Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch is a 3-season tent that includes a screened porch for enjoying the outdoors without worrying about insects.
A Screened Room Tent is a tent with an exterior room that’s not as protected from the elements as the primary tent. The screened room is constructed from no-see-um mesh doorways, side panels, and ceiling. The objective of a screened room is to provide easy viewing of the outdoors from the vantage point of a bug-protected zone.
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Screened Room tents are primarily designed for warm and dry weather use. The vast majority of screened room tents offer some wet weather protection, but not a lot. Stick to warm and dry!
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At a Glance: Best Screen Room Tents
There’s a bevy of options when selecting a tent with a screened room, and sorting through the data is time-consuming. We’ve compiled a Best Tents with a Screen Room List to save you the headache.
- Best Family Tent: Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent, with Screen Room
- Best Space per Person Tent: Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch
- Best Cabin Style Tent: Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch
- Best Mid-Sized Tent: Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent
- Best Stargazing Tent: Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent
- Best Ventilation Tent: Core 11-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room
- Best Large Tent: Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping
- Best Easy Setup Tent: Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room
- Best Weather Resistant Tent: Gazelle Tents T8 Hub Tent
- Best Vertical Wall Tent: CORE 6 Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent
- Best Shelter: Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bug Out Tent
- Best Low Profile Tent: Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room
- Best Tunnel Tent: PORTAL 8-Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch
- Best Durability Tent: Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + SR
- Best Instant Tent: Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room
- Best Tall Tent: Coleman Camping Tent | Skylodge 12-Person Tent | Screen Room, Evergreen
- Best Budget Tent: Pacific Pass 6-Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room
- Best “I’m Not Sure About This” Camping Tent: Outbound 8-Person Dome
Comparison table: Best Screen Room Tents
| Model | Specs | Where To Buy |
 Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent, with Screen Room | Tent Dimensions: 12′ x 24′ 6″ Peak Height: 84″ Screened room: 61 ft² Weight: 60.2 lb | Walmart |
 Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch | Tent Dimensions: 13′ x 10′ Peak Height: 76″ Screened room: app. 30ft² Weight: 27.3 lbs | Amazon |
 Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch | Tent Dimensions: 11′ x 12′ Peak Height: 84″ Screened room: app. 33 ft² Weight: 45.9 lb | Walmart |
 Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent | Tent Dimensions: 11′ x 9′ Peak Height: 80″ Screened room: app. 54ft² Weight: 34.1 lbs | Amazon |
 Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent | Tent Dimensions: 11′ x 9′ Peak Height: 78″ Screened room: app. 60ft² Weight: 27.9 lbs | Amazon |
 Core 11-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room | Tent Dimensions: 17′ x 12′ Peak Height: 84″ Screened room: app. 59.5 ft² Weight: 36.2 lb | Amazon |
 Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping | Tent Dimensions: 16’6″ x 13′ Peak Height: 84″ Screened room: app. 81ft² Weight: 44.9 lbs | Walmart |
 Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room | Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 13’6″ Peak Height: 84″ Screened room: app. 67.5 ft² Weight: 30.8 lbs | Walmart |
 Gazelle Tents, T8 Hub Tent | Tent Dimensions: 6’6″ x 14′ Peak Height: 78″ Screened room: app. 45.5ft² Weight: 61 lbs | Amazon |
 CORE 6 Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent | Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 9′ Peak Height: 76″ Screened room: app. 50ft² Weight: 24 lbs | Amazon |
 Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bug Out Tent | Shelter Dimensions: 12′ x 12′ Peak Height: 76″ Screened room: app. 144ft² Weight: 6.1 lbs | Amazon |
 Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room | Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 9′ Peak Height: 68″ Screened room: app. 40ft² Weight: 20.9 lbs | Amazon |
 PORTAL 8-Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch | Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 8′ Peak Height: 76″ Screened room: app. 48ft² Weight: 20.9 lbs | Amazon |
 Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + SR | Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 8′ Peak Height: 90″ Screened room: app. 80ft² Weight: 39.5 lbs | Amazon |
 Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room | Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 10′ Peak Height: 84″ Screened room: app. 63 ft² Weight: 41 lbs | Amazon |
 Coleman Camping Tent | Skylodge 12-Person Tent | Screen Room, Evergreen | Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 10′ Peak Height: 88″ Screened room: app. 50 ft² Weight: 41 lbs | Amazon |
 Pacific Pass 6-Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room | Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 10′ Peak Height: 69″ Screened room: app. 32.7ft² Weight: 16.5 lbs | Amazon |
 Outbound 8-Person Dome | Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 8′ Peak Height: 76″ Screened room: app. 27.5 ft² Weight: 15.7 lbs | Amazon |
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Best Screen Room Tent Reviews
Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent, with Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 12′ x 24′ 6″ (366 x 747 cm)
Peak Height: 84″ (213 cm)
Screened room: 61 ft² (5.7 m²)
External Doors: 5
Weight: 60.2 lbs (27.3 kg)
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20 Person with Screen Room is our choice for Best Family Tent with a Screen Room and is a two-season car camping tent. With five separate entrances and the internal capacity for a small village, this tent prepares you for a long warm weather weekend getaway with friends and family.
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek, 20 Person with Screen Room’s main body and rainfly, is constructed from 185T Polyester treated with 1200mm of polyurethane. The 1200mm hydrostatic head (hh) water resistance rating directly correlates with how dry you, and your gear, will remain inside the tent.
Five separate entrances and room dividers allow campers as much or as little privacy as they choose.
Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch
Tent Dimensions: 13′ x 10′ (396 x 305 cm)
Peak Height: 76″ (193 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 30ft² (2.8 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 27.3 lbs (12.38 kg)
The Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch is our choice for Most Space per person in a Tent with a Screen room and is a tunnel tent targeted for fair-weather car camping adventures.
The tent’s tunnel arch support construction, combined with a hydrostatic head value of 450mm, leaves us recommending that this is a good screened porch tent option for summer but not an ideal choice for shoulder season camping in windy or rainy conditions.
The screened porch has a polyurethane floor membrane, but a mesh strip runs horizontally across the floor in front of the tent. This design allows moisture (wet feet, wet gear, etc.) to drain out of the screened room and not into the tent. The mesh strip will allow water to seep into the tent. Sleepers beware!
Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch
Tent Dimensions: 11′ x 12′ (335 x 366 cm)
Peak Height: 84″ (213 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 33 ft² (3.1 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 45.9 lbs (20.8 kg)
The Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch is our choice for the Best Cabin tent with a Screen room. It’s a cabin-style car camping tent that’s designed for budget-minded, warm-weather adventures.
The screened porch is covered with a screened roof and a rainfly but doesn’t have a floor. This is an excellent opportunity to bring your lawn chairs and enjoy wildlife and nighttime stargazing in bug-free comfort.
We recommend sealing seams with waterproofing and bringing a tarp to lay over the tent’s roof in rainy conditions. Bring an extra tarp if you plan to cowboy camp in the screened porch area.
Hanging mesh bins and a corner shelf provide multiple options for gear storage.
Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent
Tent Dimensions: 11′ x 9′ (335 x 274 cm)
Peak Height: 80″ (203 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 54ft² (5m²)
External Doors: 2
Weight: 34.1 lbs (15.5 kg)
The Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent is our choice for Best Mid-sized Tent with a Screen room. It’s summertime, warm weather, car camping tent that is a combination tunnel and cabin-style tent. While it is an entry-level tent, it has a lot to offer.
A side entry door and a Screen Room entrance provide multiple entries into the tent’s interior. An overhead-mounted ceiling LED with a wall switch allows you to choose between three different light intensities. (Remember to bring six “D” batteries or one CPX 6 cartridge.)
The Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent isn’t the tent to take out on a wet (rain or snow) and windy weekend. In combination with lightweight rain fly resistance, the tunnel tent construction may leave you soggy and re-evaluating your tent choice.
Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent
Tent Dimensions: 11′ x 9′ (335 x 274 cm)
Peak Height: 78″ (198 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 60ft² (5.6m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 27.9 lbs (12.7 kg)
The Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent is our choice for Best Stargazing in a Tent with a Screen room. It’s a dome style, family-sized car camping tent. An excellent price point is guaranteed to entice, and the quality of the tent is bound to keep a smile on your face.
The Wenzel Klondike is separated into the main sleeping compartment and a screened room. It’s a tent for couples or families with one or two children.
The Screen Room has a floor, so it’s possible to use the screened room as a separate sleeping compartment when the weather is agreeable. The mesh-screened room has ample space for furniture, gear storage, or sleeping if cooperative weather permits.
The lower price point equates to 600mm of hydrostatic head water resistance. We recommend the application of both a seam sealant and rainfly fabric protection.
Core 11-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 17′ x 12′ (518 x 366 cm)
Peak Height: 84″ (218 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 59.5 ft² (5.5 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 36.2 lbs (16.4 kg)
The Core 11-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room is our choice for Best Ventilation in a Tent with a Screen Room. It’s a combination of a cabin and dome tent that’s geared toward summer and shoulder season family camping. The sheer walls from the cabin tent construction and the high arched ceiling from a dome tent combine seamlessly into a tent that assembles quickly.
The hydrostatic head water resistance rating of 800 mm provides slightly higher water resistance than other similarly priced entry-level tents. It’s a good tent for a dry-weather adventure but not necessarily the tent you want to take out when it’s raining.
The mesh screened porch is large enough to handle lawn chairs during the day and sleeping bags at night. The mesh side panels will render the screened porch a less-than-optimal sleeping zone if it’s raining.
Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping
Tent Dimensions: 16’6″ x 13′ (503 x 396 cm)
Peak Height: 84″ (213 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 81ft² (7.5 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 44.9 lbs (20.4 kg)
The Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping is our choice for Best Large tent in a Tent with a Screen room. The Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent is a bonafide dry weather, car camping, family tent. Bring your family, bring your friends, or bring your furniture because this tent is spacious. A cabin-style tent with a large screened room and gigantic panel windows, there’s a lot to appreciate in this budget-friendly tent.
There are two closets located in the main sleeping area. Each closet is a good candidate for hanging clothing and dry gear storage. Remember to attach the guylines!
A room divider separates the screened room from the primary sleeping zone. You can easily fit three campers in the screened room and six campers into the primary sleeping room.
A water resistance value of 600mm is a good indicator that this is an ideal tent for dry weather camping, but not necessarily wet weather camping. If you want to be prepared for wet weather “just in case,” we recommend bringing along a few tarps that can be draped over the tent if needed.
Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 13’6″ (427 x 411 cm)
Peak Height: 84″ (213 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 67.5 ft² (6.3 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 30.8 lbs (14 kg)
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room is our choice for Best Set Up in a Tent with a Screen room. It’s a two-room, instant family car camping tent. This tent is best suited for a small family of three or four or a group of friends. The entry-level price point is a persuasive factor to keep in mind when evaluating these tent attributes.
