**If you are in a hurry I recommend the HIKERGARDEN CAMPROS as the best tent for hot weather for its great ventilation, easy setup, and spacious interior**
Growing up in the south meant that camping was just going to be hot sometimes and if you didn’t have the right tent you were going to have a miserable sleeping experience. It would have been better to sleep outside except you’d get bitten by bugs. Knowing how to pick out which tents have good ventilation or are built with thinner, but still durable, materials is essential to staying cool. Learn which ones can provide a nice breeze while still offering protection in the outdoors in the best tent for hot weather reviews below.
What Makes A Great Tent For Hot Weather
Ventilation
Mesh is going to be a part of your camping vocabulary if you are looking at a tent for hot weather. This can come in a number of different forms like doors, windows, ceiling, and even screened rooms.
The more open mesh your tent has, the better the air circulation and ventilation. Some of the options on this list will even have a floor vent that helps to bring air flow from the bottom through the top ceiling.
You also want to see if the rainfly is designed to cover the entire tent or if it will leave openings for your tent to breathe. Some of the rainflys will even include small awnings that extend past the windows so that you can leave them open without worrying about water leaking through.
Material/Seasonal Rating
You’ll find that most modern tents are built using polyester but that some will be tougher materials than others and have a higher Denier rating so they protect you better for harsh conditions. A denier rates the thickness of the individual fibers of a material and makes the fabric harder to penetrate.
Tents that are 3 season will generally have lower denier ratings because they are not meant to keep you comfortable during winter. This is perfect for campers who are looking for a tent that will hold up in hot weather that need thinner materials that are still durable enough for the outdoors.
Stay away from 3+ or even 4 season tents because their fabric will not be breathable enough to let a slight breeze come through even though you’ll be fully protected from the rain.
Size
Summer tents built for hot weather come in all sizes and you’ll find something for your needs on the list below. What’s important to remember is that you won’t want to bring as many people as the tent says you can fit inside.
So if your tent says it can hold up to 8 people you realistically only want to bring about 6 or less to be comfortable and have enough room for beds and gear. The capacity is measured by how many sleeping bags you can fit side by side with no room in between.
Portability/Setup
If there are a couple of tents you have your eye on that are ventilated enough to handle the heat then you want to take a look at the portability and set up. See how easy it’s going to be to transport so you can know if its possible to bring on a short hike to your site or if you can only bring it in the back of the car.
You also want to know what kind of setup the tent has. It could be more traditional and require assembly which could take 10+ minutes. Or you could have a pop up and could take as little as 60 seconds. And you definitely want to practice setting it up before you head outdoors in your backyard or an open space. You don’t want to get stuck with the sun burning down on you and needing to take extra time to read instructions.
Best Overall: HIKERGARDEN CAMPROS
If you’re looking for a spacious and well ventilated tent for hot weather that you and your family or friends can all fit inside than the HIKERGARDEN CAMPROS may just be the right fit. Large enough for a party of 4-6 you can easily fit up to 3 queen size air mattresses and the five mesh windows and almost completely covered mesh ceiling will give you plenty of ventilation for hot days. The included rainfly also has a couple of small awnings that extend past the side windows so that you can leave them open while being protected from water coming inside.
It has one of the easiest set ups and takes about 5 minutes and there’s even a divider screen you can put up to separate the HIKERGARDEN into two different rooms. This might affect the air flow some but each side will have its own windows. The quality of zippers could be slightly higher but for the price point and size its actually a great value tent that will keep you cool during your camping trip.
Best Luxury: Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent
The Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent isn’t just a well ventilated tent for hot weather but it’s also one of the easiest to set up on this list. You can get the entire structure standing tall after only 60 seconds thanks to the pre attached poles. There’s a D-shaped door for the side entrance but there’s also a large T-shaped door that can open from top to bottom. This allows you to fully open up any walls on one side to bring in maximum air flow on those stagnant days.
There’s also five different sized mesh windows and a mesh ceiling so you don’t have to worry about air flow being an issue. Especially since there’s even a ground vent you can adjust. You aren’t going to have any window awnings so if it rains the rainfly wont be much help to protect your windows from water leaking in. And I wouldn’t recommend the Core for heavy winds or heavy rains but if you’re looking to beat the heat with a large and well ventilated tent than you don’t have to look much further than the Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent.
