Cabin Tent buyers guide

Are you planning for a spacious cabin tent for your ultimate family vacation? Well, you can surprise your family with a great adventure by creating a memorable camping break. It can easily be achieved by purchasing a supreme quality cabin tent.

Cabin tents are highly spacious and cater to all the family needs easily. Not only will it offer an ideal family holiday but also meet all your demands in a jiffy.

In this guide, we have shared all the noteworthy points that you must keep in mind while buying the best cabin tent for a comfortable trip!

What are Cabin tents?

A Cabin tent has a unique structure making it different from a dorm tent. If you plan a camping trip with your family or a large group, a cabin tent will be a perfect choice. These tents are available in both large and small sizes so you can choose the right size according to your family. They are compatible enough to be used in different locations.

With a cabin tent, you can easily protect yourself from rain, storm, sun, and dirt. Therefore, you must buy a cabin tent with the highest quality. It is designed with a larger window, multiple entrances, room dividers, etc. to make sure you can enjoy your camping with family and friends without any hassles.

Why should you choose cabin tents over other tents?

A cabin tent is sturdier and stronger than any other tent. So, when you are embarking on an outdoor camping expedition with your family, you should look for a cabin tent in the first place.

1. This tent has a different structure from the regular dome tents; thus, it ensures more durability and stability.
2. A cabin tent is suitable for single day camping, or you may also choose it if your plan is to camp at the same place for multiple days. You may find a dome tent small for your household and cramped as well, so for a change, you should consider a big and spacious cabin tent to comfortably enjoy your camping.

Here are some specific reasons why you should opt for a cabin tent over other tents—

• Unlike dome tents, the cabin style tents have straight walls so you can have more space to store more items, including tables, chairs, cooler, etc. Because of the straight wall, you can use the inner space properly. Besides this, it provides a better headroom for the occupants to move without any discomfort.
• There are some advanced models designed with larger windows and curtains. Moreover, they have room dividers for your privacy.
• Premium quality materials are used to make these tents, and therefore, they can withstand any kind of severe weather conditions such as heavy rains, strong winds, etc. Furthermore, they give a fresh feel to the users all the time.

Different styles of cabin tents

The cabin-style tents are available with different styles and designs that depend on their stability and durability. Owing to their capability to withstand the harshest weather conditions, they are named as three-season tents and four-season tents.

Before buying a cabin tent, you should be aware of the following styles of cabin style tents.

• Three-season tents are quite popular among the campers. These tents are appropriate to deal with mild weather so you can consider them for the summer, fall, and spring. The windows are made up of mesh panels, which help in better air circulation. They also protect you from bugs and mosquitoes. Moreover, these tents can manage downpours, but when it comes to withstanding harsh weather for more prolonged periods, they are not the best choice.

• Extended tents are appropriate for prolonged use. So, you can easily use them in the summer or spring months. They are specially designed to preserve warmth, which makes them ideal for cold weather. These tents are renowned for high breathability. Also, they are more durable and stable than a decent three-season tent.

• Four-season tents are useful in handling lower temperatures, strong winds, heavy snowfalls, etc. Also, they can tolerate both rain and sun. Therefore, you can use these tents for all seasons without any trouble. These tents are designed with top quality, heavier materials. Along with this, they have more poles to make sure that they can perform better in any harsh environment and provide ultimate safety and comfort to the occupants.

Things to Consider while buying the best Cabin Tents

Material used

When you select a cabin tent, you should go for the excellent quality materials. The material used in designing your tents determines stability and durability. Cabin tents designed using different materials are available in the market. Simply put, tents derived from cheaper materials do not last as long as the ones crafted from quality materials. So, choose your material carefully for a long-lasting cabin tent.

Cotton and canvas

Usually, tents designed with cotton and canvas are durable and handle both the cold and hot temperatures with ease. The combination of cotton and canvas is very effective to hold warmth and does not allow heat to reach inside. They also have high breathability and water-resistant ability.

Polycotton

This fabric is a combination of two elements, i.e. polyester and cotton. They are very light, so you do not have to carry a heavier weight for your tent. Therefore, it is considered as a good substitute for canvas material. The waterproof coating of these tents can protect you from both rain and water.

Nylon

Many campers are likely to choose Nylon material because it is highly cost-effective. Nylon material is resistant to water, and the nylon-made tents have an additional coating of polyurethane, acrylic, or silicon to increase their waterproofing feature. Though nylon is not durable enough, you can choose this if you have a tight budget. The best part is it is super-lightweight.

