7 Best Tents (2021): Backpacking, Family, and More

To help you figure out the best tent for your next adventure—whether you're getting away for the weekend with the family or soloing Mt Whitney—we have our favorite picks from years of testing tents to find the perfect shelter for everyone.Don't see anything you like? But living in the southern United States, I really appreciate the extra bug barrier (and the extra room to stash stuff).The Kingdom 6 is hands down the best family camping tent I've ever owned. If you don't need that much space there's also the Kingdom 4, and for those with larger families, the Kingdom 8.REI's Half Dome tent series has been a popular choice with backpackers for many years. That said, the vestibules are on the small side—big enough for boots and an empty pack, but not much else.The Half Dome isn't the lightest tent in this list (see the Copper Spur below), but at just under 4 pounds, it's not too heavy when split between two people. It has double vestibules with enough room to keep boots and other gear out of the weather.One thing to note about this tent, MSR does not factory seam seal its lightweight tents, so you'll need to get some seam seal and do it yourself. REI has a good guide to seam sealing.When weight matters, but you still want a free-standing tent, Big Agnes's Copper Spur series is tough to beat. For example, the 3-person will be a spacious comfortable living space for two people with all their gear, and still be lighter than most 2-person tents available.\We're not saying Decathlon is lying, but if you can get this tent up in two seconds, you're doing better than we are.