The Best Hunting Tents of 2025

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Why You Should Trust Us

We spend a ton of time in the field hunting in various conditions, terrains, and locations. From sweltering heat to sub-zero chill, we’ve hunted through it all. One thing that can make or break a hunt is a bad camp setup.

Our tents are our reprieve from the elements. They give us shelter after being exposed during long hunts, and for the most part, we carry them and their parts on our backs. We’ve learned what matters most and what can be left behind.

We know the value of a strong canvas tent and stove when the temps dip. The lightweight nature of the best backpacking tents versus the protection they offer is at the forefront of our minds.

Rain. Snow. Wind. Heat. Cold.

We’ve been there and done that. We’ve slept in tents through it all.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Hunting Tent

Selecting the perfect hunting tent for your style of hunting can be tough. What works best for an early-season backcountry archery hunt certainly won’t be the best bet for a late-season deer hunt with a group of friends.

There are pros and cons to every tent out there, and this section is here to help you make the most informed decision possible.

Types of Tents

For regular fair-weather camping enthusiasts, a tent is a tent. Sure, there are differences in size and packability, but for the most part it’s pretty easy to select a perfect tent for fun, summertime outings.

Hunting is a different story, though. Fall and winter conditions demand more from a tent. Sometimes you’ll be backpacking in, with a plan to hike out with a pack full of meat. Other times, you’ll be crashing by the truck in frigid November temperatures. There is a litany of types of tents for hunters, and you’ll need to narrow down your options based on the hunting you do.

Backcountry Tents and Standard Tents

These are the tents you think of in the traditional sense of the word tent. A standard tent is a solid do it all option, providing good protection from the elements, and smaller options like the Kelty Discovery Trail offer a decent solution for backpack hunters. Larger options are great for car campers who want a little extra space.

One of the best tents in this category, the Stone Glacier Skyscraper 2P can be used as a standard tent, or can be whittled away into an ultralight backcountry option. With just the rainfly, tub footprint, poles, and a trekking pole, you can save some weight, and have decent shelter for most early season weather.

In the world of hunting tents, a standard tent is likely to be one of the more affordable options and, for many, will offer everything they need. There aren’t any heating options in these tents, though, so be sure to pair it with a solid sleeping bag.

Wall Tents

If you’re camping next to the truck and want the maximum amount of comfort, a wall tent like the White Duck Regatta Bell Tent is the bees’ knees. Wall tents are the closest thing you’ll get to a full-on camper, and they provide heated stoves and a spacious layout that provides a comfortable community space at the end of the day.

Some of the most memorable experiences from a wall tent hunt will be from hanging out with your buddies when everyone is back in camp.

Obviously, with so much space and comfort, there are drawbacks to a wall tent. First and foremost, they’re heavy, so you aren’t going to be transporting them far from your rig. And setup and tear down are a process.

Additionally, they will cost you a pretty penny. Fortunately, a good wall tent will be long-lived when maintained correctly.

Tipi Tents

Modern tipi tents have taken the hunting world by storm, and new options are seemingly popping up left and right. The reason? Tipi tents like the Seek Outside 8 Person Tipi offer many of the benefits of a wall tent, but in a much lighter, easier-to-set-up package.

Almost every tipi is stove-compatible, meaning it’ll keep you warm even in the harshest winter environments. Most brands offer them in smaller packages as well, allowing you to split the load with a buddy and pack a heated tent deep into the backcountry.

Sounds sweet, right? You probably really want one. Well, Tipi brands are aware of this, and they’re priced accordingly.

Additionally, Tipis don’t offer as much room as a wall tent, and you and your buddies won’t all be standing up inside. They’re also not as lightweight as true backcountry options, and are a bit heavy for the solo backcountry hunter. But, if you want a do-all tent that will keep you warm no matter the weather, it’s the way to go.

Choosing Between Floored and Floorless Tents

One of the most significant differences between all of the tents listed above is that some of them have floors, and some don’t. Many have the option to add on a floor.  While it may not seem like much, there are some considerable pros and cons of each route. To have a floor or not? That is the question we will explore.

Floored Tents

Floored tents are completely enclosed tents with some type of floor that separates you and your gear from the elements. These are the most popular style of tent used for hunting and just outdoor recreation in general.

Pros

The biggest benefit to having a floor in your tent is keeping what’s outside, well … outside. And more particularly, I’m talking about the creepy-crawlies. When there is a floor, you don’t have to deal with the possibility of a mouse or spider scurrying across your face.

