16 Best Tunnel Tents that Stand Up to the Wind (2024 Buying Guide)

Short on time? Our pick for the best tunnel tent is The North Face Wawona 6 Tent.

Your complete guide to the best tunnel tents this camping season.

I’ve written quite a few guides to different types of tents, but one tent style that shows up again and again is the tunnel tent.

Tunnel tents come in varying sizes and configurations, but they all have one thing in common: their shape.

In contrast to the standard dome tent, which generally uses two crisscrossing poles over a square base to create a rounded shape, the tunnel tent uses parallel, arched poles over a rectangular base to create a tube-like space. 

Some of the advantages of a tunnel tent are that they offer more headspace and better ventilation. Plus, they’re easy to set up. 

Tunnel tents usually need guylines to stay sturdy, but with enough guylines and proper pitching, a tunnel tent can also do very well in windy conditions.

So, if you’re ready to head out into the great outdoors with a new tent, these are my picks for the best tunnel tents to camp in this year (and for many years to come)!

Note: this post contains affiliate links, which help run this site at no extra cost to you so I can keep providing free travel advice and tips.

#1 Coleman Coastline Tent

Best Family Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.5/5
Weight: 15.45 pounds
Dimensions: 6.2’ x 14.4’ x 5.1’
Waterproof: No, but water-resistant
Best for: Families with young children.

Many tunnel tents for camping make excellent family tents. Most notably because the tunnel design allows for more headroom and more useable space.  

With its medium size and moderately spacious interior, the Coleman Coastline Tent is the perfect tunnel tent for a small family camping trip. The sleeping area can accommodate three adults or a family with small children. 

One detail that stands out about this Coleman tunnel tent is its covered porch. The porch area can open up or zip shut and has a thick polyethylene groundsheet. 

You can even use this part of the tent as an extra space for sleeping during warmer months. Otherwise, it provides a shaded area to set up camp chairs or a protected vestibule for storing gear.

#2 The North Face Mountain 25 Tent

Best 2-person Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.5/5
Weight: 9.8 pounds
Dimensions: 7.2’ x 4.5’ x 3.4’
Waterproof: No, but water-resistant
Best for: Cold-weather camping.

Rather than the classic tunnel design, The North Face Mountain 25 Tent uses multiple bisecting arches to create a sturdy structure for this high-performing, four-season tent.

This tent performs very well in snowy and below-freezing conditions. 

Both the canopy and the rain fly use 40-denier ripstop nylon, and the rain fly also has a polyurethane/silicone coating and a polyurethane port window. North Face even crack-tested the port window down to -60 degrees Fahrenheit. 

And this tent is relatively lightweight at less than ten pounds, thanks to aluminum poles and stakes.

It also has eight interior pockets and many hanging hooks, so you and your partner will be able to keep your belongings neat and organized inside the enclosed space. Not to mention, there’s a generously-sized vestibule for other gear and muddy boots. 

Vents at both the top and bottom of the structure keep things breezy and fight condensation, so you and your partner can enjoy a relaxing time even if you’re camping in rough conditions.

#3 Coleman Oak Canyon Tunnel Tent

Best 4-Person Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.4/5
Weight: 40.8 pounds
Dimensions: 15.4’ x 9.2’ x 6.2’ 
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Families who like to camp in style and comfort.

There are many excellent tunnel tents from Coleman, and the Coleman Oak Canyon Tunnel Tent is one of them. 

This Coleman tent has a classic tunnel structure design. Similar to the Coleman Coastline, it features a blackout bedroom and a screened-in porch area.

The porch windows can unzip to create a breezy, mesh-walled space, but you can also close them to create a second sleeping zone for summer camping.

One of this tent’s most notable features is its blackened sleeping areas, so you can snooze late into the morning without the sun bothering you. This could be an excellent advantage for people who sleep lightly and are sensitive to sunlight.

Thanks to taped seams, the Oak Canyon Coleman Tent is also 100% waterproof. So, if it’s raining, you can bring your camping chairs into the porch area and continue enjoying the great outdoors from inside your shelter.

