Cabin tents · Pros and cons

Are Cabin Tents Good? 11 Pros and Cons (REAL Pictures!)

Seven things cabin tents do better than every other tent shape, and four they do worse — measured across the tents in my own garage.

  • 7 pros
  • 4 cons
  • $0 sponsored
  • ~6 min read

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1Peak height 2Headroom 3Usable space 4Windows 5Ceiling mesh 6Capacities 7Room dividers 8Wind 9Rainfly 10Setup time 11Weight ✓Should you buy one

The short answer

Are they good?

Yes, in fair weather

I listed nearly twice as many pros as cons, and I camp in them myself.

Who they suit ↓
The best part

Space you can use

7 inches more peak height than my dome tents, carried out to the corners.

The measurements ↓
The dealbreaker

Wind and heavy rain

Mine blew over in a light breeze, and the rainfly is 5–10 inches long.

The tests ↓

All 11, at a glance

The pros and cons, side by side

The 7 pros

  • + 1. Higher peak heights
  • + 2. More headroom, everywhere in the tent
  • + 3. More usable floor space at the sides
  • + 4. Larger windows
  • + 5. More ceiling mesh, and a skylight
  • + 6. A bigger range of capacities
  • + 7. More likely to include a room divider

The 4 cons

  • − 1. Blows away easily
  • − 2. Smaller rainfly
  • − 3. Longer setup time
  • − 4. Heavier

Part 1 of 12

Pro 1 — higher peak heights

Cabin tents run taller than dome tents at the same capacity. Here is every one of my 6-person tents, measured:

6-person tentShapePeak height
Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6Cabin84 inches
REI Co-op Wonderland 6Cabin81 inches
Caddis Rapid 6Cabin77 inches
The North Face Wawona 6Dome77 inches
Coleman Sundome 6Dome74.5 inches
REI Co-op Base Camp 6Dome73 inches
NTK Cherokee 6Dome70 inches
My own measurements. The tallest dome (Wawona, 77in) only ties the shortest cabin (Caddis, 77in).

80.7inaverage peak height across my 6-person cabin tents, against 73.6in across my 6-person domes — a full 7 inches.

Part 2 of 12

Pro 2 — more headroom, everywhere in the tent

The peak number is only half of it. Vertical walls carry that height outwards; sloping dome walls don’t.

What the side walls of the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 look like.
One of the Eureka’s vertical walls.

Two small steps from the peak of my Wawona and my head is on the ceiling — and my feet are nowhere near the corner yet.

The author standing in the corner of The North Face Wawona 6.
In the Wawona (dome), this is as far out as I can stand upright.
The author standing in one of the corners of the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6.
In the Eureka (cabin), I’m standing in the actual corner.

Part 3 of 12

Pro 3 — floor space you can actually use

Headroom turns into floor space. In my dome-shaped Wawona, sleeping along the side felt claustrophobic — raise an arm and my hand grazes the wall sloping over me.

The author sleeping at the side of The North Face Wawona 6.
Lying at the side of the Wawona. Look at the wall above me.
The author sleeping at the side of the Gazelle T4 Hub Tent.
Same position in my Gazelle T4 Hub Tent. The wall goes straight up instead.

My hand isn’t close to the wall, and I could sleep right at the very edge of the tent. With a dome, the sides are the space you don’t really get to use.

Part 4 of 12

Pro 4 — larger windows

Four vertical walls leave room for four big windows. Dome walls taper in towards the top, so their windows shrink with them. These are both 6-person tents:

The author measuring the dimensions of the windows in the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6.
Opening up the Eureka’s windows.
The author opening up the back window of the Coleman Sundome 6.
And the back window of my Coleman Sundome 6.

More glass means better airflow on a hot day, and a lot more natural light inside.

Part 5 of 12

Pro 5 — ceiling mesh, and a skylight

On top of the four windows, cabin tents usually add a big mesh panel in the roof. Take the rainfly off and you’re looking straight up.

What the ceiling mesh of the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 looks like without the rainfly.
My Eureka with the rainfly off. That whole panel is mesh.
The Coleman Sundome 6-Person Tent with the rainfly off.
The Sundome without its fly. Good mesh walls front and back — but nothing open above you.

Dome tents get decent mesh panels, especially the pricier ones, but rarely an unblocked view upwards. If you want to lie there and look at the sky, that’s a cabin tent.

Part 6 of 12

Pro 6 — a bigger range of capacities

My favourite dome, the North Face Wawona, comes in 4, 6 and 8-person. My Eureka Copper Canyon comes in 4, 6, 8 and 12. Coleman, Core and Ozark Trail go up to 10, 12 and 14-person in cabins and almost never offer domes that big.

What 10 single sleeping pads looks like in the Outdoor Products Instant Cabin 10.
10 sleepers in my Outdoor Products Instant Cabin 10 — 2 singles, 3 doubles and a full mattress.

