6 tests × 15 tents
The 4 Best Tents Under $200 (Bought & Tested!)
These 15 tents set me back about $1,800 in total, and I tested them all over a period of 12 weeks.
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The Podium
Quick Summary
Here’s everything I recommend: one winner per size.
The North Face Stormbreak 2
The biggest base area and the most livable space of all the 2-person tents I tested.
8.5/ 10 overall
Best 4-Person Tent Under $200
Teton Mountain Ultra 4
8.1/10
- Aced the 12-hour rain test
- 150D flooring + ripstop rainfly
- Best doors of all 4-person tents
- 58 in peak height
Best 6-Person Tent Under $200
Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6
6.6/10
- No leaks in 1 hour of heavy rain
- Fastest 6-person setup here
- 8 pockets, the most storage here
- 14.2 lbs, the lightest 6-person here
Best 8-Person Tent Under $200
Coleman Montana 8
6.8/10
- Coleman’s cheapest 8-person tent
- Fits 8 pads or 3 queens
- Huge front awning
- Hinged door
Jump to: The Rest of the Best ↓ How I Tested ↓ Why You Can Trust Me ↓
The video
If you prefer watching to reading, check out my video here instead.
Camping Guidance
30,000+
Table of contents
- 1. The North Face Stormbreak 2 (Best 2-Person Tent Under $200)
- 2. Teton Mountain Ultra 4 (Best 4-Person Tent Under $200)
- 3. Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 (Best 6-Person Tent Under $200)
- 4. Coleman Montana 8 (Best 8-Person Tent Under $200)
- The Rest of the Best
- How I Tested All 15 Tents
- Why You Can Trust Me
Best 2-Person Tent Under $200
The North Face Stormbreak 2
Test scorecard · scored against the 2-person tents here
The North Face Stormbreak 2
8.5out of 10
Space9
Setup6
Features9
Rain9.5
Quality8.8
Portability6
Key info
- Peak height43 in
- Tent area30.0 sq. ft.
- Vestibule21.1 sq. ft.
- Packed size20 x 7 x 6.5 in
- Weight6.3 lbs
- Set up7.5 mins
- Pack away7.8 mins
Pros
- Biggest 2-person base area
- Most livable 2-person tent
- 12 hours of heavy rain, no leaks
- Best 2-person materials
- Best 2-person doors and pockets
Cons
- Slowest 2-person setup
TL;DR
The North Face Stormbreak 2 is my 2-person winner: it has the biggest base area, the most livable space, and the best materials of all the 2-person tents I tested.
It has a decent inner area and one of the biggest vestibules I’ve seen on a 2-person tent, which gives it the biggest base area of all the 2-person tents: 51.1 sq. ft. in total.
It also has the most livable space of all the 2-person tents. Most tents get 2 poles for the main body, and that’s all. The Stormbreak adds an extra 2 short poles at the top that pull the tent body up, so the peak height extends across a whole square area instead of one point.
In the rain test, it took 12 hours of heavy rain without a single leak. Only three of the six 2-person tents managed that.
The materials are the best of all the 2-person tents too: SBS zippers and the only DAC aluminum poles here. Typically, the more expensive the tent, the better the design and materials.
Feature-wise, you get 2 doors that stuff into their own door pockets, plus 4 pockets and 5 loops inside, the best storage of the 2-person tents.
The one downside is the setup: 7.5 minutes to pitch and 7.8 to pack away, the slowest of the 2-person tents, because of the extra poles. But for myself, I’d take the extra 2 minutes for a larger base area and more livable space.
Check out the The North Face Stormbreak 2:
Best 4-Person Tent Under $200
Teton Mountain Ultra 4
Test scorecard · scored against the 4-person tents here
Teton Mountain Ultra 4
8.1out of 10
Space7
Setup7
Features9.3
Rain9
Quality8.1
Portability7
Key info
- Peak height58 in
- Tent area52.8 sq. ft.
- Vestibule23.7 sq. ft.
- Weight10 lbs
- Set up9.5 mins
- Pack away9.5 mins
Pros
- Aced the 12-hour rain test
- Best 4-person materials
- Best 4-person doors
Cons
- Smallest 4-person inner area
TL;DR
The Teton Mountain Ultra 4 is my 4-person winner: it’s the only 4-person tent here that performs quite a bit above average for its price.
The first test the Teton aced was the rain test. I put it through a 1-hour heavy rain test, it kept raining for another 12 hours or so, and not a single drop of water got into the tent.
