Are you the type of person that loathes sleeping in a tent during daylight? Just thinking of being in the tent during the day on a hot summer day increases your temperature levels? Well, someone has thought up to design blackout tents, and today, we will show you how to choose the best blackout tent for your purposes!
Blackout tents essentially block the sun coming directly at your tent, keeping it cool and dark inside. Just perfect for sleeping longer or for an afternoon nap!
There are numerous blackout tents to find on the market, and we’ve done the heavy lifting to round up the best of the bunch. Join us as we work our way through our picks!
In a hurry? Here are the best blackout tents in 2022:
- In a hurry? Here are the best blackout tents in 2021:
- 1. Quechua Fresh & Black Pop Up Camping Tent
- 2. Coleman Blackout Festival Camping Tent
- 3. Coleman Cabin Tent With Instant Setup
- 4. Ayamaya Pop Up Tent For 4-6 Person
- 5. Coleman Skydome Tent
- 6. Coleman Rocky Mountain 5 Plus
- 7. Coleman Dome Tent For Camping
- Stuff To Know Before Buying A Best Blackout Tent – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Final Words
1. Quechua Fresh & Black Pop Up Camping Tent
Specifications
- 6.83 pounds
- Suitable for 2 people
- 4-seasons
- A freestanding, easy-to-setup tent that takes less than 10 seconds to setup
This dark room tent from Quechua is the best choice for the value and the overall design. It’s a pop-up tent with a freestanding structure, which means it’s incredibly easy to set up and put back in the bag.
Check out the video below on how to properly set up the Quechua Fresh and Black tent!
According to Quechua, this tent blocks out 99% of sunlight and is cooler under high temperatures than a standard tent. That’s all thanks to the combination of the dark material on the inside and light gray material on the outside. It can be so dark inside that you might lose your grasp on the time of the day!
This lightweight tent offers high water resistance and wind resistance for wind up to 30 mph. The only downside to it is that its packed shape won’t fit many backpacks. Also, it comes in 2-person and 3-person variants.
2. Coleman Blackout Festival Camping Tent
Specifications
- 99% of daylight is blocked
- Suitable for 3 people
- 100% waterproof featuring UV guard
- 14.3 pounds of packed weight
From a Coleman-dominated tent list, here is the best sun-blocking tent from this company! It is a 4-season tent fit for 3 and 4 people, even though it is just 120 cm (around 4 feet) tall at the center.
The Blackout is dubbed as a festival tent, but who makes a festival tent with dark guy ropes? People will certainly stumble across the guy lines, especially in the festival setting.
Nevertheless, the interior is very dark and completely delivers on the claim that it blocks out 99% of the sunlight. This material will make the interior much cooler during the hot summer months, not to mention the ability to sleep well after the morning or for an afternoon nap.
This tent is fairly easy to assemble but a real devil when packing it back into the bag. Still, it’s the second-best blackout tent you can get.
3. Coleman Cabin Tent With Instant Setup
Specifications
- Waterproof 150D polyester material
- Fits 1 queen sized air mattress
- Quick setup that doesn’t take more than 2 minutes
- 1 year of warranty
This 4-person cabin tent is incredibly easy to set up thanks to its pre-attached poles. It is one of the rare Coleman tents that provide space as advertised. The room divider inside divides the tent into two large rooms, which is convenient. Not to forget, the center height is 183 cm (6 feet).
Here’s a short guide on how to setup the Coleman Cabin Tent!
The main selling point of this tent is the Darkroom Technology, which includes a dark interior that will block out most of the sunshine and allow you to sleep unhindered by sunlight and heat. Mesh windows and the screen roof are here to provide more airflow if you need it.
This cabin tent also excels at water resistance, as its double-layered fabric will flow out rainwater thanks to inverted seams and welded corners. Its floor will be dry even if the ground is wet.
The only downside to an otherwise excellent heat-blocking tent is its weight – 8,16 kilograms (18 pounds).
4. Ayamaya Pop Up Tent For 4-6 Person
Specifications
- 4000mm waterproof fabric
- 2 doors and 4 windows ensuring nice air flow and ventilation during hot days
- Features pre-assembled poles which makes it easy & quick to set up
- Suitable for 4-seasons and 4 people
This awesome instant setup tunnel tent can easily accommodate up to six people. Technically, it’s not a classic darkroom tent, but its two layers do a fabulous job of cutting the sunlight coming at the tent. The two layers also help with the overall airflow and prevent the buildup of condensation.
