 sq. ft. of floor space so we only recommend four to five people crammed inside. It seems they sacrificed a little floor space for height.

Bottom Line: This model is excellent for everyone, but it’s perfect for really tall people who don’t want to duck inside their tent continually.

Wenzel 8 Person Klondike Tent

Largest Screen Room

Having a separate screen room is great if you and your group can’t agree on windows or no windows. The 8 Person Klondike tent has one of the largest screen rooms you can find on a family tent of this size and doesn’t sacrifice too much space in the other part of the tent.

The screen room is about 60 square feet so it can comfortably fit two people. The main area has about 98 square feet of living and sleeping area, so that it can fit three to four people comfortably. Plus, it stands 6′ 6″ tall and only weighs 26.4 pounds, so it’s very accommodating.

The rainfly is made of polyester taffeta, and the floor is a tub-style, welded, polyethylene. The tent features double-stitched, lap-felled seams.

Bottom Line: The 8 person Klondike Tent is an excellent choice for people who enjoy scenic views or for groups who may be split when it comes to decisions about light or ventilation.

Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow Deluxe 8-Person Tent

Best Tent for Snow

If you’re going to be camping in snowy weather, you need a robust, four-season model that can stand up to the harsh abuse of snow. The Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow Deluxe is that tent. It’s not quite a mountaineering tent, but it’s right up under one when it comes to quality and durability. It is made of Kodiak’s exclusive marine-grade, 100% cotton duck, Hydra-ShieldTM canvas. In other words, this product is going to keep you as dry as a bone.

Canvas is a heavy material, so you’ll need a strong frame to handle it. This large family tent weighs 79 pounds. The frame is made from 1-inch galvanized steel tubing. The zippers are heavy-duty coil zippers so that they won’t snag or break. They’re covered with Velcro-closing zipper covers for protection from the weather.

This model stands at 6’6″ tall and has 140 square feet of floor space. It doesn’t have the best ventilation (because it’s meant for cold weather), so you may want to limit capacity at four people for the most comfortable results.

Bottom Line: This model is the type of heavy-duty tent you need for a hunting or camping trip in severe weather.

Coleman 8-Person Instant Family Tent

Easiest Set-Up

If you’re new to camping, don’t like setting up tents, or simply want to pitch a tent fast and get it over with, this Coleman family tent could make you very happy. It’s an 8 person instant tent, so the poles are pre-attached, which means you mostly just need to pop it into place. Once you’re used to it and can easily handle a 34-pound tent, you can set it up in a minute or two.

One significant observation about this three-season tent is that it stands up to high winds like a champ, which is impressive for an instant model. Many users have reported it standing up to winds at 50 mph with no problems, even without a rainfly.

It’s a large, spacious product with 140 square feet of space and vertical walls so you can comfortably fit four to five people. It has double-walled fabric and features Coleman’s patented WeatherTec technology. By now, you know that means your tent is waterproof.

Bottom Line: With the quickest setup, and plenty of storage, ventilation, and space, this is an excellent tent for any family.

Coleman Evanston Dome 8 Person Tent

Best Value

Everyone likes a great value. This 8 person tent is being phased out to make room for new tents, so you’ll find this one at a reduced price in most places. However, it’s a spacious family tent at an economy price – a deal you don’t want to miss.

The Evanston 8 person tent is the most spacious offering on the list. It stands at six feet tall and has an interior that is 180 square feet. If that’s not enough, it has a screen room that is 50 square feet. This means you could fit up to eight people as advertised. It’s lightweight (26.4 lbs.) and stands 6′ tall. Like all of Coleman’s family tents, it has the WeatherTec technology, and the fabric material is a double-walled Polyguard™ fabric.

This model has all the standard features – mesh storage pockets, gear loft, ventilation, and more. It’s a great choice and great value.

Bottom Line: This product is a great way to get a premium 8 person tent for a bargain.

Last update on 2024-09-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API