Rain can be the worst enemy of our fellow campers. Especially when it comes unexpectedly. Well, like a fellow camper, you must consider the importance of preparation. If you live in a climate where there is lots of rainfall, you might want to prepare for your lovely camping experience in the outdoors. Our guide will show you what makes the best tent for heavy rain and some tents for you to pick from!
Rain can be unpleasant, but it doesn’t have to ruin your camping experience. On the contrary, with the right tent, rain can just boost the atmosphere further! Read on further for our picks for the best tents for heavy rain, followed by a specifications guide to ease up your selection process.
1) Coleman Dome Tent With Screen Room
If looking for the absolute best tent for heavy rain, this Coleman tent is the right pick for you! It has a 6-person and 8-person variant, which means lots of space with hardcore water resistance thanks to the WeatherTec system.
Its main feature that you can see right off the bat once you pass through the easy setup is the screen room. This is essentially a vestibule minus the protection, albeit it offers ample space to enjoy the morning coffee with no insects popping in. Sadly, this part of the tent doesn’t provide the best rain protection, so prepare to see some water in this part during heavy rain.
When it comes to the inside of the tent, if heavy rain does fall down, the inverted seams from the included rainfly and the welded floor design make sure that the rain falls down around the tent, not in the tent.
When you take down the rainfly, you can see the mesh structure of the tent that provides ample ventilation for those heaty days when it’s not raining.
All in all, this is a quite balanced and surprisingly durable offering from Coleman that is entirely worth your money!
2) Core 9 Person Extended Dome Tent
Do you need a water-resistant tent with tons of space? Well, this tent will be the right fit for you, as it is large enough for three air mattresses and can provide shelter for 9 people! Its peak height is 72 inches (183 cm), enough for most individuals to comfortably stand inside the tent.
Its waterproof rating is 600mm, thanks to the 68D Polyester fabric of the tent. This Core tent comes with a removable rainfly too. You can notice the inverted seams in the rain fly that help with keeping the water away. Make sure that you check the quality of the seams, as some users reported faults in that. Still, customer service will be happy to help you in such a case.
Once you remove the rainfly, you will notice the fully breathable mesh structure. When it’s not raining, it’s incredible for stargazing too!
The tent is relatively easy to set up in a few minutes. It includes fiberglass poles that are honestly not that great during windy weather. You should also change the stakes as soon as possible as they won’t be good enough to hold the rain fly down.
Other features include the electric cord port, storage pockets, and a lantern hook.
All in all, this is one of those waterproof tents that are amazing for a group camping trip. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely a bargain!
3) MOON LENCE Camping Tent
This outing from MOON LENCE is certainly the best tent for heavy rain if you are a backpacker, as it packs lights and packs quite a punch against the elements. First of all, you can choose between 2, 4, and 6-person tent variants, but all of them have one thing in common – not too much space. Well, it’s an ultralight tent, after all. Certainly don’t expect to stand tall inside this tent.
When pitching this freestanding tent, you shouldn’t have too many problems connecting the 3 shock-corded fiberglass poles. The poles are not too durable, but that is understandable considering the low price of this tent for heavy rain.
The tent features a large door, a floor vent, and a large window, which all contribute to very suitable ventilation.
Put on the 190T Polyester rainfly with a 1000mm water-resistance rating, and the double layer tent turns into a proper rain shelter.
While it certainly isn’t the largest tent out of our picks, the balance between the price, comfort, and durability it offers to its users is definitely worthwhile. If you are on a budget, few tents for heavy rain come close to the MOON LENCE camping tent!
4) Ayamaya Pop Up Tent
Well, here’s a pleasant surprise of a water-resistant tent! It’s an instant pop-up tent, which means that you can pop it out of its bag, and it’s practically pitched! All you need to do is set up the pegs for extra stability, and you’re good to go.
But the surprises don’t end at the beginning. This tent is great for those campers who are always on the go. It provides space for up to 6 people. To further increase the interior space, there is a vestibule included for the protection of your gear. There are also storage pockets inside and a lantern hook to keep the light on during the evenings.
What about the heavy rain protection? Well, this tent features an Oxford fabric floor with a 4000mm water resistance rating. The tent fabric is made of Polyester with PU coating with a 3000mm water resistance rating. It will certainly protect you from various hazardous weather conditions.
It’s a double-layered tent, which doesn’t help with its ventilation too much. There is only one door, side mesh windows, and a roof vent. Still, this system won’t prevent condensation, so you might need to leave the door open for optimal ventilation.
Also, placing this pop-up tent back in its bag is quite tricky at first, so there is a learning curve for you over here too.
