What makes a good hunting tent? That depends. Selecting the best hunting tent comes down to lots of factors and features. For starters, it may come down to what kind of game you’re after, how long your trip is, and how comfortable you want to be. But, if you need help selecting the best hunting tent for you, we have must-knows and a few thoughts on the matter.

Here’s how to choose the best hunting tent for your hunting trips.

Hunting Tent Features You Need to Consider

But when it comes to choosing the best hunting tent, there are several features you need to be aware of. Let’s dive in.

Tent Sizes and Capacity Ratings

The size of the hunting tent plays a major role in your decision. And this typically comes down to how many people are in your hunting party or who is staying with you. If you’re bringing your buddies or family along, you’ll obviously need a more spacious interior.

All tents offer a capacity rating, which lists how many people it will sleep. However, that number is often a stretch, and in reality means everyone will feel rather crammed. Instead, for some breathing room, aim for a tent capacity rating a few people larger than is coming along for the trip.

Here’s a more realistic idea of a tent’s capacity:

Two-person tents | Ideal for a solo hunter
Four-person tents | Great for hunting with a friend or sharing with spouse
Six-person tent | Large group hunting excursions of 4 people

Remember: The capacity rating does not account for all the hunting gear, cots, kitchen equipment, and other accessories like a stove you may want inside a tent. So always consider how much room you realistically need.

Season Ratings & Weather Resistance Features

Aside from a hunting tent’s capacity, it should offer multiple features designed to withstand the elements. Setting up your wall tent in the backcountry means it will be your shelter for quite some time – and you need it to protect you!

Let’s explore features such as season ratings and other weather-resistance features like waterproofing treatments, material breathability and ventilation, as well as the structural integrity of a hunting tent’s frame.

Season Ratings

Along with capacity ratings, all tents have season ratings to indicate how well they stand up to each season’s weather conditions. With a few extreme exceptions, most hunters choose a 3-season or 4-season tent. Consider what hunting season you spend the most time in.

Here’s what you can expect from each:

3-season tents | Designed for spring, summer, and fall weather conditions with milder temps and average winds
4-season tents | All-weather tents designed for hunting in winters where high winds, freezing temperatures, and heavy snow are a factor. But these tents will not be guaranteed to withstand a heavy load of snow.

Weather Resistance

A waterproof or water-resistant treatment is critical for hunting tents. The last thing you need in the wilderness is a leaky shelter. For canvas tents, look for mold-resistant features too.

Breathability & Ventilation

Ventilation comes in the form of mesh windows and similar materials, which help prevent condensation that causes mold and mildew. Condensation can occur in any season, often due to wet items (or even your own breath) building up inside the walls of a tent.

At minimum, select a hunting tent designed with zippered windows and entryways that can roll back, preferably with mesh screen panels.

Many experienced hunters also choose canvas hunting tents, as they offer the best ventilation and breathability performance, thanks to the material’s natural cotton fibers.

Hunting Tent Materials

As mentioned, a hunting tent’s material plays a part in ventilation and breathability. But it also contributes to other features like the tent’s weight and stability. More importantly, the materials of a hunting tent should be sturdy and robust, keeping you protected in inclement weather and storms.

Canvas vs. Nylon

Nylon tents are lighter to carry, however canvas is much more breathable. There are also different types of canvas, and not all are made the same. A simple canvas will not hold up to the elements, at least not for long. Instead, seek a more durable, heavy-duty canvas.

We’d like to point out that Beckel tents are made with 10.1 oz. Sunforger® cotton canvas with aqua-marine finish.

And, of course, you need to consider whether you want more of a camouflaged color. Nylon tents often offer brighter color choices, whereas canvas tends to be neutral colors like a natural tan or green, making your basecamp far less conspicuous.

Tent Frames

Larger hunting tents, such as wall tents, require a sturdy rafter frame often made up of poles (steel, aluminum or wood, your choice) supported by angle kit pieces. Most wall tent users have the poles cut to size at home, but you could lighten the load by using timber at the campsite (and good carpentry skills).

Smaller tents will require fewer poles. However, a heavier canvas material requires extra stability.

Of course, sturdier tents and heavier materials add weight to your tent. It’s up to you to decide how heavy you want to go, but the comfort to weight ratio is a trade-off.