#4 NEMO Wagontop 6 Tent

Best 6-Person Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.4/5
Weight: 27 pounds
Dimensions: 11.7’ x 8.3’ x 6.7’
Waterproof: Yes 
Best for: Families looking for a comfortable and spacious camping experience.

The Nemo Wagontop 6 Tent is a spacious, breezy six-person camping tunnel tent with multiple rooms. With a peak height of 6.7′, there’s ample space for nearly everyone to stand and walk around comfortably.

This high-quality tunnel tent features a unique pole configuration to create its tunnel shape, making the tent stable and sturdy. The resulting tent has nearly straight walls and a flat ceiling, creating more space.

With its thick, waterproof rain fly, the Wagontop tent also offers a large vestibule area for storing gear, as well as a screened porch for lounging in.

And inside this tall tent, there’s a range of storage pockets and hooks to keep your belongings organized and the ample floor space clear for walking around freely.

Nemo has tried to keep the setup simple with only four poles and self-contained hubs. However, the Wagon Top family tunnel tent is still fairly tricky to set up the first time around, so make sure you have someone to help you. 

#5 Campros 8-Person Tent

Best 8-Person Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.6/5
Weight: 17.4 pounds
Dimensions: 14’ x 9’ x 6’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Groups of friends or big families who need lots of space.

The Campros 8-Person tent is a large family tunnel tent that offers generous living space and a water-resistant rain fly.

This is also a tunnel tent with a divider, creating two separate rooms. Two sleeping rooms can be helpful when you’re camping with big groups, especially if you’re a family with children who have a much earlier bedtime than the adults.  

The Campros tent is surprisingly affordable, considering this particular tent’s enormous size. And at just over 17 pounds, it’s also exceptionally lightweight for its size.

This tent comes with six guylines to make it extra sturdy in windy weather, and while it doesn’t have a huge waterproof rating, it has enough water-repellency to stay dry during light rain.

#6 NTK Laredo Sport Camping Tent

Best Waterproof Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.3/5
Weight: 23.6 pounds
Dimensions:  6.2’ x 15.1’ x 10.2’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for Springtime camping trips.

The NTK Laredo Sport Camping Tent has a sturdy, modified dome design. Two outer arched poles flank a crisscrossed dome structure at the center to create a hybrid tunnel tent design.

The NTK Laredo is a waterproof tent thanks to a 2500mm hydrostatic head waterproof coating on the rain fly. As a bonus, much of the canopy underneath the rain fly is made from mesh, allowing for lots of airflow.

This tent also has an E-port to bring an extension cord into the tent. Typically, E-ports use a flap of fabric to cover themselves. This one is zippered, so you can completely seal it up when you’re not using it.

NTK tents are unique because they use a silver coating on the groundsheet to make them resistant to mold and mildew. If you’ve ever started setting up a tent that’s been in a damp carry bag in a basement since last summer, you know how gross it is to sleep in a musty tent.

Another neat detail is that NTK offers a lifetime replacement on the fiberglass poles. I’ve seen a lot of frustrated reviews for other tents complaining that a pole broke, and now an otherwise-good tent is useless. With an NTK tent, you won’t have that issue.

#7 Quechua Air Seconds Inflatable Tent

Best Inflatable Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.4/5
Weight: 27.6 pounds
Dimensions: 9.5’ x 15.7’ x 6.2’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Cozy and comfortable family camping.

Inflatable tents are an innovative new style of tent that’s most popular in Europe. Instead of using aluminum or fiberglass poles, these tents have heavy-duty, built-in tubes that get rigid when you pump them full of air. 

You may have heard of the Vango tunnel tent, one of the leading brands for inflatable tents on the market. Unfortunately, you can’t buy Vango tents in the US. 

However, The Quechua Air Inflatable Tent is a great substitute. 

Like many inflatable tents, the Quechua features a classic tunnel tent design. It has a roomy, mesh-walled porch area and an inner sleeping room with UV-blocking blackout fabric and enough space for four adults to sleep comfortably.