It’s hard not to really like an instant camping tent. A few quick extensions of the pre-attached tent poles, and you’re completely done with the setup. We like it!
The screened porch doesn’t have a floor, which allows you to place lawn furniture on the ground without worrying about piercing the tent floor. The porch is primarily constructed from no-see-um mesh, which is great for wildlife viewing.
A hanging room divider allows room separation in the primary sleeping area while still allowing access to the front screened porch.
An E-Port allows for easy power access from your charging device to the tent’s interior. The hanging room divider is a great movie projection screen and doubles as a room divider.
Gazelle Tents T8 Hub Tent
Tent Dimensions: 6’6″ x 14′ (427 x 411 cm)
Peak Height: 78″ (198 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 45.5ft² (4.2 m²)
External Doors: 2
Weight: 61 lbs (27.7 kg)
The Gazelle T8 Hub Tent is our choice for Best Weather Protection in a tent with a Screen room. It’s an instant three-season pop-up tent that checks off many different tent categories. Designed as an instant tent, the T8 sets up in less than five minutes thanks to the pre-attached poles.
A detachable floor(if you choose!) allows the front half of the tent (or the rear!) to be converted into a screened porch that’s perfect for watching wildlife or nighttime stargazing. Rolling the rainfly fly back from either end of the T8 will allow one half of the tent to be weather protected and the other half of the tent to be used as a screened room.
We’d be comfortable using the T8 in rainy conditions, and it has a HydroStatic head rating of 2000mm. We wouldn’t be so comfortable in windy conditions. User reviews indicate that the side panels “pop in” in heavy winds—ditto for snowy conditions. So overall, we like the T8 as a three-season tent but go gently into the shoulder seasons.
CORE 6-Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent With Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 9′ (305 x 274 cm)
Peak Height: 76″ (193 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 50ft² (4.6 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 24 lbs (10.9 kg)
The CORE 6-Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent With Screen Room is our choice for Best Vertical Walls in a tent with a Screen room. It’s a small(er) summer car camping tent. It isn’t the tent we’d take into the backcountry for a week of camping with five fellow campers, but it is the tent we’d take to the campground for a quick weekend getaway.
The single-room tent has enough interior space to be comfortable for a family with two small children or three friends. Windows on all four sides of the tent, and a rooftop of mesh, provide plenty of ventilation. Two floor vents give a nice cross breeze.
A detachable rainfly may be removed for warm nights when you’re ready for stargazing. The rainfly is adequate for short summer rainfalls but isn’t designed for more extended, wetter periods of rain.
Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bug Out Tent
Shelter Dimensions: 12′ x 12′ (366 x 366 cm)
Peak Height: 76″ (193 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 144ft² (4.6 m²)
External Doors: 2
Weight: 6.1 lbs (2.8 kg)
If you’re anything like us, you might already own a tent. (OK, I own three or maybe four tents.) What if you already own a tent that doesn’t have a Screen Room, you want a screen tent, but you don’t want to buy a brand new tent? We’ve gotcha covered!
The Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bug Out Tent is our choice for Best Shelter. It’s a structure that you can erect right next to your tent. It provides the exact same features that a Screened Porch would provide, but it’s a separate structure.
A canopy constructed from 75D Polyurethane coated polyester provides 1500mm of water resistance. The sidewalls are made of no-see-um mesh and can be “rolled up,” and the shelter can be used as a sunshade, or the sidewalls can be “let down,” and the shelter can be used as a bug-free zone.
Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 9′ (305 x 274 cm)
Peak Height: 68″ (173 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 40ft² (3.7 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 20.9 lbs (9.5 kg)
The Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room is our choice for Best Low Profile in a tent with a Screen room. It’s a summertime car camping tent that’s designed for a small family on a tight budget.
The screened porch is large enough to provide seating room for an outdoor chair or two. The porch isn’t well protected from the elements, so you may find your gear quite wet if it’s left out on the porch overnight.
There’s plenty of ventilation to be enjoyed inside the tent; windows on three side panels, the front entrance, and the no-see-um mesh ceiling provide ample air movement opportunities.
We believe that “three is the magic number” for happy campers with the Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room; three as in, two adults and a child, or two adults and a dog. It’s a tight tent that’s an acceptable option for a camper who won’t be camping too often or a camper on a very restricted budget.
PORTAL 8-Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch
Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 8′ (427 x 244 cm)
Peak Height: 76″ (193 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 48ft² (4.5 m²)
External Doors: 2
Weight: 20.9 lbs (9.5 kg)
The PORTAL 8-Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch is our choice for the Best Tunnel tent with a Screen room. It’s a spacious, warm weather, car camping, tunnel tent. A budget-friendly option is most welcome in the screen porch tent arena.
Eight interior hanging mesh compartments and a ceiling gear loft provide ample storage.
The Screened Porch has enough room to fit three lawn chairs and a table comfortably. The Screened Porch has zippable no-see-um mesh, and an entryway to the tent is at the rear of the compartment.
The rainfly partially covers an entrance on the side of the tent. The rainfly provides enough protection for condensation to not drip directly into the tent but isn’t large enough to act as a gear vestibule.
Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 8′ (305 x 244 cm)
Peak Height: 90″ (229 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 80ft² (7.4 m²)
External Doors: 2
Weight: 39.5 lbs (17.2 kg)
The Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + Screen Room is our choice for the Best Durability in a tent with a Screen room. It’s a freestanding, mid-priced, car camping tent. (Sometimes we “fanboy” about a tent, and this is one of those times!) The Browning Big Horn 5 is a versatile cabin tent that can easily handle three-season camping without breaking a sweat.