The second was quality: double-thick 150D polyester flooring, a very durable 66D ripstop rainfly, and 7,000-series T6 aluminum poles. None of the other 4-person tents come close.
It has the best doors here too. The zippers aren’t branded, but the whole zipper track is surprisingly smooth, definitely the best of the 4-person tents. Each door also stuffs into its very own door pocket, something I’ve noticed in more expensive tents. All the other tents in this category use toggles instead, which take more time.
The biggest drawback is the smaller-than-average inner area: 52.8 sq. ft., about 10% smaller than the average of the 4-person tents here. Setup timings and weight are pretty much average.
Check out the Teton Mountain Ultra 4:
Best 6-Person Tent Under $200
Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6
Test scorecard · scored against the 6-person tents here
Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6
6.6out of 10
Space4.8
Setup9
Features6.3
Rain7
Quality6
Portability9
Key info
- Peak height68 in
- Tent area81.7 sq. ft.
- VestibuleNone
- Packed size26 x 11 x 8 in
- Weight14.2 lbs
- Set up10.5 mins
- Pack away9.5 mins
Pros
- Only 6-person with no leaks
- Fastest 6-person setup
- Most pockets here
Cons
- Smallest floor of the three
TL;DR
The Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 is my 6-person winner, though the three 6-person tents I tested here score so close together that you can go for any of them.
In the heavy rain test, I was surprised that Kelty didn’t skimp on the waterproofing: it held up for the full hour with no leaks at all, the only 6-person tent here that managed it.
It’s also the fastest of the three to set up and pack away. The poles are thicker and beefier, so they don’t pop out of the grommets while you pitch, and the shark’s mouth carry bag makes packing away much easier.
Storage is the best of the three as well, with 8 pockets inside.
The tradeoff is space: 81.7 sq. ft. and a 68 in peak height, the smallest floor of the three.
Take Note You’ll see quite a big drop in quality as we move from 4 to 6-person tents, because $200 isn’t a lot for 6-person tents.
Check out the Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6:
Best 8-Person Tent Under $200
Coleman Montana 8
Test scorecard · scored against my cheap family tents
Coleman Montana 8
6.8out of 10
Space8.5
Setup4.5
Features7.7
Ventilation5.8
Rain7
Quality7.1
Portability6
Key info
- Peak height74 in
- Tent area103.5 sq. ft.
- Awning103 x 32 in
- Packed size26 x 15 x 12 in
- Weight23.4 lbs
- Set up22 mins
Pros
- Coleman’s cheapest 8-person tent
- Fits 8 pads or 3 queens
- Huge front awning
- Hinged door
Cons
- Not great against heavy rain
TL;DR
The Coleman Montana 8 is my 8-person pick: it’s Coleman’s cheapest 8-person tent, and a really great budget option if you need this much space.
You get 103.5 sq. ft. of interior space, and that fits a whopping 8 pads or 3 queens.
The second pro is the huge front awning, which provides quite a bit of shade from the hot sun.
And the third pro is the hinged door, one of my favorite Coleman features. Coleman provides 2 extra fiberglass poles to install it, and it comes with a handle on the outside and the inside.
With the hinged door, getting in and out takes 5 seconds, tops. Zipping a regular door open and shut takes 15 seconds or more, depending on how snaggy your zippers are. You can still zip this one up as well, even with the extra poles in place.
Take Note I wouldn’t trust it in prolonged heavy rain. Before a wet trip, spray the rainfly with waterproofing and seal the bathtub-floor seam.
Check out the Coleman Montana 8:
Everything else I tested
The Rest of the Best
Here’s everything else I tested, size by size, and why each one didn’t win its category.
2-Person Tents
- Teton Mountain Ultra 2 (8.0): the highest score of anything that didn’t win, with the same 12-hour rain result and super thick 150D materials. But the Stormbreak 2 edged it out on space, features and materials.
- REI Trailmade 2 (7.6): tied for the fastest 2-person setup at 5.5 minutes, and it survived 12 hours of rain with no leaks. But it’s midfield on space and features.
- ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 (6.8): well-featured with 2 doors, but its rainfly started leaking through the fabric after about 30 minutes of heavy rain.
- Kelty Late Start 2 (6.2): the lightest tent here at 4.9 lbs, but it has 1 door and the smallest total area of all the 2-person tents.
