What tent should you choose for 4 people?
What tent model should you choose for 4 people for your next holidays?
Are you a tribe of 4, wondering what type of camping tent to choose? Let us explain, what are the best criteria for selecting a 4-people tent for your next trip.
What is the best tent structure for your four-person family tent?
First of all, you should know that there are several types of tent structure. Frames and corresponding tents do not have the same names in the Quechua range! Pole tents are called "Arpenaz" and inflatable tents are called "Air Seconds".
"Air Seconds" inflatable tents, easy to put up
The inflatable tent is the "newcomer". It’s quick and easy to assemble – three pumps are all it takes!
Its benefits: comfortable, quick, easy, take down virtually instantly & with larger living areas.
Its disadvantages: its weight and size. It is cumbersome and heavier than a pole tent, and more expensive.
What about "pop-up" tents that you can pitch in two seconds?
Quechua’s iconic "2 Seconds" tent is only available in two- or three-person sizes. Because the super-fast assembly systems (both the first generation and the second generation "2 Seconds Easy") are designed for "small" tents. If you really want to go away with four people and use 2 Seconds tents, you'll have to split into pairs and take two tents with you!
How to put up a four-person tent
Disappointed that the 2 Seconds tent doesn’t come in a four-person size because you hate pitching tents? We understand! This is one of the reasons why Quechua has designed inflatable tents that can be put up and taken down very easily and very quickly. They're like little bouncy castles.
Nothing has changed with our four-person pole tents. There are so many videos and tutorials available on how to put them up. Of course, we recommend you watch our videos:
Ideally, how many bedrooms should a four-person tent have?
1 bedroom or 2 for your tent that sleeps 4? And what about the size of the living area?
Our 4-people tents are systematically equipped with one or two bedrooms. You can directly find out from the name: the 4.1 tent models are for 4 people and 1 bedroom and the 4.2 tent models are for 4 people and come with 2 bedrooms. This naming system applies to all our tents from 4 to 8 people!
A bedroom, two bedrooms, a living area, no living area, a tent where you can stand or not... How do you know what suits you best?
It all depends on what you are planning to do on your holidays. Are you the kind of person who spends all day at the campsite, or are you more likely to be out and about all day, only returning to your tent to sleep?
Tents with a large living area
If you're on team camping, that is, "someone who enjoys every aspect and lives the experience to the full", then you should opt for a tent with a bedroom because these tents usually have a more spacious living area more (5–6.5 m2) and therefore more comfortable. It will allow you to take shelter should it rain, properly store your belongings, and arrange your kitchen and sleeping quarters.
--> The are exceptions with large living areas among the 4.2 tents: the Air Seconds 4.2 Fresh & Black with its 5.9 m2 living area and our latest model, the Air Seconds 4.2 Polycotton with its spacious 6.8 m2 living area.
And if you really want to have plenty of room, we recommend you get a separate living room tent, where you can put all of your camping furniture and small items inside and seek shelter in case of bad weather or too much heat.
Tents with a smaller living area
On the other hand, if you're more of an adventurous camper, and you only plan to return to the campsite at the end of the day, then you should opt for tent models with smaller living areas, i.e. our 4.2 models. Equipped with 2 bedrooms, they offer more intimacy and comfort but less living room space (between 3.5 sq. m and 6.8 sq. m for the 4.2 Polycotton).
What tent fabric for your large camping tent?
You can choose between several tent fabric options nowadays for your tent, either polyester or polycotton fabrics. So which one should you choose?
Do you want a more durable tent?
So if you choose our polycotton tent model, we currently have one for 4 people with two bedrooms or another for 6 people with 3 bedrooms.
Why is it more durable?
Polycotton fabric is a mix between polyester and cotton, and is also called "technical cotton". This material has several benefits, despite being more pricey:
• better UV resistance (UPF 50+ sun protection)
• better breathability than a traditional polyester tent
• a longer lifespan
• a more pleasant living environment in terms of sound reduction, for instance
You will need to be careful, however, as polycotton is a fabric that requires special attention when drying and removing stains. The fabric must be thoroughly dry before storing it away to prevent mould. It is also important to keep the fabric clean, washing stains as quickly as possible. It is better to wipe off the dust with a soft brush.
Do you want a more environmentally friendly tent?
So head over to our eco-designed tents models. Actually, some models were dyed in a more environmentally friendly way using "solution-dyeing" technique.
Dyeing fabrics requires the use of large amounts of water, producing waste water coming from the dyeing vats. To reduce this environmental impact, we choose this colour-impregnated dyeing method, integrating the colour pigments when spinning the yarn. Less water and dye are used this way when designing this product.
These tents are eco-designed with dope-dyed technology:
What about a Fresh & Black tent for more comfort?
What's Fresh & Black? Some tent models are equipped with this technology. What's Fresh & Black?
The "Black" part is for keeping your tent's bedroom dark; waking up at the crack of dawn is a thing of the past, making it the start of camping lie-ins! Finally!
--> the black fabric ensures the tent is dark inside at any time of day (99% darkness in the rooms)
The "Fresh" section keeps you cool, even if the tent is in direct sunlight. Furnace-like tents are a thing of the past.
--> the Fresh reflects the sun's rays to keep your tent at the right temperature (feels 17°C cooler than inside a conventional tent). This innovation is practical, especially in the middle of summer when tents can quickly become stoves.
Can you get four-person rooftop tents?
The answer is: yes and no. In fact, it's not really a question of weight, but rather of space! Some rooftop tents claim to sleep four people, but this is actually includes two adults and two children. And no, teenagers don’t count as children in terms of the space they take up. There are even rooftop tents that sleep "two adults and three children".
If you like co-sleeping and being close to one another, this is what you're looking for. But be aware that your space will be extremely limited. You won’t be able to sleep diagonally or in a star shape.
If it's family van life that's calling you, we'd recommend you get a camper van with two berths, on which you can fit the Quechua inflatable rooftop tent for vans. That way, you'll have separate bedrooms and so you can get some peace and quiet at night!
Now you have all the information you need to choose the right four-person tent for your next adventure with family or friends. And if you just want to try your hand at camping for a weekend, consider renting a tent!
However, if you think you need a different kind of tent, check out our more general advice on choosing a camping or bivouac tent:
Cloé
Quechua communication team
Camping lover at Quechua
