Despite their airy structure, inflatable tents are surprisingly sturdy and stable, even in windy conditions. The air beams supply ample support, and attaching guy lines to anchor points in the ground—just like you'd do with a typical tent—provides added stability when the weather turns.
But inflatable tents have an advantage over their rigid counterparts, too. Because the air beams are flexible, they bend in stormy conditions. This reduces the risk of damage to the tent, and you'll never end up with snapped fiberglass poles that could rip up your camping tent or even potentially harm you, too.
With the basic breakdown done, read on below for our top picks for the best inflatable tents, followed by even more relevant information, like how to pitch an inflatable tent and what to look for in an inflatable tent, from size to shape and price.
Five Best Inflatable Tents for Camping
The Fistral is Heimplanet's inflatable version of a classic two-person backpacking tent. As such, it has an entrance and vestibule for gear storage on both sides and is completely waterproof with an integrated 40-denier ripstop nylon fly. It does weigh slightly more than pole versions at 5.5 pounds (many backpacking tents come in around four pounds or less) but pitches it in less than a minute and has the added durability benefit of the air tube structure.
Price: $549
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The Cave from Heimplanet is immediately striking with its geodesic dome shape (this is one inflatable tent you may have seen on Instagram). The first design from Heimplanet, which is known for its inflatable tents, this model sleeps two to three people, and its pole apparatus inflates via a single valve in a matter of seconds. It's fully waterproof and remarkably sturdy and has five vents plus lots of interior pockets for stashing gear. The Cave isn't light at nearly 11 pounds, and it doesn't come with a pump, but does come with an adapter you can fit to one that you already have.
Price: $769+
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Vango's Odyssey Air 500SC has an indoor/outdoor design supported by three air beams, each with a separate valve. It's big—big enough to sleep at least five, though you can squeeze more into the dedicated living room and awning-covered porch spaces. You can also split the dedicated sleeping room for extra privacy, and there are windows built into the design, so you aren't totally secluded inside if you don't want to be. Despite its size, pitching the Odyssey takes under 10 minutes, and the whole thing packs into an oversized duffel when it's time to deflate. Like most inflatable tents, this one is rather heavy at just under 40 pounds, but it does come with a pump included. And really, what's extra weight if you're car camping?
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Like other inflatable tents, Quecha's Air Seconds uses air-filled beams to support its structure instead of aluminum or fiberglass poles. This model has two of those air beams, and they aren't connected, which means you have to inflate each one separately, but it's still a fast process. There's comfortable room for four inside and a large awning-covered vestibule where everyone can keep dirty or wet gear. One thing to note here is that this inflatable tent isn't completely pole-free—there's one aluminum pole that suspends the roof of the vestibule. Another thing to note is that this tent is pretty heavy at 20.9 pounds, but on the flip side, it's far cheaper than most inflatable tents.
Price: $449
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Quechua's six-person Air Seconds tent is an inflatable tent that'll fit the whole family (and the dog). It has four air beams, each with its own valve, that hold the structure up and is divided into "bedrooms" at either end with a central vestibule or "living room." It's somewhat modular too—you can set it up to have three two-person sleeping rooms or, if you want a larger living room, two. In addition to air beams, this inflatable tent also has aluminum poles to hold up its various awnings and an aluminum bar to make its ceiling more rigid. All its features don't come lightly, though; this tent weighs just over 55 pounds.
Price: $999
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