The 6 Best Tents Under $100 (Bought & Tested!)

For this review, I bought and tested these 6 tents, all of which cost under $100 each (give or take):

1. Teton Sports Vista 1
2. Teton Sports Mountain Ultra 1
3. Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1
4. Hyke and Byke Zion 1
5. Coleman Pop Up 4
6. Coleman Sundome 6

This page contains affiliate links, and that means that I may earn a commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you. You can find my full disclosure policy here.

Here’s a quick summary of all the tents under $100 that I recommend (after buying and testing, of course):

If you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel right here:

I spent slightly over $600 buying all 6 of these tents (yes, I actually buy all my tents with my own savings, and I do not return them after testing them), and I also spent 1 and a half months testing all these tents out.

And without further ado, let’s get into the more detailed recommendations.

1. Teton Sports Mountain Ultra 1 (Best Overall)

Key Info

• Peak height: 38.5 inches
• Tent area: 18.0 square feet
• Vestibule area: 7.0 square feet
• Packed size: 22 x 7 x 6 inches
• Weight: 4.2lbs.
• Set up timing: 4.5 minutes
• Pack away timing: 5.5 minutes

Pros and Cons

Summary

The Teton Sports Mountain Ultra not only has the best overall score of all the tents in this review, but it’s also my best all-rounder tent.

Check out how I rated all my tents across 7 different tests:

Notice that the Mountain Ultra has only 1 yellow for the ease of set up and take down? On the other hand, all my other tents have yellows in at least 2 different tests.

On top of that, the Mountain Ultra is also the best in rain, because it has the perfect tub floor height, and I didn’t even need to seal any seams myself.

And it’s not just great in rainy conditions, but it’s also great in hot weather, because there’s so much mesh on this tent. I’d estimate that 80% of this tent is covered in mesh for tons of hot day ventilation.

The Mountain Ultra is also the highest quality tent in this review, with a 150D polyester oxford tent body, a 66D 3MM ripstop rain fly, 7001 T6 aluminum poles, B3 FR micro mesh, and consistent stitching all throughout the entire tent.

It’s also one of the few tents in this review with 2 vertical side walls, thanks to the top pole, which maximizes the livable space inside the tent. This gives the Mountain Ultra more of a cabin tent feel, rather than a dome tent.

However, this is the biggest con to take note of. The length of the Mountain Ultra 1 comes in at just 81 inches, making this one of the shortest tents in this review. If you’re 6 feet tall and above, this will feel a little tight.

In that case, you may want to upgrade to a Mountain Ultra 2 instead, which can fit an entire queen bed, and you can sleep a little diagonally across the tent.

Check out the Mountain Ultra:

2. Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1 (Runner-Up)

Key Info

• Peak height: 37 inches
• Tent area: 18.9 square feet
• Vestibule area: 8.6 square feet
• Packed size: 19.5 x 7 x 5 inches
• Weight: 4.0lbs.
• Set up timing: 5 minutes
• Pack away timing: 6 minutes

Pros and Cons

Summary

In most cases, I would recommend the Teton Sports Mountain Ultra over this Alps Mountaineering Lynx. However, there are 2 very specific use cases that I would recommend the Lynx instead:

1. If you’re tall (above 6 feet); and
2. If you’re camping in the off-season.

The first reason – the Lynx has a much longer length of 88 inches, a whopping 7 inches longer than the Mountain Ultra.

In fact, this is the longest length of all the tents in this review, and it’s the one I’d recommend if you’re really tall (above 6 feet) and if you need a 1-person tent.

The inner tent base area and outer vestibule area are also larger than the Mountain Ultra, while the peak height is about the same.

Characteristics	Lynx 1	Mountain Ultra 1
Inner tent area (sq. ft.)	18.9	18.0
Outer vestibule area (sq. ft.)	8.6	7.0
Peak height (in)	37	38.5

As for the second reason, the Lynx doesn’t have a ton of mesh, and while that may seem like a con compared to the Mountain Ultra, it’s actually what makes this tent great in the off-season. The lack of mesh keeps the heat in the tent, which in turn keeps you warm.

The biggest con I encountered for the Lynx compared to the Mountain Ultra is this – I had to seam tape the corner seams as well as the top-of-the-tub-floor seams. If you don’t tape these seams, the Lynx will leak in heavy rain.