- Coleman Sundome 2 (5.1): the cheapest of all the 2-person tents, with a surprisingly quick setup, but there’s no vestibule, the poles are fiberglass, and it leaks within 30 minutes.
4-Person Tents
- ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 (7.3): the biggest total area of all 4-person tents at 86.9 sq. ft., but it managed only an hour of heavy rain before slight seam leakage, where the Mountain Ultra 4 went 12 hours dry.
- Kelty Wireless 4 (7.3): the most pockets of all 4-person tents with 6, but at 13 lbs with fiberglass poles, it’s the heaviest of the four.
- Coleman Sundome 4 (5.3): the budget option of the four, but it has 1 door, no vestibule, and the seams and fabric leak within 30 minutes.
6-Person Tents
- ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 6 (6.5): 2 doors is a genuinely rare find at this price, but it started leaking through the fabric after 30 minutes. The Basecamp 6 held up much better in the rain.
- Coleman Sundome 6 (5.9): ties for the biggest 6-person floor at 92.6 sq. ft. with a 74.5 in peak, but the seams and fabric leak within 30 minutes.
10-Person Tents
- Ozark Trail Cabin 10: this was my 10-person winner in the video: 136.4 sq. ft. that fits 10 pads or 4 queens, an 88 in peak height I couldn’t even reach, and a very functional fair-weather tent. But Ozark Trail has discontinued it, so I’m not recommending it as a pick here. My full review and all the test data are still up.
The 6 testsHow I Tested All 15 Tents
I put the tents through the same 6 tests, size class by size class, and here’s the method behind each one.
- Scored within its size: Each size class is scored only against the other tents of its size, so a 2-person score and a 6-person score aren’t comparable.
- Space: I tape-measured every tent, vestibule and peak height myself.
- Rain: Heavy rain from a hose or natural rainfall, timed, with no extra waterproofing added first.
- Time: I timed every set-up and pack-away myself, pitching solo with a stopwatch running.
- The two loners: The Montana 8 and the Ozark Cabin 10 are the only tents in their size classes under $200, so they aren’t part of this scoring run.
Spaciousness
For the inner area, I measured each tent’s length and width, and each vestibule the same way. Both together give you the total area. The peak height is measured at the center of the tent, and I also counted the vertical walls.
| $200 Tent (2P) | Inner (sq. ft.) | Vestibule (sq. ft.) | Total (sq. ft.) | Peak (in) | Vertical Walls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The North Face Stormbreak 2 winner | 30.0 | 21.1 | 51.1 | 43 | 4 |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 2 | 34.3 | 14.1 | 48.4 | 44 | 2 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 | 30.2 | 15.8 | 46.0 | 37 | 2 |
| REI Trailmade 2 | 29.3 | 15.8 | 45.1 | 40 | 0 |
| Kelty Late Start 2 | 29.3 | 7.7 | 37.0 | 41.5 | 0 |
| Coleman Sundome 2 | 32.1 | 0 | 32.1 | 48.5 | 0 |
- The pattern: More expensive tents have more poles, which means vertical walls and more livable space. Basically, the more expensive the tent, the better the design.
- The Sundome 2: The smallest total area here, with no vestibule at all. But its 48.5 in peak height made it feel surprisingly roomy inside.
| $200 Tent (4P) | Inner (sq. ft.) | Vestibule (sq. ft.) | Total (sq. ft.) | Peak (in) | Vertical Walls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelty Wireless 4 winner | 57.0 | 26.8 | 83.8 | 58 | 2 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 | 62.4 | 24.5 | 86.9 | 53 | 0 |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 4 | 52.8 | 23.7 | 76.5 | 58 | 2 |
| Coleman Sundome 4 | 58.5 | 0 | 58.5 | 59 | 0 |
| $200 Tent (6P) | Inner (sq. ft.) | Vestibule (sq. ft.) | Total (sq. ft.) | Peak (in) | Vertical Walls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coleman Sundome 6 winner | 92.6 | 0 | 92.6 | 74.5 | 0 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 6 | 92.6 | 0 | 92.6 | 72.5 | 0 |
| Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 | 81.7 | 0 | 81.7 | 68.0 | 0 |
- Vestibules vanish at 6-person: To get a bigger tent for the same price, the brands swap the full-length vestibule for a simple pole-supported awning. If you want your wet gear out of the tent, you’ll need a separate tarp.
- Stand-up height: One benefit of 6-person tents is a peak height of at least 6 feet, so you can stand up inside, something you can’t typically do in the smaller tents.