I think the brands assume anyone buying a cabin wants room, so that’s where they put the big sizes.

Part 7 of 12

Pro 7 — more likely to include a room divider

My REI Wonderland 6 (cabin) came with one. My Wawona 6 and Base Camp 6 — both domes, both the same capacity — did not.

The author zipping up the room divider of the REI Wonderland 6.
The Wonderland’s divider zipped shut, with a queen bed in each room.

Each room takes 3 single pads or 1 queen bed, which is a family of 4 split into two rooms. Above 8-person everything comes with a divider whatever the shape — it’s in the 4 to 6-person sizes that the cabins pull ahead.

Part 8 of 12

Con 1 — it blows away easily

This is the one that matters. Those big vertical walls catch wind like a sail, and an unstaked cabin tent will go over in a light breeze. I know because mine did.

The Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 blowing over in a light breeze.
My Eureka blowing away in a light wind.

Staked down and guyed out it handles light to moderate wind fine. I still wouldn’t put a cabin tent into a strong wind.

Part 9 of 12

Con 2 — the rainfly barely covers anything

Cabin flies are typically 5 to 10 inches long — just enough to cover the ceiling mesh, and nothing more. They don’t reach the windows at all.

The author’s heavy rain test of the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6.
My heavy rain test on the Eureka.
The windows of the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 soaked in the rain.
The Eureka’s windows soaked through, so I can’t open them for ventilation.

With so little fly, more water runs over the tent body and its seams, and that’s where it gets in.

My adviceIf you need a cabin tent that handles real rain: look for a full-length rainfly — the Big Agnes Bunk House 6 has one, which is rare on a cabin and also makes it warmer in the cold. Or count the guylines: my REI Co-op Wonderland 6 has 14, more than any family tent I’ve tested. Otherwise a canvas tent. I still wouldn’t take any of them into a storm.

Part 10 of 12

Con 3 — it takes longer to set up

A no-frills dome has 3 poles. A no-frills cabin has 7.

The 3 fiberglass poles of the Coleman Sundome 6-Person Tent.
The Sundome’s 3 poles — 2 body, 1 rainfly.
The 7 poles of the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6.
The Eureka’s 7 — 4 leg poles, 2 roof poles, 1 rainfly pole.
6-person, no frillsPolesSetup, solo
Coleman Sundome 6 (dome)311.5 minutes
Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 (cabin)714 minutes
About 20% longer to pitch, for the same capacity. Both timed by me, on my own.

My adviceIf it’s the setup putting you off, buy an instant tent. They’re nearly all cabin-shaped, and the poles, clips and guylines come pre-attached — you just extend each pole until the locking button pops. No pole sleeves to fight.

Part 11 of 12

Con 4 — and it weighs more

Same cause: more poles. My Sundome 6 weighs 16.0lbs. for everything, my Eureka LX 6 weighs 22.4lbs. Same capacity, same trip, one of them is a noticeably worse carry from the car.

40%more weight to lug around, for the same 6-person capacity.

Part 12 of 12

So — are cabin tents good?

Yes. I listed nearly twice as many pros as cons, and I own several. The question is only whether your camping matches what they’re good at.

Buy one if

  • + You camp with family or a big group
  • + You’re tall and hate hunching over
  • + You want a spacious tent with real headroom
  • + You camp on hot summer days
  • + Rain and wind will be light at worst

Don’t if

  • − You expect heavy rain
  • − You expect strong gusts of wind
  • − You’re hiking and need to go light
The North Face Wawona 6 in the heavy rain.
When the forecast looks like this, I take the Wawona. It handled 3 days of heavy rain and 50mph winds.

If you don’t fall into the first column, here are the 8 measured differences between a dome tent and a cabin tent.

The bottom line

Seven pros against four cons — and every pro is about space you can actually use, while every con is about weather. Summer camping with people you like: a cabin tent is the best tent shape there is. A storm: it’s the worst. The 7 cabin tents I’ve bought and tested →

Quick questions

FAQ

Are cabin tents worth it?

For fair-weather car camping with a group, yes — 7 inches more peak height than my dome tents, carried right out to the corners. For anything harsh, no.

Do cabin tents leak?

In heavy rain, usually. The rainfly is only 5 to 10 inches long, so water runs straight over the body seams and the windows get soaked shut.

Are cabin tents good in wind?

Only staked down and guyed out, and only in light to moderate wind. Mine blew over in a light breeze before I’d finished guying it. More guylines help — my Wonderland 6 has 14.

Keep going

Where to next

The basics

What Is a Cabin Tent?

The 3 features that define one, and how to pitch it.

The comparison

Dome Tent vs Cabin Tent

8 differences, measured across the tents I own.

Which to buy

The Best Cabin Tents

7 cabin tents bought, tested and ranked.

Every measurement, timing and weather test on this page was run by me, on tents I bought myself.

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