The Quechua also performs well in bad weather, which is always a major plus. It’s 100% waterproof and can withstand winds up to 35 miles per hour. And assembly is simple; you just need an air pump.

#8 Mountain Hardware Outpost 2 Tent

Best Tunnel Tent for Backpacking

Our rating: 4.4/5
Weight: 5.9 pounds
Dimensions:  7.3’ x 4.1’ x 3.6’
Waterproof: No, but water-resistant
Best for: Solo campers and couples with a taste for adventure.

The Mountain Hardware Outpost 2 Tent is a super light yet durable backpacking tent with enough interior space for two people to get cozy inside it.

This is a great camping tunnel tent because it uses a modified-dome design, making it a hybrid tunnel tent. 

While a typical tunnel tent uses a succession of parallel arches to create its structure, this tent starts as a small dome and then adds an arch over the front to extend the dome into a tunnel. 

This way, it gets the extended headroom of a tunnel-type tent with the sturdy freestanding abilities of dome tents. 

As a bonus, the guylines on this tent add sturdiness and feature reflective accents to help you get back to your tent after a midnight bathroom run.

This tent is also a two-layer tent. A heavy-duty rain fly fits snugly over the entire tent, extending out over the front door to create a small vestibule where you can store gear and boots. 

Lastly, this camping tunnel tent has two doors, so you won’t need to scramble over each other to get out.

Mountain Hardware is a leading tent brand, and while their products don’t come cheap, you can expect top-notch quality. 

#9 The North Face Wawona 6 Tent

Best Travel Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.7/5
Weight: 20.4 pounds 
Dimensions: 9.9’ x 17.8’ x 6.7’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Family camping on the move.

The North Face Wawona 6 Tent has a unique design that makes it extra versatile and thus well-suited for travel. 

The interior space is a modified, extended dome structure with large mesh sections for utmost breathability. 

A detachable, structured waterproof rain fly creates a super large covered vestibule for storing bulky gear or hanging out in the shade. Vents at the top keep the airflow moving through the interior.

This family tunnel tent performs well in all four seasons, staying cool in the summer and then repelling rain and even snow in the winter. 

The North Face has color-coded the poles to make setup more simple, but keep in mind this tent still has a fairly complex design, so assembly can still be tricky.

#10 Moon Lence Pop up Tent

Best Pop Up Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.5/5
Weight: 9.9 pounds
Dimensions: 10.8’ x 7.2’ x 3.9’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Camping couples who like to spend as much time relaxing as possible. 

Pop-up tents, also known as instant tents, are an excellent solution if you hate struggling with poles and pole sleeves. 

Some instant tents have preattached poles that you lift and pop into place. The Moon Lence Pop-up Tent assembles in a more fun and exciting way: you simply take it out of its carry bag and toss it in the air.

But just because the set-up is simple doesn’t mean this is a low-quality tent. Guylines help keep the structure sturdy in windy conditions, and it has a waterproof outer cover.

This four-man tunnel tent has two doors for increased airflow and easy access. However, this tent has a low ceiling height, so you won’t be able to stand up inside of it.

#11 NTK Super Arizona Sport Family Tent

Best Tent with Porch

Our rating: 4.3/5
Weight: 39.77 pounds
Dimensions: 10.2’ x 20.6’ x 6.9’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Families with tweens or teens.

The NTK Super Arizona Sport Family Tent has a palatial twenty-foot length and nearly seven feet of ceiling height. Not only do you have enough space to walk around inside of it, but you could also skip and dance if you wanted to!

Like many large tunnel tents, this one has a front porch area. You can use this space as a living room separate from the sleeping room, and there’s an optional room divider to separate these two rooms.

This tent also has two doors and a full-coverage waterproof rain fly, so you don’t have to worry about getting drenched in a downpour.

A gear loft and ample storage pockets mean that your belongings won’t get all jumbled on the inner floored area either.

NTK tents have two unique features that set them apart from other tent brands. First, a silver coating creates an anti-fungal floor. Second, they offer lifetime pole replacement. 