Transitioning from an entry-level tent to a mid-level priced tent pays dividends concerning the level of moisture protection. In this case, a Hydrostatic Head (HH) level of 2000mm results in a highly water-resistant rainfly.
The floorless screened porch is the exact dimensions of the tent’s main body. Fully encapsulated by no-see-um mesh, the screened porch is large enough for outdoor furniture.
The included rain fly includes an awning that may be extended to create a covered rear vestibule and adds approximately 25ft² (2.3m²) of protected gear storage. The rain fly may be completely removed or partially removed to allow the screened room to have nighttime views of the stars.
Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 10′ (427 x 305 cm)
Peak Height: 84″ (213 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 63 ft² (5.9 m²)
External Doors: 2
Weight: 41 lbs (18.6 kg)
The Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room is our choice for Best Instant tent with a Screen room. It’s an Instant setup, car camping, warm weather, cabin tent.
A floorless, no-see-um mesh paneled, Screened Room contains two entrances into the tent. If the tent has the center divider curtain attached, each door will lead to separate semi-private ends of the tent.
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in the Screened Room and inside the tent (with a switch!) allow campers to select from three lighting modes.
| Mode | Brightness/Lumens | Runtime/Hours |
| Aber Nightlight | 35 | 250 |
| Low | 300 | 110 |
| High | 950 | 50 |
Remember to pack 4D batteries or a 5V 1A Rechargeable Power Power Pack.
Two ground-level ventilation ports, six internal windows, a no-see-um mesh ceiling, and a screened porch, provide a massive amount of ventilation. There’s so much ventilation that we think this is primarily a warm-weather tent.
We believe a good “happy campers” headcount is five or six, not ten campers. It’s a reasonably sized tent for a family of four or a small group of friends. The Screened Room is large enough for one or two cozy campers.
Coleman Camping Tent Skylodge 12 Person Tent with Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 10′ (427 x 305 cm)
Peak Height: 88″ (224 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 50 ft² (4.6 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 41 lbs (18.6 kg)
The Coleman Skylodge 12 person tent with Screen Room is our choice for the Best Tall tent with a Screen room. The Coleman Skylodge is a warm weather, car camping, cabin-style tent that’s geared towards warm weather adventures.
The Screen Room is spacious enough to allow for one or two lawn chairs and a small table on the tent floor. As an added bonus, the Screened Room has internal window covers that can be raised for weather protection or additional privacy.
A bevy of internal windows and low-level ventilation ports will keep the air flowing through the tent.
The tent’s interior is laid out as one enormous (and very tall!) room. There’s ample space for four queen-sized mattresses or enough room for seven campers. The protected Screen Room is a good option for gear storage to increase the internal camper sleeping capacity.
Pacific Pass 6 Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room
Tent Dimensions: 10′ x 10′ (305 x 305 cm)
Peak Height: 69″ (175 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 32.7ft² (3 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 16.5 lbs (7.5 kg)
The Pacific Pass 6 Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room is our choice for Best Budget-Friendly in a tent with a Screen room. The Pacific Pass has an extremely low price point, warm weather, and a family camping tent. Targeted towards campers that want to venture just a little bit further away from civilization, the lighter weight makes it ideal for a short trek into the wilderness.
A Hydrostatic Head (HH) water resistance rating of 1200mm is quite surprising on an entry-level tent! We like it! With a higher HH value, you can have confidence that the gear stored inside the tent will stay dry.
The Screened Room is large enough for a single chair for wildlife viewing.
The tent’s interior isn’t very tall, so taller campers may find themselves stooping inside the tent. Three interior windows and the primary entrance provide ample ventilation.
We believe this tent is an excellent option for someone who’s new to camping or looking for a single-use tent. The rock bottom price point will allow you to determine if camping is for you or give you weekend shelter without spending too much cash.
Outbound 8-Person Dome
Tent Dimensions: 14′ x 8′ (427 x 244 cm)
Peak Height: 76″ (193 cm)
Screened room: Approximately 27.5 ft² (3 m²)
External Doors: 1
Weight: 15.7 lbs (7.1 kg)
The Outbound 8-Person Dome tent is our choice for the Best “I’m Not Sure About This” Camping Tent. It is a one-season, warm weather, lightweight tent. While it’s listed as a “Dome” tent, it’s actually a Tunnel Tent. An extremely low price point brings affordability to a whole new level.
Listed as having an eight-person capacity, we think the Outbound 8-Person Dome is much better suited for a small group of friends or a family of four, two adults, and two children.
As with all tunnel tents, care should be shown when erecting the tent to ensure that you’re aiming the tent “into” the wind. Having said that, we’d really recommend that you not use this tent in windy conditions. It’s best suited for warm weather and dry, calm conditions.
The screened porch is large enough for several lawn chairs. The tent floor doesn’t extend into the screened porch, so if you desire a floor, be sure to pack a tarp.
Choosing a Screened Room Tent for Camping: Useful Tips
Choosing a tent may be the most significant expense you’ll encounter as you prepare to head off on a camping adventure. The items that are important to you may not be as important to me. We’ve analyzed all the tents in this post.
A tent with a Screen Room is a tent with a huge picture window to the great outdoors. Far too often, we spend too much time inside the tent lying in our sleeping bags and not connecting with nature.
