Ready for a jam-packed summer of music and adventure festivals? A good tent is probably the most important bit of kit you'll buy before you head off to party hard in a muddy field.
Tents designed specifically for festivals are often budget-friendly but not the best quality. If you're counting the pennies and need a basic place to lay your head, a cheap and cheerful pop-up tent is absolutely fine. But, if you can afford it, investing in a good quality, versatile tent that will also do for camping trips and other adventures is a sensible idea.
Some waterproofing is essential, especially if you're off to a festival in Britain. The waterproofness of a tent is usually labelled by the 'hydrostatic head' of its outer fabric. Look for an amount in millimetres from 1,500mm upwards - anything over 2,000mm or 3,000mm will withstand heavy rain and keep you dry. A tent that is easy to erect will save time - pop-up tents and tents with blow-up 'air' poles are a good choice to save hours fiddling with poles when you'd rather be catching a band.
Check the size and weight of the tent you're considering, too - lightweight backpacking tents and pop-up tents are easy to cart through fields. Huge family tents weighing more than 15kg can be a pain if you have to walk miles from your car, but give you a roomy place to hang out if it rains. Separate rooms are useful for storage, and a closed porch or vestibule is handy for stashing muddy wellies and waterproofs.
Whatever you do, don't leave a tent at a festival site (5,500 tents are left at Glastonbury each year alone). Take your tent home, clean it and, erect it in the garden to dry. With care, a tent can last you decades of festival fun.
While we couldn't take all of these festival-ready tents to actual music events, we did use each design in campsites and aimed to sleep in them in different temperatures and weather conditions, to see how they fared in both chilly rain and baking hot sunshine. We tested how quick and easy they were to erect and to fold away, and how beginner-friendly their designs were for newbie festival goers.
Partying with a big gang? Our top pick for larger groups is the roomy Coleman Cortes octagon dome. This geodesic beauty is categorised as an eight-person tent but we'd suggest sleeping six plus gear, or two or four with tons of living room (kids will love its spaceship-like looks and bright colours). Or use it as a communal living room/dancing space. Big doors mean you can ventilate the tent easily on hot days, the dome is easy to erect in 10-15 minutes and the waterproof fabric feels like great quality. A generously sized gem.
Buy now £219.99, Outdoorworlddirect.co.uk
You can always rely on Vango tents to perform brilliantly everywhere, from festivals to wild camping adventures. The five-person skye 500 is rather Tardis-like - it doesn't take up a lot of space but, inside, there's a bedroom that will comfortably fit two adults and two children, plus a roomy protected porch for storing all your belongings. We like the colour-coded poles, which make for quick and fuss-free pitching, and the breathable polyester material used in the bedroom. This tent also boasts 3,000mm of waterproofing, in case the heavens open. Ideal for family festivals.
Buy now £250.00, Vango.co.uk
Planning on dancing all night and sleeping all morning? You need a blackout tent. Lined with Decathlon's own-brand Fresh&Black technology and with well-placed vents, this two-person tent ensures a cooler, longer night's sleep than most models, so it's ideal for summer festivals. This tent is pleasingly lightweight and portable (it weighs just 5kg) as well as being waterproof enough to withstand a shower. Great value for money.
Buy now £129.99, Decathlon.co.uk
This is the perfect festival tent to pick if you're new to camping and aren't sure where to start shopping. It's roomy for two or three people, with a blackout bedroom for a better night's sleep, a living area, and a front canopy where you can cook or shelter from the rain. It's weatherproof, with a waterproof rating of 3,000mm and generously sized windows to let in light. It's simple to erect, thanks to inflatable poles. It's a good price for an inflatable 'air' tent, and even includes a carpet.
Buy now £395.00, Outdoorworlddirect.co.uk
Modelled on cosy log cabins but a fraction of the size (and price), Easy Camp's new moonlight glamping design is a very attractive little shelter that comes complete with colourful bunting. The moonlight cabin can technically sleep 10 but, unless you fancy being packed in like sardines, we'd recommend using it for groups of up to five, or for use as a communal space at a festival. There's standing room in the centre, which is great for sorting out belongings, plus there are plenty of handy pockets.
Buy now £279.99, Easycamp.com
The Luna is the perfect first canvas tent to invest in for festivals. It's a lovely spacious size for families or a group of four friends, with tons of head space and big circular windows making the inside feel airy and light. It's best used in summer, but we did find the canvas water-resistant enough to withstand a shower during testing. All that thick canvas makes the Luna heavy, and the tent is easier to put up with two people, but good guy ropes and aluminium poles make the whole thing feel reassuringly sturdy when erect, even in windy weather.
Buy now £409.00, Boutiquecampinc.com
If you fancy living it up in style and having a cosy home-from-home to retreat to at your next festival, this is a great luxury option. At more than £1,000 this is definitely a splurge, so it won't be for everyone but, if you can opt for an expensive tent, the Borocay brings a lot to the table. It's super roomy, with deep bedrooms sleeping four in comfort, and there's proper standing room, but it's also quick and easy to pitch in less than 15 minutes, thanks to inflatable poles. A polycotton flysheet is breathable and cool in hot weather but fully waterproofed in case of rain. The only downside to treating yourself to the Borocay? It weighs 33.2kg, so you'll need to factor in transporting it to your festival pitch.
Buy now £1440.00, Attwoolls.co.uk
Inflatable 'air' poles have revolutionised larger tents, making bigger models far simpler to pitch and far more portable than older designs, meaning big family tents can now come along to festivals and summer events. Outwell's Avondale sleeps five in comfort in two bedrooms and is ideal for sharing with a gang, with tons of room to hang out in stormy weather. If you like to bring lots of kit/outfits/the kitchen sink to festivals, you'll love the plentiful storage space.
Buy now £1279.99, Outwell.com
Mountain Warehouse does a great range of basic and affordable festival tents from just £19.99, and its fuss-free 'festival fun' design does what it says on the tin. There's a decent groundsheet, plus a mesh door to keep things cool (and keep bugs out), while the sturdy poles are easy to erect. The tent is unlikely to withstand a torrential downpour but, for less than £25, it's a bright budget option. Plus, you'll never lose the pink version in a sea of plain tents at a festival campsite.
Buy now £24.99, Mountainwarehouse.com
There's a tent to suit every kind of camper (and on any budget) in our round-up. Our pick of the pack is Coleman's octagon, which is ideal for groups and families and doubles up as a great shelter. If you can afford to, splash out on Outwell's Avondale or Dometic's Borocay for proper comfort. Shopping on a shoestring? Mountain Warehouse's functional festival fun tent is easy on the pocket.
If you're going to be eating al fresco too, we've found the best picnic blankets
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