How Big Are Pop Up Tents? (I Have 7 of Them, Here’s My Input)
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I’ve been camping for over a decade, and using pop up tents for 4 years. And over the past 4 years since I’ve discovered pop up tents, I’ve bought and tested 7 of them. While my expertise is in camping pop up tents, I have other types of pop up tents as well (like privacy tents), and I’ll do my best to go through each type in this post.
As a general rule, pop up tents have a tent capacity of between 1 to 4 people, and a base area ranging from 20 to 60 square feet. In contrast, instant camping tents can accommodate up to 12 people, while canopy tents have an average base area of 10 by 10 feet.
How Big Are Camping Pop Up Tents?
How big a camping pop up tent is depends on a number of factors:
- Tent capacity,
- Peak height,
- Base dimensions and area, as well as the
- Vestibule area.
Let’s go through each one.
Tent Capacity
The tent capacity of pop up tents range from 1-person to 6-person. While I wasn’t able to buy every single pop up tent available on the market, I bought the most popular ones, and these range from 1-person to 4-person.
| Pop Up Tent | Tent Capacity |
|---|---|
| Teton Sports 1-Person Vista Quick Tent | 1-Person |
| Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent | 2-Person |
| Quechua 2 Seconds 2-Person Tent | 2-Person |
| Fresh and Black 2-Person Tent | 2-Person |
| Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent | 2-Person |
| Fresh and Black 3-Person Tent | 3-Person |
| Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent | 4-Person |
Generally, tent manufacturers will state that a tent has a 4-person capacity if it sleeps 4 people shoulder to shoulder. Extra space for gear is not accounted for. As such, I recommend increasing the tent capacity by 2 people if you need more space. So, if you’re camping with your partner (2 people), go for a 4-person tent.
The marketed tent capacity can often be found in the name of the tent, and is usually indicated as “2-Person”, or “2P”, or simply “2” (like my 2 Seconds tent above).
Peak Height
Camping pop up tents are often not extremely tall in terms of peak height. While there’s usually ample livable space to sit up and lounge around, there’s not enough height to stand up inside the tent. This is due to the pole structure of camping pop up tents. The thin fiberglass poles cannot support excessive high peak heights.
Here’s the peak height of each of my 7 camping pop-up tents:
| Pop Up Tent | Peak Height |
|---|---|
| Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent | 32.5 inches |
| Teton Sports 1-Person Vista Quick Tent | 33 inches |
| Fresh and Black 2-Person Tent | 38 inches |
| Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent | 39 inches |
| Fresh and Black 3-Person Tent | 39 inches |
| Quechua 2 Seconds 2-Person Tent | 39 inches |
| Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent | 40 inches |
Generally, the larger the tent capacity of the pop up tent, the higher the peak height will be.
The Teton Sports 1-Person Quick Tent and the Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent have the lowest peak height of about 32.5-33 inches, and I would recommend using sleeping pads with a maximum thickness of maybe 2 inches inside these tents.
The rest of the pop-up tents have a few inches more headroom, ranging from 38 to 40 inches, and I would recommend a camping mattress of no more than 6 inches thick.
The Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent has the highest peak height of 40 inches. When I was using my 6-inch Vertex Airbed inside the tent, I was able to lie down and sit up comfortably, and even had a couple inches of headroom left inside the tent. (*I’m 5’3” though, so not very tall.)
Base Dimensions and Area
I also took the measurements of each pop-up tent, both length and width in feet, as well as the base area in square feet. Here are the base dimensions and area of each pop up tent, from the smallest to the largest.
| Pop Up Tent | Length | Width | Base Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton Sports 1-Person Vista Quick Tent | 6.67 feet | 3.0 feet | 20.0 square feet |
| Fresh and Black 2-Person Tent | 6.75 feet | 4.25 feet | 28.7 square feet |
| Quechua 2 Seconds 2-Person Tent | 6.83 feet | 4.33 feet | 29.6 square feet |
| Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent | 7.58 feet | 4.5 feet | 34.1 square feet |
| Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent | 6.92 feet | 5.17 feet | 35.7 square feet |
| Fresh and Black 3-Person Tent | 6.75 feet | 6.33 feet | 42.8 square feet |
| Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent | 9.08 feet | 6.67 feet | 60.6 square feet |
Again, the larger the tent capacity, the larger the base dimensions and area would be.
However, the generosity in terms of base area depends on the brand itself. For example, I found the Teton Sports Quick Tents to be the most generous in terms of base area.
When I fit my self-inflating Sea to Summit pad (72 by 20 inches) inside the 1-Person Quick Tent, there was plenty of space leftover for gear.
Also, the only 2-person pop-up tent that could actually fit a full-sized mattress, even a queen mattress, is my Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent.
When I inflated my Vertex Airbed inside this 2-Person Quick Tent, and my Vertex Airbed is almost a queen-sized camping mattress, it fit perfectly into the tent, with a few inches of leftover space for gear. (You won’t have this space leftover if you fit a true queen of 80 x 60 inches though.)
As for my Quechua and Coleman Pop Up Tents, they weren’t quite so generous in terms of the base. But all of them could fit at least regular sleeping pads, plus a little bit of space leftover for one or two camping items.
However, one thing to bear in mind is that the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent isn’t exactly a 4-person tent. I think it can fit 2 adults very comfortably, or 3 adults if you sleep shoulder to shoulder, or 2 kids and 2 adults, but not 4 adults, because the base area isn’t rectangular, it’s more oval so you don’t get as much space as the sides. I could fit only 3 regular pads.
