Cabin and Wall Tents

Multi-room cabin tents

Family cabin-style and wall tents are heavier than dome tents but provide more space since the walls are more vertical. These tents also often have more than one room. Two or three rooms can make a tent much more comfortable for a family, with separate sleeping quarters plus space for eating inside. True wall tents are shaped with straight, vertical walls and a classic A-frame roof, but many cabin tents are modified dome tents. These resist strong winds well, but the slanting walls make for less headroom at the sides.

In an unusual consensus among tent reviewers, the Eureka Copper Canyon family tent earns more recommendations than any other of this type. Reviewers like the near-vertical walls, high ceilings for standing up inside and moderate price for the size. The two rooms are also convenient, and you can run an electrical cord into the tent without letting in bugs. The main drawback is the fly, which doesn't provide full coverage. Also, according to tests at GearReview.com, the poles could use some bracing in high winds -- though owners report the tent holds up well in wind. Owners also find the floor thin, advising the use of a ground cloth underneath.

The Copper Canyon model numbers indicate the floor dimensions for both rooms total. For example, the Copper Canyon 1610 (*Est. $300) is 16 feet by 10 feet -- evenly divided into two 8-by-10-foot rooms, one for sleeping, the other (unfloored but screened) for dining. This tent earns an Editors' Choice award at Camping Life, with praise for its 87-inch headroom, ample storage pockets and easy sweep-outs. Reviewers at Cabelas.com and GearReview.com also like this tent, though the latter says that the corner poles could use some bracing.

As usual, reviewers advise buying a tent with a larger advertised capacity than you need. The Copper Canyon 1610 is advertised as big enough for six people, but it will be much more comfortable for three or four adults. The Eureka Copper Canyon 1312 (*Est. $285) ostensibly sleeps eight, but owners reviewing it at Amazon.com say it's more comfortable for six. Instead of a screened dining room, this tent has two floored sleeping rooms (with a removable divider) plus a detachable awning for a small dining area. The Copper Canyon 1512, recommended at GearReview.com (with the same caveat about weak poles), is similar but a bit bigger. For two campers, consider the single-room Eureka Copper Canyon 1010 (*Est. $180).

Owners reviewing family tents at Amazon.com and Cabelas.com also like the 10-by-15-foot Columbia Cougar Flats II (*Est. $285). It's a two-room tent (with a removable divider) similar in floor space to the Eureka Copper Canyon 1312 discussed above. The maximum ceiling height is a pleasant 86 inches, but the walls slope quite a bit more than the walls on the Copper Canyon tents.

Practically speaking, the Cougar Flats provides significantly smaller space, and it's a stretch to call the Cougar Flats a cabin tent. It more closely resembles a big, tall dome tent with two rooms. However, it gets excellent reviews for comfort, ventilation and durability -- with no complaints about weak poles. At Cabelas.com, nearly all of the more than 50 owners say they'd recommend this tent to a friend. Owners say it's very easy to set up. The main drawback is a relatively thin floor that needs a ground cloth underneath for protection. A few owners say the flaps can get stuck in the zipper -- typical of tents in this price range.

The North Face Trailhead 8 (*Est. $500) is another cabin tent built on a modified dome shape. It has a center room plus two sleeping rooms -- one on each side -- and the end walls on the sleeping rooms slant even more than the walls on the Cougar Flats. The ceiling is only 78 inches high in a small area of the center room. However, the two doors each have a vestibule, and the fly covers the big front vestibule completely so it's usable even in a hard rain. The full-coverage fly also protects all three rooms well. This makes it a true three-season tent usable in very cool weather, and protects against driving rain -- but we found some complaints that it can be hot in a summer rainstorm.

Another brand that gets generally positive reviews is Paha Que. It's expensive, but has a good reputation for quality workmanship. For example, all the seams are factory-sealed against rain leakage. The Paha Que tents are true cabin or wall tents, with nearly vertical walls. At Amazon.com, owners praise the two-room, 12-by-10-foot Paha Que Promontory (*Est. $400) for excellent construction, ventilation and simple, easy setup -- though one owner does report a quality-control issue.

The Paha Que Promontory is roomy enough for six adults, and has an 80-inch ceiling -- made of "no-see-um" mesh for an airy feeling -- with gear lofts for storage. The fly isn't full-coverage, but we didn't find any complaints about rain blowing in. Like the tents discussed above, Paha Que tents carry a limited lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, and most owners say customer service is excellent. One review at GearJunkie.com finds the fly difficult to get taut, also noting that the boxy shape is vulnerable to wind. As with all tents, there's a trade-off between high interior space and aerodynamic shape.

Cabela's Deluxe Alaknak II series is pricey but features a roomy covered entrance porch that channels rain runoff to the sides; you don't have to stoop to enter. This is a four-season tent that can accommodate a stove and chimney, making it an "outfitter's tent." More than 160 owners review it at Cabelas.com, giving it a high average rating. Combining a wall tent with an A-frame tent to save weight, the 12-foot-square Alaknak II (*Est. $580) has vertical side walls 48 inches high, plus an A-frame roof that peaks at 116 inches. It weighs a hefty 67 pounds, however, and setup is a bit more complicated than with the tents above.

The finished tent has a center pole, and a D-ring also lets you hang the center of the tent from a tree branch. Shelves run along both sides and the back for gear storage. This tent series comes in two other sizes. The huge 12-by-20-foot Alaknak II (*Est. $900) has side walls 5 feet high, and not surprisingly, weighs a whopping 106 pounds.

If you want to pitch a tent for more than a few weeks at a time, experts recommend choosing a durable canvas tent. Canvas, unlike nylon and polyester, doesn't fade from exposure to sunlight and it's even relatively waterproof. Canvas wall tents are heavy but spacious, and most are designed to accommodate a small woodstove. Several companies make canvas wall tents, but we found reviews only at Cabelas.com, where owners give top ratings to the canvas Kodiak Flex Bow, which comes in a 10-square-foot size (*Est. $450) and a 10-by-14-foot version (*Est. $550). A big awning attaches to one of the two doors. Owners say it's easy to set up, is well made and withstands high winds and driving rain. The main drawback is that canvas is heavy; the smaller tent weighs 68 pounds, the larger version 11 pounds more.