The 7 Best Inflatable Camping Tents of 2021
Photo: Ryno Tuff
Inflatable camping tents are an amazing invention. Spread out the material, pump in some air, and you've got yourself an instant tent.
They are also easier to transport. No metal or fiberglass poles to handle, and this also means less weight. Besides faster setups, inflatable or air tents offer good weather resistance and structural stability.
In this inflatable tents review, you'll learn about the features that matter most in these air tents, plus the list of the top offers below to make your choice easier.
7 Best Inflatable Camping Tents – Review
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1. Moose Outdoors (Best Overall) |
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2. Ryno Tuff (Best Budget) |
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3. HeimPlanet FISTRAL (Best Quality) |
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4. Vango 18TMB (Best High Capacity) |
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5. SereneLife SLTENTAIR (Best Combo Camping Tent & Bed) |
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6. Ihuniu Inc (Best Oxford Cloth Tent) |
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7. Tangkula (Domed Tent) |
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PRODUCT |
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1. Moose Outdoors (Best Overall) |
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2. Ryno Tuff (Best Budget) |
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3. HeimPlanet FISTRAL (Best Quality) |
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4. Vango 18TMB (Best High Capacity) |
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5. SereneLife SLTENTAIR (Best Combo Camping Tent & Bed) |
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6. Ihuniu Inc (Best Oxford Cloth Tent) |
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7. Tangkula (Domed Tent) |
1. Moose Outdoors – Best Overall Inflatable Camping Tent
Photo: Moose Outdoors
- Setup Size: 10.5 x 8.8 x 4.2 feet
- Capacity: 4 people
- Folded Size: 18 x 14 x 12 inches
- Pack Weight: 15 pounds
Moose Outdoors presents this best blow-up tent for camping, featuring a nice design, quality materials, attractive price, and a 3-month warranty.
Setup takes just three minutes for this tent and it grows to 10.5 x 8.8 feet, with a 4.2-feet height. This provides enough comfortable sleeping space for up to four campers.
This tent also features a dome-like design and can withstand wind speeds up to 33 mph. Its internal airflow design also creates comfort with its two riser vents for efficient airflow.
It's available in Blue and Gray, which is great, but more color options would have been better. It comes with a carry bag though, a hand pump, stakes, and a user guide, plus extra patches for quick repairs.
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2. Ryno Tuff – Best Budget Inflatable Camping Tent
Photo: Ryno Tuff
- Setup Size: 8 x 8 x 5 feet
- Capacity: 4 people
- Materials: Polyester
- Folded Size: 16.5 x 14 x 8 inches
- Pack Weight: 12 pounds
Featuring a polyester taffeta material and an 8x8-feet base, this Ryno Tuff camping net offers space for four people at an amazing price, making it the best cheap-inflatable tent on this list.
You get an inner tent with a breathable material and mesh panels for warmer weather. Then there's the outer rain-fly for colder and rainy days, making this a very robust tent.
Its 8x8-ft size provides sleeping room for four and its 5-ft center height makes it comfortable for short and tall people alike.
Ryno Tuff includes a foot-press pump and it looks less efficient than the standard hand-pumps included with other inflatable camping tents. Else, this is a great offer, and it comes with a carry-bag, 12 steel stakes, and four guy lines for safety.
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3. HeimPlanet FISTRAL – Best Quality Inflatable Camping Tent
Photo: HeimPlanet
- Capacity: 2
- Materials: Polyester, nylon
- Folded Size: 15 x 8 x 8 inches
- Pack Weight: 5.5 pounds
For those who want the very best outdoor inflatable tent with consideration of price, HeimPlanet's offer here is a great tent with lots of premium features to consider.
The first feature is its low weight at just 5.5 pounds. Then there's the small 15 x 8 x 8 inches pack size. The third is the geodesic structure of the tent, which HeimPlanet calls the Inflatable Diamond Grid for low material use and stability.
For the airframe, there's a polyester outer layer and a thermoplastic polyurethane inner layer. The tent features a PU-laminated polyester fly and a Nylon inner material, plus a PU-laminated nylon floor.
The only thing that may not impressive you about this tent is its price because it's the costliest on this list. The package includes everything you need, though. It will also handle speeds up to 110 mph and it features two closable ventilation points.
