MC Canvas Bell Tent

March 28, 2023

The MC Canvas Bell Tent is a 4-season, glamping tent suitable for 2 to 3 persons. It has 4 mesh-lined windows and a 5.1″ / 12.7 cm stove jack installed on the roof along with 4 roof vents.

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Comfort and Space

The MC Canvas Bell tent comes in two sizes, and this review is for the smaller one. With a polygonal diameter of 10 ft / 3.04 m, the MC Canvas Bell Tent is spacious enough to fit 2 to 3 sleeping bags at a time. The peak height is 6.6 ft / 2.01 m and the sidewall height is 1.9 ft / 0.58 m, allowing most campers to stand up near the middle.

Like all bell tents, the roof itself is sloped downwards, making it difficult to roam freely within the tent. In contrast, cabin or lodge-style tents have near vertical walls which allow for significantly more head and shoulder space. However, the smaller living area means bell tents are easier to heat.

MC Canvas Bell Tent with open walls, pitched outdoors

This bell tent has the unique feature of being able to be turned into a canopy or shelter by rolling up the windows and removing the groundsheet.

Other advantages to this type of tent include the ease of setup. It is very simple to set this tent up, as it requires only one center pole and one A-frame door pole.

This bell tent consists of just one large living space instead of separate rooms, meaning there is no means for any privacy. This is not a blackout tent nor does it have a porch. It does, however, have plenty of storage room.

Although this tent is meant for up to three people, it may be more comfortable for two cots or sleeping bags, especially if you are using a wood stove during the colder months. In addition, this tent does great for celebrations like birthdays, outdoor weddings or any kind of party.

There are also storage pockets provided with the tent on the sidewalls, to keep your items in sight and dry like mobile phones and keys.

Breathability and Ventilation

The MC Canvas Bell Tent has 4 windows and 4 roof vents for ventilation. Every window has a high-quality mesh lining to prevent insects from entering the tent while you enjoy a breeze. However, the windows are set fairly low, so you might risk blocking the airflow if you have loads of gear or beds in the tent.

The groundsheet is removable and you can roll up the sidewalls, allowing you to turn the tent into a canopy to enjoy a 360 view of your surrounding and allowing the breeze to go right through the tent for excellent ventilation.

The door also has a mesh covering which will allow you to keep it open yet still keep the bugs out, which makes the ventilation even better. This tent is made of breathable canvas without a PU coating, so although it allows for better ventilation, it isn’t completely waterproof.

Weather Resistance

The poly-cotton canvas used to make the tent has good water resistance but due to MC wanting to make this tent breathable, they did not use a PU coating on the canvas, which means the tent does not provide durability or protection in rain storms or heavy rainfall.

It is not recommended to stay overnight in a tent while it is raining unless you get a separate waterproof cover or treat the fabric with waterproofing spray. However, the tent is snowproof and windproof.

High-density mesh screens are a part of this tent and are present behind the tent door and windows to provide proper ventilation and protection against insects at the same time.

Durability

This tent is made of high-quality poly-cotton fabric and has good wind and snow protection. Due to the lack of PU coating on the tent for better breathability, this tent cannot withstand harsh rainy weather and will lose durability if used in a rainstorm.

The bowl-shaped floor is made of 540 gsm PVC with PU 20,000 mm+ which is more than adequate to protect the inside of your tent from getting wet even if the ground is soaked from heavy rains.

The 5″ / 12.7 cm stove jack is heat resistant to provide safety and to increase the life of the tent by preventing it from burning from the wood stove ambers. The stove jack is set at 3.7 feet / 1.15 meters up from the ground, so be sure to get the right tent stove.

The rain cap provided protects the tent from rainwater entering it, which also increases longevity.

The poles used for the internal frame of this tent are galvanized steel poles that are 32 mm /3.2 cm in diameter with a 1.2 mm /0.12 cm wall thickness. These galvanized steel poles are proven to withstand 45 km per hour winds.

In addition, the rebar stakes are some serious pieces of hardware. You won’t have to get any extra heavy-duty stakes for this tent, unlike other tents that might come with flimsy stakes.

Ease of Use

The setup of this MC Canvas tent is relatively easy and can be done by one person. There is one center pole, the A-frame door pole, and a heavy-duty waterproof PVC ground sheet with pockets that you stick the poles in.

Packed Size and Weight

The item package dimensions L x W x H are 31.7″ x 11.8″ x 10.5″ /80.5 x 30 x 26.7 cm and the package weight is 18.5 kg / 40.8 lbs, which is on par with other bell tents its size.

It comes with the tools and accessories in separate bags, which makes it very easy to pack this tent when you are done with it.

The larger 4 to 5-person version of this tent has a packed weight of 25.5 kg / 56.2 lbs.