Camping

Big Agnes Bunk House Camping Tent

Alex Buchnev

April 12, 2023

The Big Agnes Bunk House Camping Tent is a three-season car camping delight. There are many reasons that the Bunk House tent was featured on so many different “Best of” lists this year, including ours!  The Bunk House is one of the most versatile tents we’ve reviewed, and we think you’ll like it too! 

The Big Agnes Bunk House Camping Tent is a tunnel tent with an entrance at each end. To augment the stability issues of the tunnel tents, Big Agnes has added a perpendicular support pole that attaches to the tunnel poles.

The Bunk House integrates the spaciousness of a tunnel tent with the stability of a much smaller dome tent. 

Comfort and Space

Floor Space

The Big Agnes Bunk House Camping Tent has an overall footprint of 12′ 6″ x 8′ 4″ (381 x 254 cm). A large vestibule is located at each end of the tent.

An interior drop-in wall allows the tent to be partitioned into two different zones, each with its own entry/exit doorway. 

Front/Rear Vestibule

The front and rear vestibules are equally approximately sized at 8′ 4″ x 3′ 8″ (254 x 112 cm). It’s good to see vestibules that are deep enough to store gear in them!

Total floor space

The entire floor space of the tent’s interior is 104 ft² (9.66 m²). The total floor space of the vestibules is 50 ft² (12.8 m²). 

We think four campers is an ideal headcount if you plan to use the interior tent partition. Six campers are doable in the Bunk House if you don’t mind being cozy with your neighbor and you don’t extend the sewn-in partition. 

Head Room

The Big Agnes Bunk House is a Tunnel tent and has an Interior Peak Height (IPH) of 6′ 10″ (208 cm). 

Doors and Vestibules

The Bunk House has one door and one vestibule at each end of the tent.

The primary entrance has a large “Welcome” mat sewn into the tent floor. The mat extends approximately 18″ (46 cm) outside the tent. The secondary entrance doesn’t have a welcome mat. Aside from this small item, either end of the tent is suitable as the primary or secondary entrance. 

Each doorway is “D” shaped and is approximately 6′ x 5′ (183 x 152 cm).

The Big Agnes Bunk House tent has a front and rear vestibule. With fewer campers, one vestibule may be dedicated to gear storage and the other utilized as a primary entrance and exit. 

Storage

• With a combination of low and high storage options and removable corner storage bins, there are sixteen interior mesh storage compartments.
• The vestibules provide 50 ft² (4.6 m²) of covered gear storage.

Breathability and Ventilation

The Big Agnes Bunk House Camping Tent’s ventilation is designed with an “all or nothing” strategy. Depending on the weather, you may love it, or you may really dislike it.

When the rain fly is removed from the tent, approximately 70% of the tent’s surface area is No-See-Um Mesh panels. You’ll enjoy a great deal of ventilation with the rain fly removed.

When the rain fly is engaged, approximately 80% of the tent’s surface area is covered with the rain fly. Good moisture protection when it’s raining, but perhaps not so great when it’s misting and humid.

Unfortunately, there are no side panel windows on the Big Agnes Bunk House.

Exterior Doorways

Two exterior doorways contain No-See-Um mesh windows that are approximately 3′ x 2.5′ (91 x 76 cm) in size. The entire doorway may be tied back, or each doorway window may be zippered open to allow cross ventilation. 

Weather Resistance

The Big Agnes Bunk House offers superb weather resistance and a unique shelter mode configuration that we’ve not seen with any other tent.

Wind resistance 

An uncommon guyline configuration allows for self-equalized guylines at critical locations, creating more wind stability with fewer ground stakes. 

Rain resistance

The Big Agnes Bunk House tent body is manufactured from breathable polyester and No-See-Um mesh. The polyester rain fly was treated with polyurethane and had a water resistance rating of 1500HH. 

Waterproof polyurethane tape has been applied to all seams.

Rain fly

The removable rain fly doubles as a portable shelter. You can select a day relaxation location and set up the rain fly in “shelter mode.” It’s a significant benefit and a unique feature of the tent.

The rain fly itself almost reaches the ground. The rain fly fully zips closed at the vestibules allowing you to enjoy a dry tent interior during wet weather. 

Durability

Big Agnes has a lifetime warranty on their products and repairs tents that are returned due to damage. A tent is a considerable expense, and we really like the repair option!   (We’ve been known to damage a tent or two in our time…)

Tent Floor

The bathtub-style tent floor is a polyurethane-coated polyester that provides 1500HH water resistance. Bathtub seams reach approximately 12″ (30 cm) above ground level on the sides of the tent. This moves a potential seam leak location up and out of the standing water. 

Poles

Big Agnes Bunk House Camping Tent has four DAC DA17 lightweight aluminum poles that are 12 and 14.5 mm in diameter. The poles are color-coded and preconnected.

Ease of Use

How to Set up the Big Agnes Bunk House Tent

• Spread the tent out on the ground. (We do recommend a ground cover.)
• Assemble the pre-connected aluminum poles
• Insert the long poles through the color-coded webbing and attach their bases to the grommets at ground level
• Attach the short pole across the longer tunnel poles and connect them to each other
• Connect the color-coded buckles to the color-coded poles. 
• Stake the tent to the ground
• Spread rain fly over the assembled tent
• Attach the rain fly to the aluminum poles with pre-attached velcro 
• Attach guy lines and set the tension

Packed Size and Weight

Big Agnes Bunk House Camping Tent weighs 22 lbs 15 oz (10.4 kg) and has a packed size of 27″ x 16″ x 10″ (69 x 41 x 25 cm).

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Shelter mode for relaxing during the day
• Ample interior space
• Lots of storage bins

Cons

• Lack of ventilation with rainfly engaged
• Add-ons increase purchase price

Rating