Best Tent For Stargazing
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Stargazing is something I love to do with my two kids and when it comes to the best ways to lay and look up at the skies, I’m an expert. So here I am to tell you which tent is the best one for laying on your back and looking up at the stars.
From mesh roof tents to all other kinds of tents, my kids and I have tried them all. Over the last few weeks of summer, my trio and I narrowed it down and tried out the three specific tents we thought were the best. This is how those tents matched up to me and my kids. Look up and share the wonder we’ve seen.
Kelty TN2 Person Tent
The Kelty TN2 two-person tent has enough floor space for one dad, two kids, and a couple of backpacks. But, larger adults may find it snug. This is the cheapest out of the three tents and it goes for just over 200 bucks. Despite the price, the quality of the tent is great and this is a mesh roof tent so it’s nice and bright inside. The Kelty is widely regarded as one of the best tent to see stars and it’s easy to see why. It has a dedicated stargazing panel which my kids used to stay up until 3 AM looking for UFO’s.
The tent was very easy to set up. The poles were light weight and if you ever put any other tent up, you’ll have no trouble with this one. It comes with a handy bag that makes putting it away very easy, and it also comes with the spikes you’ll need to drive into the ground.
While I love this tent there is one small design flaw: When using the stargazing flap, you create a bit of a sink on top of the tent which can lead to a pooling of water if it rains. It is not a huge problem, but it is there.
Pros:
Great price
Ideal if you want to go stargazing with kids
Easy to set up and take down
Comes with a handy little bag
Cons:
Water can pool on the top when using stargazing feature
Larger adults may find it a bit cramped
MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2-Person Tent
At just a hair under $400, this Hubba Hubba tent is pricier. But when it comes to style, this tent looks awesome. Like the others the Hubba Hubba has a mesh roof is made very, very well. We used this for a weekend of Stargazing in July and it was perfect. The roof is designed with rain in mind and it has gutters to help make the water flow away. I can see why some buyers say this is the best tent to see stars as it has a large double opening. The boys actually had this open the entire time we stayed in the tent looking up at the stars. The opening works perfectly and the tent is very comfortable.
The Hubba Hubba tent is made of light material and the poles are also very lightweight, so if you are walking far from car to camping spot, you will not find yourself overloaded. Set up and take down is so easy, even the kids could help, a nice father-son bonding bonus. The poles the first time we set it up were very straight, but after that first use, they develop a slight bend which makes set up even easier. The room inside was more than enough for me and my two sons, along with a couple of backpacks.
This was a fantastic tent. It has a high quality look, feel, and functionality. $400 is a fair price for what you get here.
Pros:
Great quality
Has gutters for the rain
Large opening
Very nice amount of room inside
Cons:
First set up may be a little harder
Can be a bit hard to get back in bag
Big Agnes – Copper Spur UL Backpacking Tent with mtnGLO Light Technology
The Big Agnes is the final tent we got to check out and the biggest. This is a three person tent so the extra room it offers is theoretically great, but once inside we did not feel it was all that much roomier than the other tents we tried.
This tent has two doors, which made getting in and out very easy, even with kids and the tons of junk they bought stargazing with us.
Putting the tent up was very easy. What makes this one a bit different is the fact that there is lighting actually built into the tent. These lights do require batteries, but man is this cool and if you need to wake up at 2 in the morning to answer nature’s call. You never know when you’ll need to see your tent in the dark.
Inside the tent, you and the kids or the person you are with will have a decent amount of room to play with. The Big Agnes is a high-quality tent, but not the best way to stargaze, given that it’s missing some of the star-specific features the other two tents have.
When you consider the Big Agnes’ high asking price of $550, it becomes hard to justify the cost. For that price you’d expect more room.
Pros:
Great design
Very well made
You will not have trouble setting up or taking down
Lights and reflective guylines make it easy to see in the dark
Cons:
High price
Not that much bigger than a 2 man tent
Things To Consider When Buying A Tent For Stargazing
Here are a few of the things I feel you need to consider when buying a tent to use for stargazing.
Size: When a company says that their tent is a 3 man tent, that does not tell you a lot. Likewise with a 2, 4 or whatever man tent. I have used 2 man tents that are just as big as a 3 man tent! So if you’re worried about how much floor space you have, make sure you look at the dimensions of not the whole tent, but the section inside specifically.
Easy To Set Up: I have used many different tents and most modern tents days are very similar. The first set up can always be tricky so do not worry about that. With each set up it gets easier and easier until you can get it up in just minutes. Well unless the kids are trying to help and keep getting in the way.
Price: Just because a tent is priced at over 500 bucks and has the word outdoor in the name does not automatically mean it is the best tent to see stars. You do not have to spend a fortune on a tent to get a good one. Dropping an extra couple of hundred bucks does not always mean you get more space and a higher build quality.
So What Is The Best Tent To See Stars?
All three that I got to check out are what you would class as a mesh roof tent which is ideal for seeing stars. But if I had to pick just one, I would go for the MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2-Person Tent. We loved this tent. The size it offered was great, the build quality was awesome and in general, for 400 bucks, you’re getting a tremendous product. IThe Hubba Hubba will deliver many years of stargazing. You and your family will be able to get many years of stargazing with this tent. Thumbs up and the winner’s trophy to the MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2-Person Tent.