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4. Vango 18TMB – Best High Capacity Inflatable Camping Tent
Photo: Vango
- Setup Size: 15.3 x 12.5 x 6.7 feet
- Capacity: 6 people
- Materials: Polyester
- Pack Weight: 36.8 pounds
For those with a large family or group, Vango has an inflatable camping tent that's large enough for up to six campers.
It features a highly waterproof and durable 70D polyester flysheet, with pre-angled air beams to offer full stand-up height inside, making it one of the best large-inflatable tents.
This tent sets up in just 10 minutes and if there could be wind, you can use the Vango tension band system for extra stability.
For cons, it's relatively expensive. Its many features, however, make up for it, such as storage pockets, lantern hangers, the Vango Air Zone ventilation system, and a spacious carry-bag.
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5. SereneLife SLTENTAIR – Best Combo Camping Tent & Bed
Photo: SereneLife
- Setup Size: 6.9 x 4.3 x 4.3 feet
- Capacity: 2 people
- Materials: PVC & polyester
- Pack Weight: 17.2 pounds
Most other inflatable camping tents just offer you the tent, but SereneLife goes a little further here and adds an air mattress on top, making it a 2-in-1 offer.
This means you get a 6.9 x 4.3-feet tent that takes just 3 minutes to inflate. Once it's set up though, you don't need an extra mattress because there's one already.
SereneLife uses PVC and polyester in the manufacturing and rates its weight capacity at 450 pounds. The package includes self-adhesive repair patches, a manual hand pump, and a carry-bag.
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6. Ihuniu Inc – Best Oxford Cloth Inflatable Camping Tent
Photo: Ihuniu
- Setup Size: 6.9 x 7.8 x 5.2 feet
- Capacity: 4 people
- Materials: Oxford cloth
- Folded Size: 19.68 x 7.87 inches
- Pack Weight: 6.6 pounds
Ihuniu Inc's inflatable camping tent is unique because it features an Oxford-cloth material construction, making it one of the best inflatable camping tents in the market.
It's also a 4-season tent, unlike most other offers on this list. Setup is quick and easy, taking just a few minutes and it can sleep up to four people.
Besides the Oxford cloth, you also get other high-quality materials for the interior. Then there are four mesh windows, a ventilation system, and a windproof rope for when you need it.
One issue with this tent, however, is the ceiling height. The area for its 5.2-feet center height is small, and this makes this tent confined. It's super tough anyway, ready to take on the elements, and the perfect inflatable tent for extreme adventure seekers.
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7. Tangkula – Domed Inflatable Camping Tent
Photo: Tangkula
- Setup Size: 7.2 x 3.4 feet
- Capacity: 3 persons
- Materials: PU-coated polyester
- Pack Weight: 11 pounds
Designed to sleep 2 to 3 campers, this inflatable camping tent needs just a few minutes to set up using the included hand air-pump. This also makes it one of the best small-inflatable tents.
It's lightweight at just 11 pounds, and the included carry bag makes it easy to transport. It features TPU inflatable pipes, a 190T PU-coated polyester fly, and B2 gauze to keep bugs away.
Besides its 7.2 x 3.4-feet dimensions, this tent also features a vestibule to hold your gear, cooking equipment, and other important stuff.
One thing Tangkula could have done better though is color. This tent's color-combination isn't impressive, but if you aren't much into aesthetics, then it's still a great buy because it comes at a very attractive price.
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How to Buy the Best Inflatable Camping Tent
Photo: Tangkula
The following are important aspects to consider when deciding on an inflatable camping tent to buy.
1. Tent Size & Capacity
This is the first consideration and a very important one because inflatable tents come in different sizes, ranging from single camper tents to large tents designed for large families.
It's left for you here to know what you need and then focus on tents with the right size. Keep in mind, however, that it's often advisable to get a slightly larger tent because you may never know. Else, if you're back-packing and weight and space is an issue, then keep things minimal.
If you're considering a tent for a larger group, you must pay extra attention to certain features, such as ventilation, storage and hanger systems, wide doors and awnings, to make things more comfortable for the group.
2. Construction Materials
Inflatable camping tents feature different construction materials, depending on the manufacturer. Most tents though will combine polyester with a PU-coating for weatherproofing against rainfalls while remaining breathable.
Another popular material for the best inflatable tents is polycotton, which is a blend of polyester and cotton. This material is more breathable than polyester, but it costs more and it's also heavier.