Extra Hunting Tent Features to Consider

Floor Covering

You don’t need flooring inside a hunting tent, but it’s worth considering. Wall tents don’t have flooring, usually just a sewn-in sod cloth along the edge, but you can still add a detached/loose-style flooring to add extra insulation, protect against cold ground, and shield you from any rain runoff. It also makes it easier to clean mud and snow and pack up. Theirs lots of tent flooring types and ideas to choose from!

Wood Stove Jacks

A stove jack allows you to extend the stove pipe safely outside. And a wood stove is simply a nice thing to add to an outfitter hunting tent. Not only will a wood stove keep you warm after a long hunting day, but you can use it to cook food, boil water, and even dry out garments.

The Best Hunting Tent Styles

So what is the best hunting tent? The answer, folks, is pretty subjective. It depends on your needs and what kind of hunting you do. But let’s break down some options you should consider.

Wall Tents

Wall tents are spacious and durable, making them especially ideal for more semi-permanent hunting structures. The frame structure of wall tents is hard to beat, given the rafters are spaced 3-5ft apart to help them survive snow loads during cold weather hunting. Add a wood stove to keep warm at night and hang baselayers and outerwear near so they dry by morning.

A wall tent’s size also makes them perfect hunting tents for larger hunting excursions and multiple hunters, leaving plenty of space for gear too. But the size and sturdiness mean they must be packed in by horse, ATV, or vehicle.

Pyramid Tents

If you don’t want a huge wall tent, pyramid tents are a nice alternative. Beckel offers two pyramid style hunting tents: The Miner and TT. Here’s a glimpse of each kind of style.

The Miner

Once used by Klondikers and 49ers, the pyramid style Miner tent is still used today by river runners, outfitters, and hunters. A super-straightforward tent to pitch, using only 2 poles, the Miner is stable in high winds and makes an super easy setup for solo hunters.

The Miner comes in two sizes. The 9x9 footprint (20 lb.) sleeps 1 hunter, or a hunter and hound, along with gear. The 12x12 (25 lbs.) sleeps 2-3 cots and gear. To add warmth with this tent, bring along a propane heater.

Explore more details of the Miner tent options here.

The TT Tent

TT tent packs light and is made of two high-performance materials. Walls are made of PolyTex fabric (Tex-Tex®), a coated polyester designed for light-weight and compatibility, while the roof is Sunforger® Cotton Canvas for maximum durability and breathability. Between the four diamond sides are three screened meshes with polyester no-see-um mesh for ventilation during summers, and a fourth side that offers a stove pipe hole for colder hunting trips.

Explore more TT Tent details here.

Backpacking & Packing Tents

Need something lighter? Let’s say you are packing mules or hiking into hunting grounds. For a lighter alternative, there are backpacking tents. These are ideal for run-and-gun hunting or backcountry trips that force you to follow game on foot for miles into the woods. Still, each hunter should bring their own.

However, keep in mind most backpacking tents are nylon, which is fine for quick hunting trips in warmer climates. But if you need something more rigid and sturdy, Beckel has a great solution.

The Whelen Lean-To Tent

While we might be biased, we highly recommend a canvas material for this style tent, especially since one side is open to the elements. While it lacks a stove jack, you face the opening into bonfires, catching the heat. And cotton simply does a much better job at this.

Our best tent option for the solo hunter on the prowl is the Lean-To Tent. While horses and mules could carry in the Miner, TT Pyramid, or even a wall tent (granted, you use timber poles created at the site), this is the lightest, most durable canvas tent you will find available. Pairing this shelter with our bedroll can make for the perfect solution.

The shelter weighs 10 lbs. And if you know your bushcraft, setting it up is a breeze. All you need is a line of strong rope to create the ridge, two trees to tie it off, and two sticks to prop up the canvas. Made for the minimalist hunter, this camping shelter will keep you warm and protect you from the elements fairly well. Simple, yet efficient!

See more details on the Whelen Lean-To here.

Final Thoughts

Selecting your ideal hunting tent comes down to specific hunting styles, your hunting party’s size, and even some preferred creature comforts. But your main objective is to understand the climate in which you do most of your hunting to choose proper season ratings, find an appropriately sound and sturdy frame and materials, and finally, consider the weight you’ll be carrying and your mode of transport.

Whether you plan to create an all-season basecamp for a yearly hunting trip or plan a miles-long trek into the backcountry, take your time to consider your hunting tent. The hunting tent you select is an investment. An investment that should be dependable, reliable, and protect you as in the wilderness.

Selecting the Best Hunting Tent (For You)