Nevertheless, this is a contender for the best tent for heavy rain due to its convenience, water-resistance, and affordability.
5) Naturehike Cloud-Up Tent
If you are looking for an ultralight, 1, 2, or 3-person tent for backpacking that happens to have exceptional water resistance, then this outing for Naturehike is a great pick!
This tent is a great fit for harsh weather conditions, as it can withstand torrential downpours and 40 mph gusts of wind. It features a double-layered construction that further increases the water and wind resistance.
The included rainfly is made of 210T Polyester with PU coating of 3000mm water-resistance rating. Also, a footprint is included, with the tent flooring being made of the same material as the rain fly. The seams of the rain fly are sealed so that no excess rain comes to the interior.
Make sure to dry out the tent after continual exposure to rain so that the floor doesn’t get damp.
When it comes to ventilation, this tent tends to condense because of inadequate ventilation. Basically, the door and the little window on the opposite side of the door serve as ventilation. Well, during sunny days, it will be suitable, but your tent might condense when it rains, especially if the temperature gets low.
Nevertheless, this highly portable tent is our recommendation due to its balance between extra-low price and excellent resistance against the elements.
A User-Friendly Guide For The Best Tent For Heavy Rain – Buyer’s Guide
Now that you saw our picks for the best tent for heavy rain, what features make that kind of tent? Well, read on further, and your confusion when you come into your favorite camping store will suddenly go away!
Materials
Of course, the primary purpose of the water-resistant tent is to actually keep you safe from rain, and that’s where the materials of the tent come into the equation. Most tents today are made out of Polyester, which isn’t water-resistant by itself. But, most manufacturers put on Polyurethane (PU) coating to increase the water-resistance of the tent.
Make sure to look into the water-resistance rating that is measured in mm. Anything above 1000mm should be suitable for camping out in the rain.
A rarity these days are canvas fabric tents that are much higher in quality. With higher quality comes more busywork, as you will need to dry it out a few times after rainfall to avoid moisture. Nevertheless, with proper care, canvas fabric tents can be highly water-resistant and durable.
Rain Fly
Most tents for heavy rain will come with an included full-coverage rain fly. The rainfly is an essential component that further increases the overall rain protection of the tent.
Rainfly is also nice to have as it offers some dose of versatility to the tent. If you need privacy or protection against the elements, you can leave it on. On the other hand, if it’s a clear day or you perhaps want to gaze at the stars, you can take it off.
Ideally, you want to cover all the windows and other mesh parts of your tent with the rain fly. Ensure a small gap between the tent fabric and the rain fly to prevent air condensation.
Ventilation
Of course, when it’s pouring heavy out there, your instinct will tell you to block out all the vents so that the rain won’t come in your tent. That isn’t necessarily a good thing for ventilation, as that will block out air circulation. Blocking out air circulation can produce air condensation inside your tent, and you certainly don’t want that hassle in your life.
Make sure to look into the tents that provide additional ventilation mechanisms to prevent air condensation from happening. Some do have built-in vents in the rainfly and other similar creative solutions.
Walls
You can find water-resistant tents with single and double walls, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
Single-wall tents feature a single layer of breathable and water-resistant fabric. Double-wall tents feature an additional outer layer that provides extra water-resistance. They are more common due to the delightful combination: the inner layer provides air circulation, while the outer layer provides rain protection.
Seasonality
Keep this feature in mind as it will significantly determine the weather protection qualities of your tent. For example, 2-season tents are perfect for sunny summer weather, with high UV protection of the fabric and ample ventilation. These tents are not that great at protecting you against rain, as they usually are of fully mesh structure, with a rainfly that has no full coverage.
3-season and 4-season tents are better equipped, sturdier materials and canvas as well as superior rain protection. They have less mesh, and the ventilation is kinda half-baked with most of them, but at least you will be protected against heavy rain. These tents can be a perfect choice for winter camping.
Footprint & Seams
The tent footprint will add better protection for your floor so that it doesn’t quickly get wet. You will need to separately buy it in most cases, but it won’t cost you more than $25. Some tents come with included footprints, which is a great bonus.
The seams of the tent must be sealed so that they cannot form leaks in your tent. Carefully observe that when you take a tent out of its bag for the first time, as you want to return a faulty tent as soon as possible!
Final Verdict
Well, finding the best tent for heavy rain wasn’t an easy task. Hopefully, we’ve helped you with this task with our guide, where we showed you our picks for the best tents for heavy rain, along with a buyer’s guide to make you less confused.
With that cleared up, we wish you a safe and pleasurable camping experience! Even the rain won’t stop you now!
