6 Person Tent

What a 6 person tent actually holds

Here's the thing. A 6 person tent holds six people the way a pickup cab holds six people: technically, briefly, with nobody happy about it.

Here's how the number gets made, per CORE Equipment's sizing guide: lay standard-width pads across the floor until no more fit, then count them. That's a packing measure, not a comfort measure. Nobody is counted with a duffel bag, a pair of boots or elbows.

So the question for this size is who it's for. Most of the time, a 6 person tent is the family tent for three or four, or the crew tent for two or three hunters with cots and gear. CORE's rule of thumb is campers times two equals the ideal capacity, which puts three campers in a 6 person tent with room to move. That rule is generous; it's a fine place to start.

The shared basics of tents (fabric, poles, care) are on the camping tent page. This page sticks to what changes at the 6 person size.

How to read the 6 person tent table

The table lists tents their maker or listing rates for six people, largest floor first. It shows how many the maker says it sleeps, floor length and width, floor area, center height, style, setup, rooms, doors and weight, as the makers list them, or the Amazon listing where the maker is silent (marked as listing values). Seasons appear only when the maker states them. A dash means neither states it. Weight is always the maker's own figure.

Two tents with the same rating can differ a lot in floor size, which is why the table sorts by floor, not by name. Start at the top if you're carrying cots. Look further down if the tent is for pads and the car is small.

What to look at in a 6 person tent

Floor area and shape beat the rating

Floor length and floor width come first. Multiply them and you have the floor area in square feet, which the table also shows. A rectangle uses its corners. An angled or tapered floor loses them, and a pad or a cot doesn't bend to fit.

Sketch it before you buy. Draw the floor to scale on the back of an envelope, then draw in what you'll actually sleep on. A floor plan settles at the kitchen table what would otherwise get settled at the campsite, loudly.

Treat the rating as the most bodies the floor holds on pads, with nothing else in the tent. Plan for fewer people than the number, and the gear, the cots and the 2 a.m. trip to the door all get room.

Count air mattresses and cots as people

CORE's sizing guide says a queen air mattress can take up the floor space of two campers under industry sizing standards. Air mattresses and pet beds need more square footage than pads. A cot's footprint is listed by its maker; put it on your floor sketch the same way. For cot sizes, the camping cot page has them; a tent and cot built as one piece is on the tent cot page.

Danny's take: "Every bag I bring is a small person who doesn't snore." He brings four.

Center height decides who stands up

Center height, in its own column, is the one spot where the roof is highest. At the 6 person size, it's the difference between changing clothes standing up and doing it lying on your back like a beetle.

But the center is only one spot. CORE Equipment uses this exact size as its example: two 6 person tents on the same floor, and the one with upright walls and a tall peak feels much bigger than the sloped one. MSR's tent guide says the same thing in different words: look for steep, more vertical sidewalls to get usable interior space. CORE also says taller campers should watch tent length, because sloped walls brush the head and the feet.

Dome or cabin is the big style choice

The Style column names the shape. At this size, two shapes do most of the work:

• Dome: poles cross over the top and the walls slope in from the edges; full height only near the middle
• Cabin: near-vertical walls and a taller roof; more usable floor, more surface for the wind

A dome suits a crew that sleeps in the tent and lives outside it. A cabin suits a family that waits out rain in it. The dome tent page and the cabin tent page go deeper on each.

Setup style: pre-attached poles or poles and sleeves

The Setup column names the pitching method. CORE Equipment explains that an instant cabin tent uses poles built right into the frame, while a straight-wall model uses a traditional pole-and-sleeve setup with poles assembled separately. CORE says most of its instant models go from bag to fully pitched in about 2 minutes with two people. The Setup time column shows the maker's claimed time when there is one.

Instant frames save time at the campsite. Either way, read the Setup time column as the maker's number, not a promise for your first try in the dark. More on the fast-pitch kind is on the instant tent page.