Check out the Alps Lynx:

3. Teton Sports Vista 1 (Best Pop Up Tent)

Key Info

• Peak height: 33 inches
• Tent area: 20.0 square feet
• Vestibule area: 3.3 square feet
• Packed size: 28 x 9 x 5 inches
• Weight: 5.0lbs.
• Set up (without staking): 1.25 minutes
• Set up (with staking): 2.75 minutes
• Pack away (without staking): 2 minutes
• Pack away (with staking): 2.5 minutes

Pros and Cons

Summary

Of the 6 tents in this review, only 2 of them are pop up tents with pre-attached poles – the Coleman Pop Up, and this Teton Sports Vista Quick Tent.

For the Vista, all I had to do was to take the tent out of the carry bag, lay it out on the floor, and press down on the center hub to push all the pre-attached poles up. A great pop up tent, indeed.

At this point, take note that while the Vista sets up and packs away a tad slower than the Coleman, it’s still the better pick for many reasons.

Timings	Vista 2	Coleman Pop Up 2
Set Up	3.5 mins	1.5 mins
Pack Away	3 mins	1.75 mins

Here are all the reasons I’d go for the Vista over the Coleman (I’m comparing both the Vista 2 and the Coleman 2 for a fairer comparison):

• The Vista’s total base area is 23% bigger than the Coleman’s.
• The Vista’s peak height is 18% higher than the Coleman’s.
• The Vista has 1 extra door compared to the Coleman.
• The Vista has 3 times more storage options than the Coleman.
• The Vista has 3 times more mesh than the Coleman.
• Rain protection is much better in the Vista than the Coleman.
• Materials in the Vista (75D polyester) are thicker than in the Coleman (68D polyester).

Basically, the Teton Sports Vista beats the Coleman Pop Up in almost every single test I designed.

However, if this is your first time buying a pop up tent, take note that they’re much bigger in packed size than regular tents. For example, the Vista is much longer than your regular Coleman Sundome tent (~30% longer), and here’s what both of them look like side by side.

Check out the Teton Sports Vista:

4. Coleman Sundome 6 (Best Budget Pick)

Key Info

• Peak height: 74.5 inches
• Tent area: 92.6 square feet
• Vestibule area: None
• Packed size: 27 x 12 x 9.5 inches
• Weight: 16.0lbs.
• Set up timing: 11.5 minutes
• Pack away timing: 10 minutes

Pros and Cons

Summary

If you need a family camping tent for about $100, the best pick I’ve got for you is the Coleman Sundome 6. It’s super affordable, and I personally paid about $100 for my own Sundome 6.

I love that I could fit 2 almost-queen beds into this tent, so 3 people other than myself into this tent.

On top of that, I’m also able to stand upright on my queen beds, and even bounce around on them, still with headroom left.

If you don’t need a 6-person Sundome, you could get a 2-person Sundome instead, for about half the price (I remember paying about $50 for mine). And that’s why the Sundome is such a great budget pick.

However, there are 2 main cons that you’ve got to keep in mind.

First, Coleman tents are mostly just fair-weather tents, and can withstand only up to about 35 minutes of heavy rain. For much heavier rain, you’ve got to not only seal the seams, but also treat the fabric with waterproofing spray.

And second, expect only budget-quality materials for this tent, like polyethylene for the flooring, and between 68-75D polyester for the rest of the tent. But hey, for the price, I’m not complaining.

Check out the Coleman Sundome:

5. Hyke and Byke Zion 1

Key Info

• Peak height: 41 inches
• Tent area: 33.0 square feet
• Vestibule area: 17.1 square feet
• Packed size: 22 x 7.5 x 7 inches
• Weight: 6.0lbs.
• Set up timing: 7.5 minutes
• Pack away timing: 6.5 minutes

Note: All key info above is based on the 2-Person Zion, not the 1-person.

Pros and Cons

Summary

The Hyke and Byke Zion is the only tent in this review that comes with a footprint, so you can set it up with just the footprint, the pole, and the rainfly. You don’t have to use the tent body at all, and this ‘ultralight’ setup weighs about 4.3lbs.

But honestly, this isn’t even all that lightweight; I still think it’s more of a car camping tent rather than a backpacking tent. But hey, at least that’s an option.

The Zion also has ample storage (4 pockets, 1 loop and 1 gear loft), and just as much mesh as the Mountain Ultra.