- No vertical walls either: All three 6-person tents use a barebones 2-pole dome, so you don’t get the extended peak height you find in the smaller, better-designed tents.
Set Up & Pack Away
Here are the timings for pitching and packing away each tent. These are all 1-person timings.
| $200 Tent (2P) | Set Up (mins) | Pack Away (mins) |
|---|---|---|
| Coleman Sundome 2 winner | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| Kelty Late Start 2 | 5.5 | 6.0 |
| REI Trailmade 2 | 5.5 | 6.0 |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 2 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 | 6.8 | 6.3 |
| The North Face Stormbreak 2 | 7.5 | 7.8 |
- The tradeoff: A better-designed tent with more poles takes longer to set up and pack away. The Stormbreak’s 4 poles put it last here.
| $200 Tent (4P) | Set Up (mins) | Pack Away (mins) |
|---|---|---|
| Coleman Sundome 4 winner | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 4 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Kelty Wireless 4 | 9.5 | 8.5 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 | 9.5 | 10.5 |
| $200 Tent (6P) | Set Up (mins) | Pack Away (mins) |
|---|---|---|
| Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 winner | 10.5 | 9.5 |
| Coleman Sundome 6 | 11.5 | 10.0 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 6 | 12.0 | 11.0 |
- The Basecamp: Thicker, beefier poles that don’t pop out of the grommets, plus a shark’s mouth carry bag, make it the quickest 6-person tent both ways.
Features
This one’s a very quick and dirty summary of what to look out for: 2 doors is the most important thing, and at least 2 or more pockets is the secondary thing.
| $200 Tent (2P) | Doors | Pockets | Loops |
|---|---|---|---|
| The North Face Stormbreak 2 winner | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| REI Trailmade 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Kelty Late Start 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Coleman Sundome 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| $200 Tent (4P) | Doors | Pockets |
|---|---|---|
| Teton Mountain Ultra 4 winner | 2 | 4 |
| Kelty Wireless 4 | 2 | 6 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Coleman Sundome 4 | 1 | 2 |
- Door pockets: The Teton’s doors stuff straight into their own door pockets; every other 4-person tent here uses toggles, which take more time to stow the door away.
| $200 Tent (6P) | Doors | Windows | Pockets | Loops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 6 winner | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 |
| Coleman Sundome 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
- The surprise: Most budget tents get 1 door to keep costs down, so the Meramac having 2 doors was a really nice surprise.
Rain Protection
Every tent went through heavy rain, from a hose or natural rainfall, and here’s how long each one lasted before the first leak.
| $200 Tent (2P) | Rain Test | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The North Face Stormbreak 2 winner | 12 hours | No leaks |
| REI Trailmade 2 winner | 12 hours | No leaks |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 2 winner | 12 hours | No leaks |
| Kelty Late Start 2 | 2 hours | Fabric leakage |
| ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 | 0.5 hours | Fabric leakage |
| Coleman Sundome 2 | 0.5 hours | Seams + Fabric leakage |
- The rule of thumb: Better-quality tents last at least 12 hours in the rain with no leaks, budget tents start leaking after a couple of hours, and the really budget ones survive only about 30 minutes.
- Why Coleman leaks: Coleman doesn’t seal the seams in its budget range (you get inverted seams instead of seam taping), and its own minimum hydrostatic rating is just 450mm, so the rainfly starts soaking through around the 30-minute mark.
| $200 Tent (4P) | Rain Test | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Teton Mountain Ultra 4 winner | 12 hours | No leaks |
| Kelty Wireless 4 | 1 hour | No leaks |
| ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 | 1 hour | Slight seam leakage |
| Coleman Sundome 4 | 0.5 hours | Seams + Fabric leakage |
| $200 Tent (6P) | Rain Test | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 winner | 1 hour | No leaks |
| ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 6 | 0.5 hours | Fabric leakage |
| Coleman Sundome 6 | 0.5 hours | Seams + Fabric leakage |
Quality
Quality here means the materials: the flooring, the rainfly, the zippers and the poles.