Polyester

Polyester is protected from wear and tear so you can consider this material for your cabin tent. It can be exposed to the sun for a long time. Standard quality polyesters are good to keep the shape intact without any shrinking. Tents made of polyester are coated with polyurethane to prevent you from dust and water.

Size and capacity

In general, cabin tents have more space than dome tents. However, you should count the people who will be staying in the tent beforehand. Usually, these tents can comfortably accommodate four people and even more than that.

So, before buying, you should look for all the features, including its dimension, capacity, room dividers, and more. You will find all this information in the specifications chart. But it is always wise to think of a larger size so that you can have some more room to store extra gears.

It is suggested not to depend on the manufacturer's list. A regular six-person tent is appropriate for six adults with their sleeping bags and also fits other equipment. But sometimes, it may be small to sleep comfortably that is mentioned in the specification. So, you should be careful about the dimensions before buying.

Weather resistance

Many cabin tents are designed to work for summer and spring months, and four-season tents are ideal for handling the harshest weather conditions effectively. They are highly resistant to water to protect you in the best possible way from such elements.

Top-quality Cabin style tents are equipped with weather-resistant technology. Some tents even have welded floors and inverted heat seams that can hold up the heat and protect you from difficult environmental surroundings.

Moreover, you should find a cabin tent that is designed with a rainfly. It is a separate waterproof cover that gives extra protection from rain and water. Four-season tents are perfect for withstanding heavy snowfall and rain.

So, it is better to cover the roof of your tent before you go to sleep. Also, it restricts the dew from going inside. Usually, most of the models come with a rainfly to handle downpours; otherwise, you can buy a rainfly separately.

Camping environment

If you are camping in National campgrounds, you will get all the essential facilities, including water, electricity, bathroom, etc. However, you may find backcountry camping a little complicated. There will be no accessible bathroom and electricity.

So, you must choose the model of your cabin tents according to your camping environment. For backcountry camping, you should consider a tent that has the highest durability and stability. There is a high chance you will come in exposure to wildlife and other environmental conditions so your tent should be well-protected.

On the other hand, when you camp at local ground, you should buy a tent that can protect you from everything effectively. However, most of the camping grounds are well-maintained, have dry grounds. They are also very developed to protect you and your family from wild animals by keeping them away.

Height and weight

Another essential factor to deem about while picking up a cabin tent is the height. A tent with an optimum height allows you to stand straight when you enter inside the tent. It is better to go for a taller than regular peak height. The vertical wall of the cabin style tents helps to increase the peak height.

Also, you should check for the weight of your cabin tent. A heavier tent is not easy to carry. However, tents with lightweight structures and poles do not provide much stability. It is better to find a tent with a decent weight that will be durable without adding much burden.

Door and flooring

For a large family or group, campers look for more than one entrance. You can decide the number of doors in advance to avoid confusion when you are leaving or entering the tent. You can find several models that come up with at least two doors. A YKK type of zipper is used to close and open the doors. These zippers are durable enough so that they do not break easily.

You should always look for flooring that is thick as well as long-lasting. Flooring is essential for cabin tents because it helps you to get rid of dirt and debris. Furthermore, it keeps twigs, insects, and sand away from the tent. Needless to say that, expensive flooring is always compatible with heavy foot traffic, and they do not get damaged quickly. Using an additional tarp over the flooring can give protection from wear and tear as well.

Poles

You can set up a cabin tent without much effort. It hugely depends on the design of the poles used in making Cabin tents. Usually, it takes nearly 1 to 10 minutes to assemble the whole tent. If you are a beginner, you should choose poles that do not come with a complicated setup procedure. The tents with freestanding design do not require any stakes.

So, the beginner level campers can set up their tents without any hassles. It is effortless to assemble and break down the tents so they can use the tents conveniently. After pitching, the tents become very stable and handle strong wind or heavy rainfall without collapsing. You can find the pre-attached structure and multi-colored poles for the tents to quickly set up the tents.

Portability

Some people do not pay much attention to the portability of cabin style tents. But you should not make that mistake. You need a tent for camping which means you have to carry the tent from place to place. If you do not have a portable tent, it will be difficult to transport.

Moreover, you may have problems at the time of pitching and positioning. Commonly, the cabin-style tents are designed with a moderate weight and size so that you can easily fit them in your backpack. It does not feel heavy at all. You can keep your tent into the trunk for transportation and carry them effortlessly to the camping ground.

Durability

You need a cabin tent for outdoor use, so it must be durable and robust to tolerate any kind of harsh weather conditions. Standard quality materials and advanced machines are used to make these tents so they can last longer. Some tents are designed with heat seal seam to make them fully resistant to water.