Not having to deal with those little buggers is not only less of a hassle overall, but it leads to better sleep. Our tents need to be the place where we reset and recharge. It’s hard to do that with a pesky critter keeping you up.

Along with that, a floor gives a person a dry place to set things down in the tent. Things like extra clothing, electronics, etc. That luxury doens’t exist in a floorless tent when rain and snow are present.

Cons

While having a floor is nice and all, it isn’t all peaches and cream. For one, having a floor often eliminates the ability to utilize a wood-burning stove. The floor can be a fire hazard, and while wood-burning stoves provide a nice warm and fuzzy feeling, the possibility of your “home” going up in flames while you sleep is a different game.

Another downside of a floor is that whatever you bring into the tent on your boots generally stays in the tent. Be it rocks, sticks, mud, etc. — it makes for a mess if you’re not conscious of your footwear. And if you’ve got wet clothes, guess what? Yeah, that water is coming inside with you.

Lastly, this is more for backpack hunting, but a floor is more weight. There is a reason that quite a few backpack hunters prefer a floorless shelter, and this is one of the big ones. Less weight in the pack means less stress on your body.

Floorless Tents

Floored tents might be the most common tent used throughout the outdoor/hunting community, but floorless tents have been at this game for much longer. Be it Native American tipi-style shelters or just the classic lean-to shelter made out of logs and sticks, floorless tents are the original hunting tents.

Pros

There is way more living area in these floorless tents than tents with a floor have, especially when taking the weight into consideration. Two-person floorless tents seem to actually be two-person tents. With a floored tent, a two-person tent really means one person, comfortably. It’s a tight squeeze for anything more.

Believe it or not, sleeping in the dirt within the walls of a floorless tent is also less messy. There isn’t a tent floor to get dirty, and the ground is simply the ground. Fewer worries about mold, mildew, and just general filth: no post-hunt hose-off required. 

Floorless tents offer yet another convenience, and that is being able to cook inside your tent. (Be bear aware!). Whether on a wood-burning stove or just a backpacking stove, there is no floor creating a fire hazard. So, when the alarm sounds in the morning, just roll over, fire up the stove, and get the coffee going.

(We don’t recommend cooking inside your tent in high-density bear areas. Eat away from your tent and keep your food in a secure place, whether that’s in a tree or in your vehicle.)

Cons

When we take away the floor, we open up the door to potential visitors. Things like mice, spiders, and whatever else is lurking about can freely move right into your humble abode. When temperatures drop, this doesn’t seem to be as big of an issue.

If you’ve done a little window shopping, you may have noticed that floorless tents are more expensive than tents with floors. So, there aren’t as many budget options to get into the floorless game as there are in the floored one. This limits folks from living the floorless life altogether.

Floorless tents usually have a way bigger footprint than floored tents. There are floored tents the size of a deer bed, meaning finding a spot to set one up is much easier. Floorless tents, however, require some more real estate. In really steep country, this could pose a problem.

Price and Value

Collectively, our team has slept in everything from a cheap twenty-dollar tent from Walmart to some of the most expensive temporary structures available. You can get by with just about anything, but there are definite improvements to be found in different price points.

Budget

Budget tents range in price from $20-$120, and there are significant differences within that price range. With a budget tent, you’re going to be limited to non-stove compatible, standard tents.

The cheapest tents may claim waterproofness, but generally are not and often suffer from condensation problems inside. They’re also going to be heavier than a more expensive option with the same footprint. Those ultra-cheap tents won’t stand up to the test of time, and you may find yourself with broken poles or torn fabric in short order.

Some of the best budget tents, like the Kelty Discovery Trail, while in the upper tier of budget tents, will keep out the elements and be very durable. While heavier than more expensive tents, it’s still lightweight enough for a backpack hunt.

Mid Tier

When you jump into the $200-$600 price point, you’ll start to find a much larger selection of quality products. You can get some of the best lightweight backcountry tents, and even small wall tents, like the four-person White Duck Regatta Bell Tent.

Spending this kind of money will get you either one of the most feature rich standard tents, or a smaller version of many of the stove compatible tents on this list.

Premium

If you have $700-$4,000 to spend on a tent, your options are limitless. In this price category, there are monster wall tents, large tipi tents, and four-season standard tents that are built for mountaineers.

Frequently Asked Questions