Mesh is another material that's present on most inflatable tents' windows to let fresh air in and out while keeping away bugs. You want a tent that has as much mesh ventilation as possible for summer camps.
3. Inflation & Deflation Speed
Any inflatable tent's true value also boils down to how quickly you can inflate and deflate it. This usually depends on the tent's size and the efficiency of the included pump.
It's important, therefore, that you watch out for the manufacturer's speed statements when making your choice, to avoid disappointments. Tents like the SereneLife SLTENTAIR need just 3 minutes for setup, while others like the Vango 18TMB need up to 10 minutes.
4. Doors & Windows
While it's left for you to fancy one tent design over another, note that certain door and window designs are best for certain situations with camping tents.
For instance, you want as many doors and windows as possible in a summer tent and a larger tent for many people. If you're worried about bugs, then get one with a mesh door and windows.
5. Overall Setup Ease
Asides from mere inflation speed, an inflatable tent's overall setup ease looks at several factors, including weight, bulkiness, ease of pining and securing the tent using guy ropes, and the ease of operating the pump.
6. Structural Stability
Some people wonder how stable inflatable camping tents are. Well, the short answer is that they are very stable. Remember that a good inflatable tent features only flexible material. So, as long as you've tethered it down, an inflatable tent will swing and sway but not break.
This makes inflatables somewhat better than standard tents, which although they have rigid poles, may sway up to the pole's breaking or bending point and sabotage the structure.
7. Weather Resistance
Inflatable tents usually feature thicker materials than say, pop-up and instant tents. This makes them more resistant to more weather forces. They are more waterproof, more structurally stable against snow, and the good ones often feature proper UV protection.
8. Durability
Inflatable camping tents are a relatively new technology, so it's a little difficult to say how well they hold against other types of tents with time.
The good news though, is that inflatable tents come with puncture kits that make it easy to repair any punctured spot quickly and easily. Repeated punctures around a specific area might end up weakening the entire structure, though.
How to Set Up an Inflatable Tent
Photo: Ihuniu
Following is a general guide to inflating your new camping tent. Keep in mind that there could be slight differences from tent to tent.
Step 1. Read the Instructions First
Every tent is slightly different at least, so your best solution is to read any instruction that comes with the camping tent. This will help to avoid any mistakes.
Step 2. Unpack & Spread The Tent
To get started, you must lay the material flat on the floor. Stretch it out properly and place it exactly where you intend to pitch your tent. This will make the process easier.
Step 3. Attach The Pump
Depending on your tent, the entire construction might have a single valve or each beam might have its valve. So, connect your pump accordingly. You may either need to push it, click it, screw it in or any other recommended method.
Step 4. Pump It Up
At this stage, you must monitor pressure levels because each tent comes with a recommended pressure level from the manufacturer.
Step 5. Arrange The Beams
Once the beams are properly inflated, arrange them and the entire tent into shape.
Step 6. Peg The Tent
With the tent in place, all you need now is to peg the groundsheet and the guy lines, tighten everything and you're done!
Conclusion
We've come to the end of this inflatable tents review and it's now your turn to choose the offer that best meets your needs or that of your family.
For the best overall inflatable camping tent, our recommendation is the nicely made Moose Outdoors tent , with its 3-minute setup, attractive price, and wind resistance up to 33 mph.
Larger families or groups will enjoy the Vango 18TMB . It sleeps up to 5 campers and provides a full stand-up height inside.
For budget shoppers, the recommendation is the Ryno Tuff tent , with its 4-person capacity, best-price offer, and removable rain-fly.
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7 Best Inflatable Camping Tents – Review
- 1. Moose Outdoors – Best Overall Inflatable Camping Tent
- 2. Ryno Tuff – Best Budget Inflatable Camping Tent
- 3. HeimPlanet FISTRAL – Best Quality Inflatable Camping Tent
- 4. Vango 18TMB – Best High Capacity Inflatable Camping Tent
- 5. SereneLife SLTENTAIR – Best Combo Camping Tent & Bed
- 6. Ihuniu Inc – Best Oxford Cloth Inflatable Camping Tent
- 7. Tangkula – Domed Inflatable Camping Tent
- How to Buy the Best Inflatable Camping Tent
- How to Set Up an Inflatable Tent
- Conclusion