While this isn’t the cheapest tent, it’s reasonably priced for its size and the features it has to offer. 

#12 AYAMAYA Double Layer Family Camping Tent

Best Budget Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.3/5
Weight: 8.6 pounds
Dimensions: 13.9’ x 6.6’ x 4.3’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Backpackers who love a lot of space for their gear.

Many of the best tunnel tents for camping tend to be on the pricey side, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a high-quality tunnel tent without breaking the bank.

The Ayamaya Double Layer Family Camping Tent is reasonably inexpensive, with great features and a decently spacious interior. 

This tent features a classic tunnel shape with an extended covered vestibule that has a removable groundsheet. This means you have the option to use the vestibule as a living room or simply as a place to store camping gear. The inner floor area can sleep four people.

The rain fly has triple-stitched, heat-sealed seams to ensure an impressive waterproof rating, while the rear and side vents keep air moving through the space.

Most notably, this lightweight tunnel tent weighs only eight and a half pounds, which is lighter than some two-person backpacking tents. So, not only is this tent light on your wallet, it’ll be light on your back as well. 

Read our guide to the best backpacking rain ponchos. 

#13 MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Tent

Most Durable Tunnel Tent

Our rating: 4.4/5
Weight: 3.9 pounds
Dimensions: 4.2’ x 7’ x 3.25’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Avid solo backpackers.

The MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Tent is a mini tunnel type tent that combines an innovative pole design with cutting-edge materials to create a reliable little tent that can withstand harsh conditions.

The poles use a patented aerospace composite material called “Easton Syclone,” with superior durability even in strong winds. 

However, one thing to note about this material is that it sometimes sheds tiny splinters. So, be careful during set-up and consider wearing work gloves.

The rain fly also uses new technologies to give it a higher level of durability. Its special waterproof coating is called “Xtreme Shield” and lasts up to three times longer than the standard waterproof coating. 

The rain fly also provides a small covered vestibule for storing your gear. The inner sleeping area is relatively compact, so you’ll want that extra room outside of the tent for your equipment.

One advantage of this tent’s diminutive size is that’s it’s incredibly lightweight. At just 3.9 pounds, you’ll be able to take this tent on many backpacking excursions, and its quality should stand the test of time.

#14 Marmot Thor 3P Tent

Best for Cold Weather

Our rating: 4.7/5
Weight: 9.6 pounds
Dimensions: 7.7’ x 6.1’ x 3.8’
Waterproof: No, but water-resistant
Best for: Dedicated year-round campers.

The Marmot Thor 3P Tent is yet another tiny tunnel tent with a unique pole configuration. This one also includes an internal guyline system to give it stability against wind. 

But it’s the full-coverage rain fly that gives this four-season tent an advantage against cold conditions. 

The rain fly has fully-taped seams and uses 50-denier polyurethane-coated ripstop polyester to repel snow and moisture. It also has a snow skirt to keep snow away from the body of the inner tent. 

The fly provides two practical features for winter camping. It creates a covered vestibule to shelter your gear, and it also turns this into a double-walled insulated tent, which is your best protection against low temperatures.

While the Marmot Thor tent’s low ceiling means it’s not a huge tent, this can be an advantage for winter camping. 

A small tent like this is a good choice in cold weather because the limited space fills with your body heat to help keep you warm. 

#15 Coleman Cabin Camping Tent

Best Tunnel Tent for Very High Winds

Our rating: 4.6/5
Weight: 23 pounds
Dimensions: 11’ x 8’ x 6.3’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Camping in stormy climates.

Trying to sleep in a tent during a windstorm is not very fun. But the Coleman Cabin Camping Tent can withstand winds up to 35 miles per hour, keeping you safe inside its sturdy construction.

This tent has a small mesh screen porch, mesh doors, huge windows, ground vents, and a mesh skylight in fairer weather conditions. So, you can take off the rain fly and enjoy the breeze as well as the view. There’s even an electrical port to run an extension cord into the tent.