Vestibule Area
The Teton Sports Quick Tents have vestibules, while the rest of my pop-up tents do not.
| Pop Up Tent | Vestibule? |
|---|---|
| Teton Sports 1-Person Vista Quick Tent | Yes, 1 vestibule |
| Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent | Yes, 2 vestibules |
| Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent | No vestibule |
| Fresh and Black 2-Person Tent | No vestibule |
| Quechua 2 Seconds 2-Person Tent | No vestibule |
| Fresh and Black 3-Person Tent | No vestibule |
| Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent | No vestibule |
The 1-Person Vista Quick Tent has just 1 vestibule, while the 2-Person Quick Tent has 2 vestibules, which are exactly the same on both sides.
I found that the 2-Person vestibule was slightly bigger, the longest width being 15 inches, while the longest width of the 1-Person vestibule was just 12 inches.
So, for the 1-Person Vista Quick Tent, you’d get an additional 3.3 square feet, and for the 2-Person Vista Quick Tent, you’d get an additional 8.6 square feet of vestibule space. Here’s how I arrived at that calculation:
| Pop Up Tent | Vestibule Length | Vestibule Width | Vestibule Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton Sports 1-Person Vista Quick Tent | 6.67 feet | 1 foot | 3.33 square feet |
| Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent | 6.92 feet | 1.25 feet | 8.65 square feet |
Related Reading: I Bought and Tested the 7 Best Pop Up Tents!
Related Reading: What is a Pop Up Tent, and How Does it Work?
Related Reading: 13 Qualities for Choosing the Best Camping Pop Up Tent
How Big Are Instant Camping Tents?
While the maximum tent capacity for camping pop up tents is between 4 to 6 people, the maximum tent capacity for instant camping tents is between 10 to 12 people.
This is because unlike camping pop up tents that are made with thin fiberglass poles, instant camping tents are made with much thicker steel poles, which allows these instant tents to hold up much more tent fabric.
The largest instant camping tents that I have are the:
- Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent; and
- Coleman 10-Person Instant Dark Room Tent.
Here are the specifications on the spaciousness of both these 10-person tents:
| Instant Tent | Tent Capacity | Peak Height | Base Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent | 10-Person | 77.5 inches | 135.8 square feet |
| Coleman 10-Person Instant Dark Room Tent | 10-Person | 73.5 inches | 135.7 square feet |
These 10-person instant tents can fit either 10 regular sleeping pads inside the tent, or an alternative is to fit 4 queen-sized mattresses inside the tent.
While you could fit 8-10 people inside each of these 10-person instant tents, my recommendation would be to fit 4-6 people instead. There’ll be plenty of room, and you’ll be camping in luxury.
Also, notice that the peak height is significantly higher (about twice the peak height of the largest camping pop up tents). This allowed me to stand up and walk around the entire tent:
As such, if you’re planning to accommodate your family (4 people, or more), and you want a tent that sets up fast for camping, I highly recommend instant camping tents instead of pop up tents. However, if it’s just you and your partner (2 people, or less), camping pop up tents will work great.
How Big Are Privacy Pop Up Tents?
Privacy pop up tents are often brought along for camping trips as well, but are used only for changing clothes, showering, or bathroom needs. These privacy pop up tents have a maximum capacity of between 1-2 people.
Here’s what a 1-person privacy pop up tent looks like:
Notice that it fits me perfectly, with plenty of space to move around, shower, or change my clothes. The base area is small, so it’s not meant for sleeping. The peak height is extremely high (about 6 feet), and is meant for standing up in.
However, bear in mind that if you’re extremely tall (6 feet and over), you will want to take note of the peak height when buying a privacy pop up tent. Not all privacy pop up tents will be able to fit you, as some of them are not very tall (like the one I have).
2-person privacy pop up tents are also available on the market, though they’re not quite as common. Here’s what they look like:
How Big Are Canopy Pop Up Tents?
The most common size of a canopy pop up tent is between 8 by 8 feet, and 10 by 10 feet. However, there are many different sizes available on the market, with the largest being about 10 by 30 feet.
Canopy tents differ from camping tents in terms of usage; you can use canopy tents for anything, from dining to guest usage to setting up a pop-up store. However, canopy tents are not meant for sleeping.
This is the Crown Shades Canopy Pop Up Tent, one of the most popular canopy tents from Amazon:
Features of a good canopy pop-up tent include:
- Lots of livable space to carry out activities;
- Fantastic ventilation; and
- Ease of assembly and disassembly.
However, if you need a pop-up tent to sleep in, your best bet is to go with one of the best camping pop-up tents instead. And don’t worry, I’ve got you covered, with this blog post where I bought and tested 7 of the best camping pop up tents in the market.
| Pop Up Tent | Full Review | Check Price |
|---|---|---|
| Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent | Read Review | Amazon, Moosejaw |
| Teton Sports 1-Person Vista Quick Tent | Read Review | Amazon, Moosejaw |
| Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent | Read Review | Amazon, Moosejaw |
| Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent | Read Review | Amazon, Moosejaw |
| Quechua 2 Seconds 2-Person Tent | Read Review | Decathlon |
| Quechua 2 Seconds Fresh and Black 2-Person Tent | Read Review | Decathlon |
| Quechua 2 Seconds Fresh and Black 3-Person Tent | Read Review | Decathlon |
All My Pop Up Tent Resources:
