Hightower Mansion 8 Person Tent

I have the Hightower Mansion 8P and it's great, very easy to set up and doesn't take up a lot of room in the car (half the length of the coleman instant). Assuming it's something you'll use a few times I'd recommend the 8P over the 6P as it gives you 2 separate rooms which might be better for when the kids are a bit older.

Their fabric is damn thin. Do not use this tent in rain. You will regret it, I promise.

I have this one which has been great so far. It’s really heavy though. I suppose it doesn’t take up a ton of car space - if they got the6 person version (if there is one) that would probably work out fine. There’s always space under a cot to store stuff also.

For a week of Cub Scout camp in the summer, something you can stand up in to change is good. We’ve used an ozark trail one for the past three summers and been fine, but that’s with a family of four. I’ll thread that one below so this comment doesn’t get deleted if the link gets flagged. For just one parent one scout, we’ve used the done style 4 person tents from Alps and they’re pretty comfy, but even short adults can’t fully stand in them. At that age, most of our cub scouts don’t mind sleeping just in a sleeping bag on the ground (I’m also cubmaster for our small pack). Some families like to use the Coleman quick cabins. These are heavy and don’t do great in high winds, but if you’re driving right up to the campsite they’re super quick to set up and have good head room. Links incoming

Have an Ozark Trail tent I got about 5 years ago for $30 new, basically the same exact same one here. It's been one of the best tents I've owned and really made me reevaluate my approach to outdoor recreation. Weird, I know, but it is what it is.

They are fine. You won't get a super long life out of it, and they tend to be heavier and bulkier, and sometimes have kind of crappy poles and zippers and whatnot, but it will work fine for a while. It's a good way to get into camping sooner on a budget, and just plan to get a nicer tent sometime later. I have lots of expensive tents but I still use cheapy $40 tents all the time, they're great for loaning out to people or taking on trips where you don't necessarily need a super nice tent and just want something that won't make you cry if it gets a tear in it. There's no point taking an $800 backpacking tent on a car camping trip, it's unnecessarily nice for that and just puts wear and tear on it for no reason, I'd rather use a cheapo tent for that scenario 9 times out of 10. Coleman is good, Eureka is good, and I've even had pretty good luck with the walmart Ozark Trail tents.

If you read the fine print on an Ozark Trail tent of similar price, they say it is not to be used in inclement weather. Both of these tents pictured are extremely cheap compared to name brand tents and neither of them I would trust to be water resistant. I honestly don’t think these are meant for more than playing in the backyard or camping in mild weather. If you simply want to try tent camping go with the cheaper one. Then if you like it you can spend more on a quality tent.