But when the weather takes a turn for the worse, this tent will have you covered. Its weather system features a tub floor, inverted seams, and welded corners to keep water out. 

There’s a lot of crossover between cabin tents and tunnel tents. And although this one has the word cabin in its name, the design is that of a classic tunnel tent, with parallel arched poles that provide a ceiling height of over six feet.

#16 OneTigris TEGIMEN Hammock Hot Tent

Best Tunnel Tent with Stove Jack

Our rating: 4.3/5
Weight: 6.8 pounds
Dimensions: 12.5’ x 6.6’ x 6.2’
Waterproof: Yes
Best for: Off-grid cold weather camping.

The OneTigris Tegimen Hammock Hot Tent is a bit of an outlier on this list. It’s not a classic tunnel tent design, and it doesn’t even include tent poles or a groundsheet. 

However, its spacious rectangular dimensions give it a tunnel-like shape. And most importantly, it has a heat-resistant stove jack.

This tent suspends from the top, which means you can tie it to nearby trees like a hammock and use branches to prop up the outer walls. 

Another good thing about this tent is that the fabric is thick and durable 70-denier ripstop nylon, making it entirely waterproof.

Inside, you can warm the tent with a wood-burning portable tent stove and use the stove jackholes to put the chimney pipe through.

This tent is not for beginners, but for an experienced camper. It can provide warm, cozy, and spacious shelter for off-grid winter camping. 

And, since it doesn’t need traditional aluminum or steel poles, this incredibly spacious tent weighs only 6.8 pounds when it’s packed up. 

Buying Guide: How to Choose the Best Tunnel Tent

If all of these options have left you feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry. I’ve laid out everything to keep in mind when you’re choosing the right tunnel tent for you.

What to Look for in Tunnel Tents

As with any tent, when you’re shopping for a tunnel tent, there are certain features to keep your eyes out for.

Size and weight

Size and weight are always crucial when you’re choosing a tent. You first need to determine your particular needs. How big is your group? 

Do you need lots of space for gear? Do you typically go car camping or will you be backpacking? 

A super heavy tent may be a fine choice if you only need to carry it a few feet from your car, but not if you’ll be strapping it to your back.

Will you be using the tent as a place to hang out during the day or purely a nest to crash in at night? Maybe a peak height that’s tall enough to stand in fully isn’t essential for your needs.

Answering these questions will help you decide if you need a large tunnel tent with a covered vestibule or a small, lightweight backpacking tent.

Materials and weatherproofing

Most tent fabric is either ripstop polyester or mesh, but these materials can vary. 

You’ll often see the word “denier.” Denier refers to the thickness of the weave materials, and the higher the denier, the thicker the material. So, 30-denier polyester is not the same as 70-denier.

Some tents will use polyurethane or other coatings to waterproof the rain fly or the outer material of the tent. 

If waterproofing is essential to you, pay attention to whether a tent uses any waterproof coatings, which can help you predict how it will perform in wet conditions.

Type of tunnel design

Different tunnel tents use different pole configurations. A classic tunnel tent uses parallel arched poles that rely on guylines to stay upright, but other designs are freestanding or perform better in the wind. 

For this reason, you should keep an eye on the pole configuration when you’re looking for your next tunnel tent.

Extra features

Products that come with bonus features offer the most value for your money. 

Many tunnel tents come with a covered vestibule or a mesh porch, and features like this can help you decide which tent will be the most bang for your buck. 

Types of Tunnel Tents

“Tunnel Tent” is a somewhat general term, and there are a lot of different tent styles that fit into this category. These are a few of them. 

Classic tunnel tents

The classic design for a tunnel tent consists of a simple series of parallel arched poles. You will often see this style in larger tunnel tents, and many inflatable tunnel tents use this design. 

Classic tunnel tents also tend to have a screened-in porch area. So, this type of tunnel tent is best for families or people looking for spacious interiors.

Pop-up tunnel tents

Pop-up tunnel tents require no assembly. Open the carry case and toss the tent into the air, and it will pop into shape by the time it lands. 

This type of tunnel tent is usually on the smaller side, best for casual campers and backyard fun. 