There are many variations of style and size when it comes to tents with a Screen Room. There is no variation in the fundamentals, though; You’ll relax inside a no-see-um mesh-protected flying insect-free zone. You’ll be able to watch wildlife, sunsets, and stargaze.
If you’re a camper busy all day and only return to the tent to sleep at night, perhaps a tent with a screen room isn’t the right choice unless you want a large gear storage area. If you spend time at the campsite, relaxing with friends and family, or chilling with a book or some tunes, a tent with a screen room may be the perfect jam.
Partial Rainfly versus Full Rainfly
Tents with a Screen Room have a rainfly that covers the tent and the screened room. The rainfly that’s extended above the tent (generally) provides some degree of rain protection for the tent body and side panels. A rainfly that’s extended above a Screened Room provides a minimal amount of side panel rain protection.
There are no absolute rules, but an easy rule of thumb is that as the price of the tent increases, so too do the tent configurations.
For example, a tent that costs $100 is most likely constructed from the least expensive materials and contains the fewest options, like interior pockets, low levels of moisture protection, and very short rain flys.
A more costly tent, say $200, might contain many interior pockets, an extended rainfly and higher levels of moisture protection.
All of the tents in our “Best Tents with a Screen Room” roundup have a rainfly, except for the Outbound 8-Person Dome tent, which also is the least expensive tent.
Beyond having some sort of rain fly, we evaluated which tents have a full-length rain fly. A partial rainfly will protect you from rainfall landing on your head. A full rainfly will protect you from direct rainfall on your head and rain that strikes the ground and bounces into the tent.
Screened Room versus Screened Porch
The description of tents that falls into the “Screened Room” or “Screened Porch” category is somewhat contradictory in nature. The functionality of Screened Room tents is nearly universal, but tent manufacturing companies generally use the words “Screened Room” or “Screened Porch.”
- Tent with a Screen Room-A tent that has an attached Screen Room with a floor
- Tent with a Screen Porch-A tent that has an attached Screen Room without a floor
We looked for a correlation between the two different tent descriptions and found that it’s almost a 50% split between which tents are identified as a “Tent with a Screened Porch” and which are identified as a “Tent with a Screened Room.” Some tents are called “Screened Rooms” when they’re actually “Screened Porches,” and some tents are called “Screened Porches” when they’re actually “Screened Rooms!”
Back to one of our favorite questions: Why should you care? It seems like a rather dubious distinction that’s perhaps best discussed over a campfire with our beverages of choice!
You should care if you have any inkling of an expectation to sleep in the Screened Porch or the Screened Room. A floor, or lack thereof, can make a mighty big difference in your enjoyment.
Dome versus Cabin versus Tunnel tents
Which style of Screened Room tent is right for you?
Dome
A Dome tent may be the best choice to protect from wind, rain, and snow. A Dome tent low profile in the primary sleeping area will transcribe directly into the screened room, which will also have a low profile. This won’t be a screened room where you stand up to stretch out. Since the Screened Room profile follows the tent profile, the screened room won’t be particularly deep.
Cabin
A Cabin tent with tall sheer walls is guaranteed to translate to a Screen Room with high ceilings. The Screen Room profile will follow the same ridgeline as the primary tent, which equates to a very natural-looking and feeling screened room. The depth of the screen room may be pretty deep and isn’t limited by the tent’s profile.
Tunnel
A tunnel tent curved roof will translate directly into the shape of the screened room. Since tunnel tents are deep and not necessarily wide, tunnel tents Screened Rooms will most likely be very shallow in width and depth.
Screened Room Versus Large Vestibule
A Tents Screened Room’s primary purpose:
- Bug-protected outdoor viewing of your surroundings
- Gear overflow
- Potential sleeping quarters
- Generally has a floor (but not always!)
- May not have rainfly that extend to the ground
A Tents Vestibule’s primary purpose:
- Protecting gear from the elements.
- It may or may not have a floor.
- Generally, a rainfly fully encapsulates the vestibule to protect against rain and snow.
- If the vestibule is large enough, campers may reside inside it via a chair or the ground, but that’s an added bonus.
Just how many doors are on this tent?
The same wily marketing folks were working overtime when stipulating the number of doors for each tent. Many tents identified the Screen Room/Porch doors as one set of doors and the doors leading into the tent from the Screen Room/Porch as a different set of doors. The door count is accurate, but perhaps the nature of the door count isn’t so correct!
Each additional set of doors equates to an improvement in interior air ventilation. One set of doors behind another set of doors doesn’t increase airflow. We summarized the number of exterior doors in the chart above. Each doorway is a unique entrance or exit to the tent.
Space and Comfort
Determining how many campers will comfortably fit into a tent is tricky. Just as selecting a tent is highly personal, figuring out how many campers will fit into your tent is tough too!
Your space requirements may vary from mine. As a larger hiker, I prefer at least 12″ (30 cm) of unobstructed space on all four sides of my air mattress at night. I toss and turn, so the extra space around my sleeping bag gives me wiggle room. If I’m jammed up against my neighbor, they’ll be tossing and turning all night. How close are you willing to sleep next to your camping buddies?
As a rule of thumb, if you’re using furniture like queen-sized air mattresses, bunk beds, or cots, then use the actual physical dimensions of the furniture (before you leave the house!) to determine if all of your items will fit into the tent.
Repeat the same process for air mattresses and no air mattresses. Most manufacturing companies’ headcount calculations are based on your being the size of a naked mole rat!