Best Budget: Weanas Professional Backpacking Tent
The Weanas is a perfectly sized summer tent for hot weather that can fit two people comfortably and provides a ton of ventilation. Practically the entire thing is made of mesh as you’ll see all four sides are almost completely covered, well at least two of them are. The other two walls have a slight paneling so that two doors could be added.
There is a full coverage rainfly included which is great for protection from the rain but the problem with full coverage flys are that they cut off all ventilation from the wonderful mesh walls. Luckily there are a couple of small skylights on the rainfly you can open. And, as long as the rain isn’t that bad, you can use a couple of trekking poles to prop up the front opening of the rainfly so that you entrance can be covered but you can still allow some air flow. The only way to get more ventilation from a tent for hot weather is to buy one made for the beach. The Weanas also has one of the lowest price points on the list making it an obvious choice for couples camping.
Coleman Evanston Dome Tent with Screen Room
Coleman is no stranger to producing high quality outdoor products and the Evanston Dome Tent has all the features that will keep you cool in hot weather. The best part is the screen room completely covered in mesh where you can set up a couple of camping chairs and relax while still being fully protected from flying bugs. There’s a large entrance door you can unzip and open fully facing the screen room that will provide tons of air flow to keep you cooled on hotter days.
The couple of mesh windows will also help keep the air moving and prevent stagnation inside your hot weather tent. You’ll be able to fit about 2 queen size air mattresses inside and ther’se a 5’8” center height so it’s nice for smaller groups who don’t need to spend all their time inside. But in case it’s raining the included rainfly has awnings over both windows and screen room so that you can still leave the mesh open and cool down. The Evanston is one of the better ventilated and prepared tents for hot weather on this list.
ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1-Person Tent
This option isn’t going to be for everyone but if you need a hot weather tent for one then you won’t find much better than the ALPS Mountaineering Lynx. Without the rainfly the rainfly on the ALPS has mesh on half of the D-shaped door but it also has half-wall mesh covering both sides to give you plenty of air breezing through your one person tent. Now the rainfly is going to be fantastic if you get any heavy rains or if the wind starts picking up but it fully covers the tent and doesn’t allow much air flow while it’s on. It does have a vestibule you can open but that might not be enough for humid, rainy days.
The ALPS has a more traditional set up but shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to have built. And you get a mesh storage pocket on the ceiling to organize smaller items so they don’t get lost on your trip. The obvious downside to the ALPS is the size, as it only has enough room for one. But if that is exactly what you are looking for and you’re trying to stay cool in warm weather then the ALPS is a perfect fit.
Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent
The Coleman Elite WeatherMaster has enough ventilation to keep you cool during the warmer days of camping. And it comes with a completely covered screened mesh room that you can use to set up camping chairs or keep extra gear inside. Combine that with the 5 different mesh windows and a completely open mesh ceiling and you have enough air flow to catch any breeze that comes through. You also have a built-in light at the top of the ceiling with a wall switch that you can turn on at night when you need to find something in your tent.
The included rainfly has awnings over the front door and the screen room so you can leave these two areas open to get more circulation without worrying about rain leaking through. The only real concern is that the screen room is not completely sealed off from the inside of the tent so you will need some extra protection in order to keep out small insects. The screen room and open areas allow for great air flow and will keep you cool during the summer months of camping.
Coleman 8-Person Camping Tent
Another Coleman on the list but with the amount of mesh windows and ceiling that the brand builds into it’s hot weather tents it’s hard to match. You get the same fully covered mesh ceiling but a ridiculous 6 mesh windows including one right by the large D-shaped doorway. You’re also going to get some extra features that makes this tent special like a built-in closet with hangars and a hinged door for easy access.
The rainfly does provide a little overhang over the windows and door but not enough to cover heavier rainy days. You have several organizational mesh pockets and shelves inside as well as a room divider to separate the tent for larger groups of families. The Coleman 8-Person is a great tent for hot weather but it also has incredible versatility.
Summary
My choice for the best tent for hot weather is the HIKERGARDEN CAMPROS for its great ventilation, easy setup, and spacious interior. With the HIKERGARDEN you’re not just getting 5 mesh windows and a full mesh ceiling but the rainfly itself has small awnings over the sides and door to prevent any water from coming in while leaving your windows open. It’s huge and can comfortably fit up to six people with the large interior but also comes with a room divider for privacy. There isn’t a better and more comfortable option for hot weather on the market.