Rooms and doors decide how the night goes

Rooms are one of the reasons people buy this size. The Rooms column counts what the maker lists, including rooms made by a divider. CORE notes that room dividers help create separate living areas. With kids, a divider means a bedtime that doesn't depend on the adults going to bed.

Doors matter as much, and this is my one opinion on this page: at the 6 person size, buy two doors. MSR's guide tells you to weigh the number of doors with the rest of the layout, and the arithmetic does the rest. Six pad spaces and one door means whoever sleeps farthest from it crawls over everyone else on the way out. The Doors column shows the count. A second door is the cheapest peace treaty in camping.

Rainfly coverage and water rating

The Rainfly column says full, partial or none, as the maker or the listing lists it. Full means the fly comes down over the walls; partial means it covers the roof and leaves part of the walls as the tent body alone. CORE says its fly sits over the mesh roof to keep water out while the mesh still lets air move.

The Waterproof rating column gives the fabric's hydrostatic head in millimeters when the maker lists it. CORE Equipment explains it with its own number: a 1200mm rating means the fabric resists water pressure from a column 1.2 meters tall before moisture seeps through. It's a fabric rating, not a guarantee for the whole tent. Seams matter too; CORE says its seams are taped, and its advice is to attach the fly properly and stake every guy line taut.

Seasons: most family tents are built for three

The Seasons column shows 4-season only when the maker states it; otherwise it shows 3-season or a dash. MSR's tent guide explains the split. It calls double-wall the usual 3-season build. Inside sits a mesh body, and over it goes the waterproof fly, which gives the air from a tent full of breathing people somewhere to go. A 4-season tent is designed to keep snow and cold air out and stand up to heavy snow and high wind, but MSR says it's harder to ventilate and typically weighs more.

For a summer family trip or an early bow season camp, 3-season is the right tool. If your November camp sees snow on the ground, read the winter camping tent page before you pick a 6 person tent at all.

Weight is the truck's problem, mostly

Weight comes straight from the maker's listing. A 6 person tent rides in a car or truck, not on a back, so weight matters for the walk from the parking spot and for who lifts the bag. MSR's guide notes that weights are listed different ways: a minimum weight for the bare essentials, and a packaged weight for everything in the bag. Compare tents by the same kind of number.

Pitching a big tent

Big tents catch a lot of wind. Big Agnes's car camping tent instructions say to stake the four corners of the tent body first, then stake out and tension all the guy lines after the rest of the setup for best stability. Seat each pole section fully by hand instead of letting the shock cord snap it together.

Check the campsite before the trip, too. CORE Equipment warns that some campgrounds have tent pad limits and larger tents may not fit in smaller designated spaces. Floor length and width tell you if yours will.

Practice the first pitch in the yard. Kids love this part. Adults love it less, but the yard is where you find out a pole is missing. That's a Saturday-afternoon discovery, not a Friday-night one.

Who should skip the 6 person tent

Skip it if you're two adults with light gear. A 4 person tent does the job with less to pitch; see the 4 person tent page.

Skip it if you're a family of four with cots, air mattresses or a dog. By CORE's rule, four campers want a bigger tent, and the 8 person tent page is the next size up.

Skip it if you're backpacking. A tent this size is a car camping tent, and MSR's guide notes that backpacking tents give up internal space to cut weight. The two jobs don't share a tent.

Care between trips

Big Agnes's care instructions are plain. Clean with warm water, not hot, and a sponge; never use bleach, liquid detergents or dish soap, and never machine-wash. Hang it to dry and triple check that it's completely dry before storage. Avoid prolonged direct sun, because UV exposure can compromise waterproofing. Brush or vacuum dirt out of the zippers before you pack it away.

A 6 person tent has a lot of fabric to dry. Set it up in the yard after a wet weekend, or hang it over a clothesline and a couple of sawhorses. More on cleaning is in the tent cleaning guide. Pack it dry, and next year it comes out of the bag smelling like a tent instead of a basement.