Single Sleeper Air Mattress Sizes
| Size | Length | Width | Thickness |
| Regular | 72″ (183 cm) | 20″ (51 cm) | 3.25″ (8.25 cm) |
| Long | 78″ (198 cm) | 20″ (51 cm) | 1.75″ (4.44 cm) |
| Regular Wide | 72″ (183 cm) | 25″ (63 cm) | 3.25″ (8.25 cm) |
| Extra Wide | 78″ (198 cm) | 32″ (81 cm) | 4″ (10 cm) |
Determining how much space you and your campers need to sleep comfortably inside a tent on individual air mattresses is essential if you’re coming close to the number of campers that the tent manufacturing company indicates the tent is a “good” fit. We don’t worry about it much when the tent specification is listed for twenty campers, and we’re taking ten campers on our adventure.
Screened Room Space
The tent manufacturer’s marketing objective is to convince us to buy their products. In this case, some marketing folks have muddied the water just a bit to make their tents seem just a tiny bit bigger than they really are. That makes our challenge of deciphering the size of the Screened Room a little challenging. Here’s an example:
Separately listed rooms:
- Interior size 10′ x 10′ (305 x 305 cm)
- Screened Room size 5′ x 5′ (152 x 152 cm)
- Total tent size 15′ x 15′ (457 x 457 cm)
Combination of all rooms:
- Total tent size 15′ x 15′ (457 x 457 cm)
So, honestly, why should you care? If you’re planning to camp in cold, wet weather conditions, it may make a difference in your enjoyment. While the tent manufacturing companies don’t list how many campers can fit in the Screened Porch area, we’re all going to try to stuff a few souls out there! (You’ll love sleeping out here! You’ll be so close to nature!)
Rain Resistance
Determining in which seasons you’ll use your new tent is an important consideration when purchasing a new tent. As a backpacker, it’s often said that we pack our fears in our backpacks. The same is true for car camping. Too many fears and our backpacks, and trunks, become bogged down with too much expensive and heavy gear.
It’s easy to get hung up on the Hydrostatic Head (HH) values of millimeters of water resistance and only consider tents with high water resistance values. We agree with this thinking IF you’ll be camping in predominantly wet, rainy, windy conditions. If you plan to mainly camp in warm and dry weather, the water resistance levels of the tent aren’t quite so important.
Here’s our quick reference guide for HydroStatic Head Values
| Hydrostatic Head | Conditions | Season(s) | Description |
| ≤1000mm | Light Showers | 1 | Summer |
| 1000-2000mm | Rain Showers | 1+ | Summer + Shoulder seasons |
| 2001-3000mm | Short, Heavy Rain periods | 3 | Spring, summer and fall |
| 3001-4500mm | Summer | 3 | Spring, summer, and fall |
| ≥4501mm | Everything | 4 | All four season |
Ventilation
Tents with Screen Rooms are predominately geared to warm weather camping, and the ventilation reflects it. All the tents we’ve reviewed have a reasonable amount of ventilation through their windows, doors, and floor vents.
The superior ventilation of Screened Room tents will become a bit bothersome when cooler weather arrives. A Screened Room tent with a short(er) rainfly is best suited for warm, non-rainy conditions. Suddenly, the excellent ventilation will be great for whisking body heat out of the tent and pulling the cold air into the tent.
Screen Room tents with full-length rainfly have good ventilation and heat retention for warmer and cooler weather camping.
Durability
Defining durability is a bit of an impossible task. Many factors come into focus when we examine durability.
- Location: Rock, sand, pine needles, hard-packed brush
- Weather: Blazing sunshine, rain, wind, snow, ice
- Tent set up: Proper guyline tensions, correct staking
- Footprint: Tent floor protection
Each of these factors comes into play when considering a tent’s durability. The better we care for our tents, the longer they last. The longer our tent lasts, the more durable we believe it to be.
While we shudder to mention it, several of the tents in our Best Tents with a Screen Room look suspiciously disposable after one or two adventures. Their durability scores are deficient.
We calculated our Durability scores based on a scale of 1 to 10.
| Tent | Durability |
|---|---|
| Core 11 Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 9 |
| Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + SR | 9 |
| Gazelle Tents T8 Hub Tent | 8 |
| Coleman Camping Tent | Skylodge 12 Person Tent | Screen Room | 8 |
| Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent with Screen Room | 7 |
| Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch | 7 |
| Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch | 7 |
| Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent | 7 |
| Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping | 7 |
| Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room | 7 |
| CORE 6 Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent With Screen Room | 7 |
| Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bugout Tent | 7 |
| PORTAL 8 Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch | 7 |
| Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 7 |
| Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent | 6 |
| Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room | 6 |
| Pacific Pass 6 Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room | 5 |
| Outbound 8-Person Dome | 5 |
As camping enthusiasts with limited budgets, we meticulously prepare our tents for the camping season by applying seam sealer, waterproofing to the rainfly, and wiping away any residual gunk from the last season.
We expect higher levels of durability from our tents because we take care of our tents. Less expensive tents generally use lighter weave fabric, less robust stakes, poles, and guylines. As the quality of the tent materials increase, so does the tent’s durability if you take care of it.
We’re big fans of tent footprints. When a footprint isn’t available, we’ll use a ground tarp. There’s nothing wrong with buying a less expensive tent and tossing a tarp over the roof for a bit of extra rain protection.
Understanding that “durability” is a tricky topic, how did we calculate the durability scores? We looked for themes in field tent reports from actual campers.