- The decoder: 150D fabric is double the thickness of a normal tent, 75D is quite typical, and 68D is a little too thin for comfort. For zippers, YKK is the best, followed by SBS, then the no-brand ones. DAC aluminum is the best pole material, then 7,000-series aluminum. Fiberglass poles are the cheapest and the most likely to break.
| $200 Tent (2P) | Flooring | Rainfly | Zippers | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The North Face Stormbreak 2 winner | 75D Poly Taffeta | 75D Poly Taffeta | SBS | DAC |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 2 | 150D Polyester | 66D Ripstop | No brand | Aluminum |
| REI Trailmade 2 | 75D Poly Taffeta | 75D Polyester | YKK | Aluminum |
| ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 | 75D Poly Taffeta | 75D Polyester | 3F | Aluminum |
| Kelty Late Start 2 | 68D Polyester | 68D Polyester | No brand | Aluminum |
| Coleman Sundome 2 | Polyethylene | 68D Polyester | No brand | Fiberglass |
| $200 Tent (4P) | Flooring | Rainfly | Zippers | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teton Mountain Ultra 4 winner | 150D Polyester | 66D Ripstop | No brand | Aluminum |
| ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 | 75D Poly Taffeta | 75D Polyester | No brand | Aluminum |
| Kelty Wireless 4 | 68D Polyester | 68D Polyester | No brand | Fiberglass |
| Coleman Sundome 4 | Polyethylene | 68D Polyester | No brand | Fiberglass |
| $200 Tent (6P) | Flooring | Rainfly | Zippers | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 6 winner | 75D Poly Taffeta | 75D Poly Taffeta | No brand | Fiberglass (11mm) |
| Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 | 68D Polyester | 68D Polyester | No brand | Fiberglass (13mm) |
| Coleman Sundome 6 | Polyethylene | 68D Polyester | No brand | Fiberglass (11mm) |
- The pattern again: More expensive tents get better materials. At 6-person sizes on this budget, everything runs on fiberglass poles and thinner fabrics, which is another way the brands keep costs down.
Portability
The last test is mainly the packaged weight of each tent, plus its packed size.
| $200 Tent (2P) | Weight (lbs) | Packed Size (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Kelty Late Start 2 winner | 4.9 | 18 x 8.5 x 7 |
| REI Trailmade 2 | 5.0 | 21 x 9 x 6.5 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 | 5.6 | 20.5 x 7.5 x 6 |
| The North Face Stormbreak 2 | 6.3 | 20 x 7 x 6.5 |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 2 | 6.4 | 23.5 x 8 x 6 |
| Coleman Sundome 2 | 6.4 | 24 x 9 x 6 |
- Why the heavy ones are heavy: Thicker materials add weight (the Teton’s 150D flooring), and fiberglass poles weigh more than aluminum (the Coleman).
| $200 Tent (4P) | Weight (lbs) |
|---|---|
| ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 winner | 9 |
| Teton Mountain Ultra 4 | 10 |
| Coleman Sundome 4 | 10 |
| Kelty Wireless 4 | 13 |
| $200 Tent (6P) | Weight (lbs) | Packed Size (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6 winner | 14.2 | 26 x 11 x 8 |
| ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 6 | 15.8 | 26 x 9.5 x 8 |
| Coleman Sundome 6 | 16.0 | 27 x 12 x 9.5 |
All Test Scores
The scoreboard
Based on the 6 tests above, here are the overall scores, grouped by size, because each size class was scored separately.
2-person tents
- The North Face Stormbreak 2Best 2-Person Tent Under $2008.5
- Teton Mountain Ultra 28.0
- REI Trailmade 27.6
- ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 26.8
- Kelty Late Start 26.2
- Coleman Sundome 25.1
4-person tents
- Teton Mountain Ultra 4Best 4-Person Tent Under $2008.1
- ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 47.3
- Kelty Wireless 47.3
- Coleman Sundome 45.3
6-person tents
- Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6Best 6-Person Tent Under $2006.6
- ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 66.5
- Coleman Sundome 65.9
Each size class is scored only against its own size class, so don’t compare a 2-person score with a 6-person one. The Montana 8 and the Ozark Cabin 10 are the only tents in their sizes here, so they weren’t part of this run. The Montana’s card above carries the score it earned in my cheap family tents testing, and the Ozark has since been discontinued.
See every sub-score and test weightage
The methodWhy You Can Trust Me
$1,800
These 15 tents under $200 cost me about $1,800 in total.
12 weeks
I spent around 12 weeks buying and testing them all.
6 tests
Every scored tent went through the same 6 tests, size class by size class, with the same tape measure and stopwatch.
30,000+
I also run a YouTube channel with over 30,000 subscribers that focuses just on reviewing camping gear. It’s my jam 🙂
Every figure above is from my own testing – measured by hand, bought with my own money.