If you feel daunted by the prospect of pitching a tent–whether you’re new to camping or you’re so experienced that you’re over the hassle–a pop-up tunnel tent could be for you.

Backpacking tunnel tents

Backpacking tents are extra lightweight and compact to make them easier to carry on your back over longer distances. 

Most backpacking tents don’t accommodate more than three people, and many are heavy-duty four-season tents.

Extended dome tunnel tents

While dome and tunnel tents are two distinctly different tent styles, a hybrid type contains the best of both worlds. 

An extended dome starts with a classic dome shape made of two bisecting poles, but then adds arched wings on one or both ends to extend the dome out into a tunnel shape. 

This is a great option when you want the spaciousness of a tunnel tent but the stability of a dome tent. 

Looking for other styles of tents? Check out our guides to the best 4-person tents, 6-person tents, 8-person tents, 10-person tents, 12-person tents, large camping tents, 3-room tents, canvas tents, waterproof tents, and winter tents.

FAQs About Tunnel Tents

Are tunnel tents good?

Tunnel tents are great if you love spaciousness and headroom. 

The walls of a domed tent slope towards the centerpoint, and you end up with less usable space. The walls of a tunnel tent don’t have such a steep slant, leaving you with more room to move around. 

A classic tunnel tent needs guylines to make it as sturdy as a dome tent, but it’s a great option when you erect a tunnel tent properly.

What is a travel tunnel tent?

Any tunnel tent can be a travel tunnel tent unless your primary intention is to only use it for lounging in your backyard. 

A good travel tunnel tent will perform well in various climates and seasons without being too heavy or bulky. The best travel tunnel tents are versatile to serve you well on many different trips.

How do you pitch a tunnel tent?

How you pitch your tunnel tent will vary depending on the design. If it’s an inflatable or pop-up tent, the process will be very different.

But when you’re pitching any tent, the best way to begin is to find a level spot of ground and unfold the tent flat. Then, insert the poles into the sleeves and pull them taut into formation to bring up the tent. 

If you’re pitching a tent with guylines, make sure to secure them tautly to ensure the tent is sturdy and freestanding.

What’s the difference between a dome and a tunnel tent?

A dome tent usually has a square footprint, and it’s sturdy and symmetrical, with the highest point at the center and walls that slope swiftly down from that centerpoint.

A tunnel tent generally has a rectangular footprint and a much broader centerpoint, which results in more usable internal space.

How much should I plan to spend on a tunnel tent?

The cost of a tunnel tent ranges widely. Some can cost well over $700, while others are less than $200. 

In general, there aren’t many extreme budget options for tunnel tents, and you should expect to spend around $200-$300.

Conclusion: Our Pick for the Best Tunnel Tent

While there are many excellent options within the wonderful world of tunnel tents, only one can take the ultimate title. My pick for the best Tunnel Tent is The North Face Wawona 6 Tent.

This spacious and versatile tent stands out as a great tunnel tent for its unusual design. In a way, it’s essentially a dome tent that sits inside of a tunnel tent. 

Since the inner dome is mostly mesh, and the outer rain fly has vents, it has excellent ventilation. 

Airflow is essential in both summer and winter, as ventilation prevents condensation. And the two-layer design also means it has a double wall, which helps insulate in chillier weather.

Additionally, the domed sleeping area is 8.4′ x 9.9′, which is quite generous. And because the dome has a small extension over the door, it has the increased headroom of a tunnel tent. At six feet 5 inches, the ceiling is tall enough for most adults to stand comfortably. 

The covered vestibule offers more than enough space to store big gear or even hang out in camp chairs with the doors open. This tent also has features that make it great for warm and cool weather, and it has variations that help it adapt to different situations. 

A lot of comparable high-capacity tunnel tents weigh up to forty pounds, but at just over twenty pounds, the Wawona tent is relatively portable considering its size.

And while this isn’t the cheapest tent on the list, its price tag isn’t staggering, considering the quality of the brand and the spaciousness of the tent. 

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