However, it has 1 huge deal-breaker, and that’s how terribly it performed in the rain. The tub floor of the Zion is way too low, and this caused a lot of water and dirt to back-splash into the tent in heavy rain. So, I wouldn’t recommend this over any of the other tents I mentioned above.

Check out the Hyke and Byke Zion:

6. Coleman Pop Up 4

Key Info

• Peak height: 39 inches
• Tent area: 60.6 square feet
• Vestibule area: None
• Packed size: 36 x 36 x 5 inches
• Weight: 8.2lbs.
• Set up (without staking): 0.25 minutes
• Set up (with staking): 1.5 minutes
• Pack away (without staking): 1.25 minutes
• Pack away (with staking): 2 minutes

Pros and Cons

Summary

The best thing about the Coleman Pop Up Tent is that it literally pops open right out of the carry bag. This took me no more than 15 seconds.

And with some practice, the pack away is incredibly easy as well, and its storage bag is the perfect size for fitting the packed up tent.

However, there are plenty of cons that come with this tent.

First, the 4-person model fits no more than 3 single sleeping pads, because the base area is circular, and the peak height is extremely low for a 4-person tent.

Second, there’s only 1 pocket in the entire tent, and it lacks large windows and large doors.

Third, it has the least mesh of all the tents in this review, and it has no vents for rainy day ventilation.

And fourth, it is the worst tent for rainy weather conditions, lasting no more than 5 minutes in heavy rain.

Overall, it’s just a fair-weather outdoor tent for the kids to play in over the weekend, and is definitely not meant for any kind of rain and wind.

Check out the Coleman Pop Up:

Recommendation Summary

Here’s a very quick summary of all the tents under $100 that I bought and tested for this review:

1. Best Overall: Mountain Ultra
2. Most Waterproof: Mountain Ultra
3. Best for Summer: Mountain Ultra
4. Best Value for Money: Mountain Ultra
5. Best Quality: Mountain Ultra
6. Runner-Up Pick: Alps Lynx
7. Best for Tall Folks: Alps Lynx
8. Best for Off-Season: Alps Lynx
9. Best Budget Pick: Coleman Sundome 2
10. Best Family Camping Tent: Coleman Sundome 6
11. Best Pop Up Tent: Teton Vista

I put each of these tents through these different tests:

1. Ease of use (set up and pack away)
2. Spaciousness (peak height, side walls, inner tent area, vestibule area)
3. Features (doors, storage options)
4. Ventilation (mesh, vents, rain fly, condensation)
5. Waterproofing
6. Quality (materials, stitching, warranty)
7. Portability (weight, packed size)

Tent Models

For the sake of this review, I bought and tested only the 2-person models of each of these tents. So, bear in mind that all the stats and tests coming up are based on the 2-person models only.

1. Ease of Use

For ease of use, I looked at 2 main things:

• Set up; and
• Pack away.

Set Up

Here are all the setup timings of each 2-person tent, and this includes staking and guying out the tent:

Tent Under $100	Set Up Timing
Coleman Pop Up 2	1.5 mins
Teton Sports Vista 2	3.5 mins
Coleman Sundome 2	5.5 mins
Alps Mountaineering Lynx 2	6.5 mins
Teton Sports Mountain 2	6.5 mins
Hyke and Byke Zion 2	7.5 mins

The 2 pop up tents (Coleman Pop Up and Teton Sports Vista) were the quickest, thanks to their pre-attached poles.

On the other hand, the rest of the non-pop-up tents took slightly longer, because I had to sleeve all their poles through their pole sleeves.

Pack Away

As for the pack away timings, here’s how long each tent took me to pack away, back into the carry bag:

Tent Under $100	Pack Away Timing
Coleman Pop Up 2	1.75 mins
Teton Sports Vista 2	3 mins
Coleman Sundome 2	5 mins
Hyke and Byke Zion 2	6.5 mins
Teton Sports Mountain 2	6.5 mins
Alps Mountaineering Lynx 2	7 mins

Again, the 2 pop up tents came in first, followed by the rest of the non-pop-up tents.

2. Spaciousness

For spaciousness, I looked at 4 things. One, the peak height, two, how vertical the side walls are, three, the base area inside the tent, and four, the vestibule area outside the tent.

Peak Height

Starting with the first point, here’s the peak height of each of these budget tents, from the highest to the lowest:

Tent Under $100	Peak Height (in)
Coleman Sundome 2	48.5
Alps Mountaineering Lynx 2	47
Teton Sports Mountain 2	44
Hyke and Byke Zion 2	41
Teton Sports Vista 2	40
Coleman Pop Up 2	33

I’d recommend a mattress of no more than about 6 inches for most of these tents.