There are some tents available with wind strong structures and durable poles to handle high-speed wind without any difficulties. High-quality polyester or thermoplastic material also ensures the durability of your tent.

Storage

You have already come to know that cabin style tents come with more space than a dome tent. Overall, it provides you with more room to keep your gears and equipment, but you do not have to compromise with your sleeping space. Many tents have additional storage compartments, built-in pockets, or gear loops that help you to keep your gears organized.

You are allowed to keep the foods and equipment safely and securely inside the storage space. It will protect your gears from getting damaged and give you enough space to sleep comfortably.

Layout

Though the room dividers may not seem like an essential factor for your cabin tent, it will be useful to make your tent ready for versatile use. The room dividers ensure your privacy inside the tent by dividing the tent into two separate rooms. There are some room dividers that you can close to get more space for sleeping.

You can find many tents with built-in closets and wall pockets so that you can keep your essential belongings near your hand in an organized way. As you will be using a cabin tent to camp with your family, room dividers will come into use to store things perfectly.

Addons

Some campers search for tents that have a porch or a mudroom. It is beneficial for the campers because they can keep dirty boots or wet gear there. They work like a shelter attached to the entrance of the tents and very useful in storing extra gears like foldable chairs, tables, coolers, etc.

Therefore, you do not need to keep these things outside of your tent, and thus, you can protect them from getting damaged quickly by the elements.

Steps to set up and arrange a cabin tent easily

A cabin tent is a popular choice amongst campers who like their tents to have more floor and headroom. However, it can seem like a daunting task to set one up, especially to someone who has not tried it before.

To help you along, here's a step-by-step guide to set up a cabin type tent. Although the process can change according to the model and make of the tent, with a little adjustment, the procedures are fairly simple and will not take too much of your time, provided you follow the chronology properly.

Step 1:

Choose an area that is relatively undulated and lacks any kind of debris like rocks, thorns, branches, and twigs, for a comfortable floor. Prepare the surface by removing any type of obstruction. In addition to that, make sure you align the door of the tent towards the desired direction, especially when it comes to views, wind direction, and dealing with campfires and smoke.

Step 2:

Unpack, unfold, and stretch the tent entirely on the ground. Make sure you have all the parts of the tent out and handy, especially the stakes and the mallet. Keeping note of the stake holes along the edge of the tent. Use a mallet, or in case you do not have a mallet with you- a rock, to push the stakes into the ground. Leave about 3-5 cm of stake exposed to the ground to be able to tie the tent cords to it.

Step 3:

Set up the tent poles either by screwing them together or snapping them together using a shock cord. Make sure to achieve full extension by connecting all the pieces together.

Step 4:

Gradually from the structure of the tent by attaching the tent fabric with the poles. This step can be modified accordingly to the design of your tent. Most tents are equipped with hooks, sleeves, tabs, that you may use to keep the tent in place with the poles.

Step 5:

Rise your tent up, and give it a proper shape by placing your poles into the designated tent holes. The tent holes vary according to the model of your cabin tent. As you do this, the poles will bend, forming the structure of the tent.

Step 6:

Complete the installation by connecting the remaining accessories. Many tents, nowadays, come with a rainfly to keep the insides dry, which can be connected to the poles and the tent base.

So, if you follow the steps mentioned above, you can master how to assemble cabin tents within less time. Set up your tents on your own and enjoy your camping to the fullest.

FAQs

1. What is the most affordable cabin tent material?

Nylon is considered as the most budget-friendly material. As it is very lightweight, the cabin tent is highly portable. Having a low price, nylon is the best material that imparts a comfortable stay anywhere without any trouble.

2. What type of addons can I expect from cabin tents?

Different cabin tents come with different addons. Some have extra pockets for storing some essential items close to you, while others have a mudroom, porch, foldable chair. So, you can check the manual coming along the cabin tent to check which additional features your cabin tent has.

3. Are all types of cabin tents waterproof?

Yes, all types of cabin tents are waterproof. All the materials, be it cotton, polyester, nylon, or polycotton, are completely waterproof. However, to still be sure, you can check the label of the product before purchasing to be sure.

4. How to maintain your cabin tent?

You can maintain your cabin tent by cleaning it with plain water after you reach home. Do check the manual coming along to know the exact instruction for keeping it clean in the best way!

The Bottom Line

We are sure that this valuable guide has answered all your doubts regarding finding a perfect cabin tent. Keeping all the discussed pointers in mind, you should begin your search online and pick a few handy options that come under your budget.

Sit and evaluate all the options and select the one that has all the features you are looking for. After that, move to the final step of buying the perfect one and packing for your once-in-a-lifetime experience.