- Is there one topic that comes up again and again in the complaint or comment section?
- What did users have to say about the tent’s durability?
- If you purchased a $50 tent that sleeps 50 campers, should you have any expectations of durability?
- If you purchased a $500 tent that sleeps five campers, should you have had any different expectations of durability?
Size and weight
There’s no hiding the fact that Screen Door tents are all about comfort and space. The extra space of a Screen Room comes with a price tag and a hefty weight. Screen Door tents are designed for car camping.
There’s a strong correlation between the weight of a tent and the tent’s camper capacity. (The Nemo Shelter has the lowest weight simply because it is a shelter, not a tent.)
| Tent | Weight, lbs |
|---|---|
| Gazelle Tents T8 Hub Tent | 61 |
| Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent with Screen Room | 60.2 |
| Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch | 45.86 |
| Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping | 44.95 |
| Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 41 |
| Coleman Camping Tent | Skylodge 12 Person Tent | Screen Room | 40.9 |
| Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + SR | 39.5 |
| Core 11 Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 36.24 |
| Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent | 34.1 |
| Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room | 30.8 |
| Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent | 27.9 |
| Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch | 27.3 |
| PORTAL 8 Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch | 25.8 |
| CORE 6 Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent With Screen Room | 24 |
| Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room | 20.9 |
| Pacific Pass 6 Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room | 16.5 |
| Outbound 8-Person Dome | 15.7 |
| Nemo Equipment Bugout Tent | 6.07 |
Knowing the weight of a tent may be impactful when it comes time to haul that heavy tent a little bit into the wilderness for your camping adventure. Many, but not all, campgrounds have a wheelbarrow set aside for this exact purpose. Give ‘em a call to verify before you land on their doorstep!
Ease of Setup
Tents with a Screen Room come in many different configurations. Dome, Tunnel, or Cabin. The setup of each tent will have the same level of ease, or lack thereof, of a tent without a Screen Room.
Larger capacity tents are more challenging to set up due to the increased numbers of support poles, guy lines, and stakes. Larger capacity tents may require multiple campers to help erect the tent.
Tunnel tents are not freestanding. The arch fiberglass support pole structure requires two campers, one on each side of the pole, to secure the stakes and guy lines.
| Tent | Ease of Setup |
|---|---|
| Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room | 10 |
| CORE 6 Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent With Screen Room | 10 |
| Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 10 |
| Core 11 Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 9 |
| Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + SR | 9 |
| Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch | 8 |
| Gazelle Tents T8 Hub Tent | 8 |
| Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bugout Tent | 8 |
| Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room | 8 |
| Coleman Skylodge 12 Person Tent with Screen Room | 8 |
| Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch | 7 |
| Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent | 7 |
| Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent | 7 |
| Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping | 7 |
| Pacific Pass 6 Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room | 7 |
| Outbound 8-Person Dome | 7 |
| PORTAL 8 Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch | 6 |
| Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent with Screen Room | 5 |
Overall
To calculate the Best Tents with a Screen Room Overall score, we evaluated Waterproofing, Space and Comfort, Weather Resistance, Durability, and Ease of Setup.
The performance of each tent was scored from 1 to 10 in each category.
| Tent | Overall |
|---|---|
| Gazelle Tents T8 Hub Tent | 9 |
| Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + SR | 9 |
| Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room | 8 |
| CORE 6 Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent With Screen Room | 8 |
| Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bugout Tent | 8 |
| Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 8 |
| Coleman Skylodge 12 Person Tent with Screen Room | 8 |
| Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent with Screen Room | 7 |
| Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch | 7 |
| Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch | 7 |
| Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent | 7 |
| Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent | 7 |
| Core 11 Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 7 |
| Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping | 7 |
| Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room | 7 |
| PORTAL 8 Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch | 7 |
| Pacific Pass 6 Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room | 7 |
| Outbound 8-Person Dome | 6 |
The Best Tents with a Screen Room Overall chart represents a big-picture evaluation of which tents stand out from the crowd regarding their overall performance.
Value
There’s no way to get around the fact that tents are expensive and significant cash investments. The tricky part of purchasing a tent is looking beyond the immediate purchase price and instead looking at the purchase price spread out over a few years.
Evaluating the cheapest tents and the most expensive tents is a challenge when it comes to value. We assessed the tents by predicting how many years each will last if you take care of them.
| Tent | Value |
|---|---|
| Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Camping Outdoors Family with Bonus Screen Room | 10 |
| CORE 6 Person Straight Wall Cabin Tent With Screen Room | 10 |
| PORTAL 8 Person Family Camping Tent with Screen Porch | 10 |
| Browning Camping Big Horn 5-Person + SR | 10 |
| Ozark Trail 8-Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Porch | 9 |
| Core 11 Person Family Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 9 |
| Ozark Trail 14-Person Cabin Tent for Camping | 9 |
| Gazelle Tents T8 Hub Tent | 9 |
| Coleman 6-Person Cabin Tent with Screened Porch | 8 |
| Nemo Equipment Sun-Shelters Nemo Equipment Bugout Tent | 8 |
| Coleman Dome Tent with Screen Room | 8 |
| Coleman Camping Tent | Skylodge 12 Person Tent | Screen Room | 8 |
| Wenzel Klondike 16 x 11-Foot 8-Person Screen Room Tent | 7 |
| Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent with Screen Room | 6 |
| Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent | 6 |
| Core Equipment 14′ x 10′ Lighted Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room | 6 |
| Pacific Pass 6 Person Family Dome Tent with Screen Room | 6 |
| Outbound 8-Person Dome | 6 |
Some tents, such as the Pacific Pass and Outbound, seem suspiciously close to disposable tents. They should last for one or two weekends, but we don’t think they’ll hold up for an entire season of camping.