The exception is the Coleman Pop Up, which has the lowest peak height, so I’d recommend a pad of maybe 3 inches and below.

Side Walls

Most of these tents are just regular dome tents, with no vertical walls.

There were 2 exceptions, which are the Mountain Ultra and the Zion, where you 2 vertical walls each for both these tents.

Interior Tent Area

For the inner tent, I noticed that each of these 2-person models had ample space for 2 people, and each comfortably fits 2 single sleeping pads.

Outer Vestibule Area

As for the outer vestibule area, I noticed that there was enough room to fit wet gear.

Total Base Area

And for the total base area, I just combined the interior tent base areas and the outer vestibule areas, and here’s the final tally, from the biggest to the smallest:

$100 Tent	Tent (sq. ft.)	Vestibule (sq. ft.)	Total Area (sq. ft.)
Lynx 2	36.5	19.2	55.7
Zion 2	33.0	17.1	50.1
Mountain 2	34.3	14.1	48.4
Vista 2	35.7	8.6	44.3
Pop Up 2	34.1	0	34.1
Sundome 2	32.1	0	32.1

3. Features

Doors

For features, I’m gonna start by looking at the door quality of each tent, and here’s a quick table of info:

Tent	Number	Size (in)	Zipping	Stowing
Vista 2	2	52 x 32	No snags	Toggles
Lynx 2	2	41 x 39	No snags	Toggles
Mountain 2	2	44 x 30	No snags	Pockets
Zion 2	2	44 x 30	No snags	Toggles
Sundome 2	1	38 x 32	Snaggy	Toggles
Pop Up 2	1	35 x 26	Layered	Toggles

Basically, I like to look out for the number of doors, the size of each door, the zipping and stowing experience, which is basically just overall user-friendliness.

• Number: The more, the better.
• Size: The bigger, the better.
• Zipping: No snags is better than snaggy.
• Stowing: Pockets are more user-friendly than toggles.

Storage

Now, moving onto the storage options of each tent, here’s another quick summary:

Tent	Pockets	Loops	Lofts	Ports
Zion 2	4	1	1	0
Lynx 2	2	1	1	0
Mountain 2	2	1	1	0
Sundome 2	2	1	0	1
Vista 2	2	0	1	0
Pop Up 2	1	0	0	0

I found most tents to be pretty OK in terms of storage for a 2-person tent, and the only one that didn’t make the cut was the Pop Up tent.

It has only 1 pocket, that’s been split into 2, this pocket isn’t even very big, there’s no lantern loops, no gear lofts, and no e-port as well.

4. Ventilation

For ventilation, I looked at the amount of mesh each tent has, plus the number of vents, and also if there was any condensation.

Amount of Mesh

Easily the 2 most ventilated tents are the Mountain Ultra and the Zion.

The rest of the tents have much less mesh, and here’s my estimates from eye-balling all the mesh on each tent:

Tent Under $100	Amount of Mesh
Teton Sports Mountain 2	80%
Hyke and Byke Zion 2	80%
Teton Sports Vista 2	70%
Alps Mountaineering Lynx 2	40%
Coleman Sundome 2	30%
Coleman Pop Up 2	20%

Vents

As for vents, here’s a table summarizing the total number of vents, as well as the number of vents that I could leave open in the heavy rain:

Tent Under $100	Total Vents	Rainy Day Vents
Mountain 2	4	2
Zion 2	2	2
Sundome 2	1	1
Lynx 2	2	0
Vista 2	1	0
Pop Up 2	0	0

Condensation

As for the condensation test, I slept in all these tents overnight, and not a single tent had condensation forming on the inner body the next morning.

5. Waterproofing

For rain protection, I put each of these tents through a 1-hour rain test.

Surprisingly, the Mountain Ultra was the only tent to survive the elements. It was completely dry inside after 13 hours of rain (1 hour heavy rain, 12 hours moderate to light rain).

So for various outdoor adventures, especially those involving rainy weather and rainy conditions, pick the Mountain Ultra.

However, with a little sealant for the Vista and Lynx, these will be able to take heavy rain as well.

And the rest of the tents are just no-rain, light-rain, or at most moderate-rain tents.