These layers are connected with hooks and serve as vents that you can use to cool you down during the hot summer nights. There are rear hooded vents, as well as mesh windows on the sides to provide additional ventilation.
One downside that we should mention is that this tent doesn’t offer the best water resistance. According to some users, you may experience water leakages during heavy rainfall. Yikes!
Still, the easy setup, affordability, and space provided make this tent from Ayamaya one of the best blackout tents on the market.
5. Coleman Skydome Tent
Specifications
- Blocks 90% of sun rays
- Solid frame that can withstand winds up to 35mph
- Features pre-assembled poles which makes it easy & quick to set up (under 5 minutes)
- Suitable for 4-seasons and 6 people
The Skydome tent is quite spacious with its center height of 193 cm (6,33 feet), but it still isn’t big enough for eight people, as Coleman advertises the largest variant of this tent.
What Coleman advertises honestly about this freestanding tent is the effectiveness of its Dark Room Technology. This is almost a light-proof tent, so you can definitely sleep after morning and not worry about the sun waking you up.
Thanks to this technology, the interior will be much cooler. Further adding up to the overall airflow of this tent is the prevalence of mesh material. Topping up is the half coverage rainfly that provides decent rain protection and won’t add up to the condensation inside the tent.
Overall, the Skydome tent is an amazing 4-season tent from Coleman that is relatively easy to set up and considered to be one of the best camping tents around.
6. Coleman Rocky Mountain 5 Plus
Specifications
- Features 2XXL bedrooms with materials that block 99% of sun light
- 4500mm waterproof fabric
- Suitable for 5 people
- Large PVC windows with covers
The Rocky Mountain is an awesome blackout tent for camping designed for five people. It is divided into two bedrooms in the back and a living room area in the front, with the bedroom area being tapered off to feel cozier, while the living room is taller.
As expected, the blackout coating in both bedroom areas effectively blocks sun rays. The UV guarding canvas keeps the interior of the tent cooler at the same time. Breathable polyester material provides additional airflow when the tent is closed up.
This tent excels in its durability, with a water resistance rating of 4,500mm and fiberglass poles that provide a sturdy structure. If you need to let in light or air inside, there are four windows, two on each section of the tent.
The only downside of this tent is how heavy it is. It weighs 16,8 kilograms (37 pounds), so it definitely isn’t suited for backpacking.
7. Coleman Dome Tent For Camping
Specifications
- Blocks 90% of daylight
- Strong frame can withstand winds up to 35mph
- Suitable for 4 people
- Features additional rainfly
The last tent on our best blackout tent list is yet another one from Coleman. This one comes in 4 or 6-person variants, and it’s an excellent tent for couples or family. We recommend the variant with an additional screen room, which is fully enclosed and can fit two camping chairs for you to relax on.
Coleman Dome Tent comes with the Dark Room Technology that honestly doesn’t block 90% of sunlight as advertised. It is darker than your usual tent and will block out the annoying morning sun to provide you a few more hours of morning sleep, but it isn’t the most proper blackout tent out there. Its heat reduction isn’t the finest, but you won’t feel like you’re in a sauna in most cases.
Still, the blackout material will provide tons of privacy, as even lights from inside won’t be seen outside. Other features include the WeatherTec technology, which does a decent job at giving enough water-resistance to the fray.
Stuff To Know Before Buying A Best Blackout Tent – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What are the benefits of blackout tents?
Light brings two main problems to tents – heat and overexposure to sunlight. Many tents are built in a way that they heat up when under direct exposure to light. Also, a lot of people are light-sensitive and find it hard to sleep under the sunlight.
Blackout tents essentially fix these two problems as their fabric will keep the sunlight and the heat out.
2. How do the blackout tents work?
Basically, they use dual-layer fabric with higher than average UV protection. Hence, they will block the UV rays and reduce exposure to sun rays. The interior of the tent will be dark, hence the naming of this tent category.
3. Can I expect the light-proof property to fade away over time?
It depends on the type of fabric, with the emphasis put on the UV rating. The rule of the thumb is that the higher the UV rating, the less likely the chance of light-proof property to fade away. In most cases, you can expect that property to fade away.
Final Words
If you want a better quality of sleep in your tent, make sure to give blackout tents a try! They are usually well-crafted, with high durability in mind. Not to mention how they can be cool, especially during the summer.
With blackout tents, you are essentially looking at epic summer tents, but there are also 4-season tents in this range!
Even though it may be harder to find a true backpacking tent in this category, you should definitely look up blackout tents if you want to avoid heat from the sun and want more privacy!