Other tents, like the Browning Big Horn, will be around for years. The expected longevity of the tent offsets the initial upfront cost.
Advantages of Screened Room Tents
Gear storage
A great location to store gear during the night.
Bug protected zone
Enjoy the comfort of a bug-free zone as you relax and enjoy time outdoors.
Nighttime star viewing
Perfect to pop off the rainfly and gaze at the stars from the comfort of your front porch.
Leave dirty/wet gear outside the dry tent
Leave your wet gear in the Screened Room and keep the interior of the tent dry.
Good ventilation
Adds an extra roof, side panel, and entryway ventilation.
Disadvantages of Screened Room Tents
Campers may sleep on the ground in screened portion
Do you mind bugs? Cowboy camping sounds like fun until you’re face to face with a creepy crawly.
Valuable floor space may be unusable at night
Adding those extra campers to the weekend adventure sounded like fun, but now you have to navigate through them as they sleep all over your Screened Room floor. The vast majority of Screened Room tents we reviewed in our round-up have a single entry/exit.
May not have a side panel rain protection
If it’s raining, the rainwater will most likely bounce off the ground and find its way into the tent. Some Screened Room Tents do have full-length coverage rain flys.
Lack of wind resistance
You’re planning to buy a big tent with a screen room because you want room, right? Well, most big tents with a screen room are tall and chunky. Perfect configuration for the wind to really bite into and leave you with an unpleasant adventure to remember.
Choosing a Screened Room for Camping: Things to Consider
Purpose
Do you want a Screen Room Tent for gear storage or visiting friends / family / wildlife / stargazing? Extra gear storage is excellent, but if you’re only going to use the Screened Room for gear storage, perhaps you could store your gear in the car and purchase a less expensive tent?
Space and Comfort
Do you want to use lawn chairs in the Screen Room? Consider if you plan to use lawn chairs with sharp edges. A Screen Room without a floor may be a good choice.
Weather Resistance
Screened rooms will have a lot of no-see-um mesh, making them vulnerable to blowing rain. If you’re an all-weather kind of person, perhaps a Screened Room Tent with a full-length rainfly is something to consider seriously.
Ventilation
Lots of ventilation in the front of the tent, but how about the rear? A tunnel tent configuration will leave you hot and sticky on warm weather days. The same ventilation you love in the summer will leave you very cold when you camp in the early spring or late fall.
Durability
Does a Screened Room tent last longer than other tent types? If you plan to cook inside your Screened Room (Which we don’t advise!), we suggest that you absolutely, without fail, dry, wipe down, and dry out the tent after your adventure. Aside from the moisture issue, there’s no reason a Tent with a Screen Room will be less durable than any other kind of tent.
Size and Weight
Does a Screened Room tent weigh more or less than other tent types? Screened-door tents are slightly heavier than other tents that lack a screen door, but not too much heavier. Screened Door tents are car camping tents. A little bit of extra weight won’t make a difference
Ease of Setup
How easy is it? Screened Door tents are no more or less difficult to set up than other types of tents.
Tents with Screen Rooms FAQs
Why should I buy a Screen Room tent instead of a cabin tent?
Screen Room tents are a personal preference. It’s really all about how you want to use the additional outdoor space. If you don’t plan to sit or cook in the Screened Room, perhaps you’d be better suited with a tent with a vestibule but not a Screened Room.
Is setting up a Screen Room tent easy?
The addition of a Screen Room to a tent doesn’t make the setup more difficult or any more straightforward than any other kind of tent setup. Our Best Tents with a Screen Room roundup has dome, tunnel, and cabin tent styles. Tunnel tents generally aren’t freestanding and require two campers to set them up. Dome and Cabin tents can be set up by one camper.
Do Screen Room tents perform well in the wind/rain/snow?
A Screen Room tent will not perform any better or any worse in the elements than tents that lack a screen room. The type of tent (Dome, Cabin, tunnel) will have more of an impact on how the tent withstands the weather than the addition of a Screened Room.
Am I more susceptible to inclement weather?
Depending upon the configuration of the Screened Room, you may be more susceptible to the whims of the weather. Carefully check the tent configuration that you’re interested in purchasing:
Some tents have a Screen Room with a floor, which would protect you from moisture and bugs, and other Screen Room tents don’t have a floor.
Some tents have a Screen Room with zippable fabric that covers the No-See-Um mesh and protects the interior of the screen room from the elements. Other Screen Room tents don’t have window covers. Check the specifications, and look at the pictures of the tent you plan to purchase.
Should I bring extra Tarps/ground covers?
Yes. Purchasing a ground cover specific to your tent or purchasing a tarp to drape over, or under your tent is never a bad idea. Extra tarps/ground covers will protect your investment.
Should I apply Waterproofing and seam sealing?
Yes. Adding additional moisture protection is never a bad idea, particularly on tents with a very low price point. Less expensive tents may have skipped seam sealing, and a little prevention on your end will save you a lot of soggy belongings.
Should I apply more Waterproofing and seam sealant on a tent with a Screen Room than I would on other tent types?
No. A Screen Room is external to the main sleeping area, so extra “extra” protection isn’t required. However, if the Screen Room has an open floor (AKA dirt) there’s no reason to spend too much time and effort seam sealing the Screen Room.