Tent	Rain Test	Fix	Recommendation
Mountain	Passed	Not Needed	Heavy Rain
Vista	Failed	Sealant	Heavy Rain
Lynx	Failed	Sealant	Heavy Rain
Sundome	Failed	Sealant & Spray	Moderate Rain
Zion	Failed	No fix	Light Rain
Pop Up	Failed	Useless	NO Rain

6. Quality

For quality, I looked at the flooring, the tent body, the rainfly, the poles, zippers, mesh, stitching, seam taping, and the warranty provided.

Materials

Tent	Flooring	Tent Body	Rainfly	Poles
Mountain	150D Polyester	150D Polyester	66D Ripstop	Aluminum
Vista	75D Polyester	75D Polyester	75D Polyester	Fiberglass
Lynx	75D Polyester	75D Polyester	75D Polyester	Aluminum
Zion	63D Polyester	63D Polyester	63D Polyester	Aluminum
Sundome	Polyethylene	68D Polyester	68D Polyester	Fiberglass
Pop Up	68D Polyester	68D Polyester	68D Polyester	Fiberglass

Taking a look at the table above, notice how the Mountain Ultra is the stand-out pick when it comes to the materials used? This makes it one of the most durable options of all budget tents.

As for zippers, all the tents here have no-brand zippers.

And as for mesh, the Teton Sports, Alps Mountaineering, and Hyke & Byke had micro mesh, while Coleman had regular mesh.

Seams

For the quality of stitching, the Teton Sports, Alps Mountaineering, and Hyke & Byke had less loose threads and more consistent stitching, while Coleman had more loose threads, less consistent stitching, and even some patchwork seams.

As for seam taping, the Mountain Ultra is the only tent with fully sealed seams. Some (Vista, Lynx, Zion) come with a few taped seams, while some (Coleman) have no taped seams at all.

Warranty

As for the warranty, the better quality budget tents (Teton, Alps, Hyke and Byke) tend to provide lifetime warranties, while Coleman’s warranty is just 1 year.

7. Portability

Weight

For portability, I’m first gonna show you the weight of all the tents, and they’re basically all about the same weight, ranging from the lightest at 6 pounds, and the heaviest at 7 pounds.

Tent Under $100	Weight (lbs)
Alps Lynx 2	6.0
Hyke and Byke Zion 2	6.0
Teton Mountain 2	6.4
Coleman Sundome 2	6.4
Coleman Pop Up 2	6.6
Teton Vista 2	7.0

As you might have noticed, all of these tents are more of car camping tents; there’s not a single true backpacking tent here.

Packed Size

And here’s the packed size of each tent:

Tent Under $100	Packed Size (in)
Teton Mountain 2	23.5 x 8 x 6
Hyke and Byke Zion 2	22 x 7.5 x 7
Coleman Sundome 2	24 x 9 x 6
Alps Lynx 2	22 x 8 x 7.5
Teton Vista 2	33 x 8 x 8
Coleman Pop Up 2	29 x 29 x 3

The first four tents are roughly about the same size, but the last 2 tents are both pop up tents so they’re quite a bit bigger.

Again, each of these aren’t small; they’re more for car camping, not so much for backpacking.

Unlike almost every tent review (especially these “Best” Tents Under $100 reviews) that you find on the internet, I actually own, used and thoroughly tested all of these tents.

In fact, I’ve spent easily over $10,000 buying many models of tents (more than 30, to be a little more specific) over the past 4 years, and I’ve been testing and camping in all of them since.

And of course, I’ve bought not just cheap but expensive tents as well, and I compare all kinds of tents.

RELATED: (1) Cheap V.S. Expensive Tents, (2) Are Expensive Tents Worth It?

If you’re looking for a great tents under $100 to go camping in, here’s the best quick summary I’ve got for you:

1. Best Overall: Mountain Ultra
2. Most Waterproof: Mountain Ultra
3. Best for Summer: Mountain Ultra
4. Best Value for Money: Mountain Ultra
5. Best Quality: Mountain Ultra
6. Runner-Up Pick: Alps Lynx
7. Best for Tall Folks: Alps Lynx
8. Best for Off-Season: Alps Lynx
9. Best Budget Pick: Coleman Sundome 2
10. Best Family Camping Tent: Coleman Sundome 6
11. Best Pop Up Tent: Teton Vista

If you’ve got any questions, feel free to drop me a comment on my YouTube channel, I’m in there every few days, and I answer every question too 🙂