Can you get a backpacking tent under $100 that’s actually waterproof?
I looked through a ton of cheap backpacking tents on Amazon, and based on their design, material, and hydrostatic head ratings, I found a handful that will keep you dry when camping in the rain. I further read through their reviews to make sure they actually kept their owners dry, when camping in the rain.
I’ll post my method, comparisons, and quotes from those reviews below.
Otherwise, you can scroll to the bottom of the article for my top 3 picks!
What Makes A Tent Waterproof?
- Double-wall design: A tent that has a inner body and a separate fly has a higher probability of staying dry on the inside, and minimizing condensation, than a single wall tent.
- Appropriate fly: The fly should cover the inner body in a complete manner, such that any watershed cannot migrate to the inside wall. It should also have been treated with a waterproof coating like polyurethane coated polyester, silicone coated nylon, or be made of Dyneema (Dyneema composite fabric, originally developed for sailboats). Ventilation holes on the fly should be small and designed to minimize horizontal rain migration.
- Appropriate bathtub floor: The bathtub floor of the tent should be high enough up that no mesh is visible when the fly is secured on the tent. It should also have been treated with a waterproofing material.
- Appropriate footprint: The footprint should be small enough in dimension that it doesn’t stick out from the edges of the the tent floor, such that water could be caught on top of an exposed section and travel inward, between the footprint and tent floor. Again the footprint should also be waterproofed.
- Any stitched seams on the fly and body should be chemically waterproofed and taped along their paths.
- The waterproof barriers of the tent (fly, floor, footprint) should have a hydrostatic head rating of at least 2000mm; preferably 3000mm. This is a measure of how waterproof a tent’s materials are.
- Guy line attachments on the fly should be near the base or midway up, of reinforced material, in close proximity to the poles, and allow the lines to function in a way that the fly cannot touch the inner wall of the tent during inclement conditions.
Example of Poor Physical Design
This ArcadiVille pop-up car camping tent is an example of what not to buy when looking for a cheap, waterproof tent under $100. Its fly fails to cover its entire inner body, which is asking for both downward rain to shed onto the bathtub area, possibly inward, and horizontal rain to travel onto multiple areas of the inner body, including through the door zipper areas. It’s material is rated at 1000mm which is a poor rating for tent waterproofing.
Specs on Waterproof Tents Under $100
I was able to find 5 cheap tents that conformed to my waterproof criteria.
In order to potentially see the best deals, I divided their prices by their hydrostatic head ratings. The lower the resulting ratio is for a given tent, the better the deal is.
Tents are made of polyester to keep the rain out
You’ll notice most of these tents are made of polyester. That’s because this particular material is naturally better than nylon at keeping the rain out.
However the trade off in using polyester is that it’s heavier. So when you add up these tents’ packed weights (everything included weights), they are about 1 pound heavier than a higher quality, silicone coated nylon tent. An example of one such tent is the Featherstone Peridot 2 person backpacking tent, which usually sells for between $105 to $120.
Related: Check out my review of my Featherstone 2P Peridot Backpacking tent, which I’ve used for camping in Los Padres Natl. Forest and Lake Arrowhead California.
None of these tents come with a footprint
And compared to those tents in the $100-$150 range, like the Hyke & Byke Yosemite, or the California designed, Featherstone 2P Peridot, none of them come with a footprint.
They are either sold separately, or you just have to make one with a tarp or Tyvek. It should be noted, that if you put your tent on a homemade footprint, which sticks out further on the ground than your rainfly, that’s just asking for rainwater to migrate under your tent.
However, some of these tents have high denier thread sizes, so they may not need a footprint. Once you go over around 70-100 denier (70D to 100D, for short), then you can probably get away with not having a footprint.
I went ahead and added the Hyke & Byke Yosemite to the table below, for comparison’s sake.
Comparisons of waterproof tents under $100
| Tent | Hyke & Byke Yosemite (for comparison) | Bisinna Lightweight Tent | Forceatt Camping Tent 3 Season |
| Occupancy Number | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Material | 190T Polyester, 63D | 190T Polyester, Polyurethane Coating | 210T Polyester, Polyurethane Coating |
| Fly Hydrostatic Head (mm) | 2000 | 2000 | 3000 |
| Floor/Tub Hydrostatic Head (mm) | 5000 | 2000 | 5000 |
| Footprint Hydrostatic Head (mm) | 5000 | 2000 | 3000 (currently unavailable) |
| Factory Taped Seams? | Y | Unclear, ‘factory sealed’ | Y, ‘waterproof coating on stitches’, ‘the seams are taped’ |
| Weight (Tent & Footprint) | 5.48 lbs | 5.48 lbs | 5.94 lbs |
| Pack Dimension | 17.75 x 6.3 in. | 16.9 x 5.9 in. | 16.5 x 5.5 in. |
| Price at Time of Publication | $119.97 | $66.99 + $15.99 (footprint) * this footprint is larger than tent FYI, which can cause water migration issues. | $69.99 + footprint (currently unavailable) |
| Price to Waterproof Rating Ratio (Fly) | $59.99/m | $41.49/m | $30.00/m (assumes $20 footprint cost) |
| Price to Waterproof Rating Ratio (Floor) | $23.99/m | $41.49/m | $18.00/m (assumes $20 footprint cost) |
| Tent | Clostnature Lightweight Backpacking Tent – 3 Season | MC Tomount Backpacking Tent | Gonex Lightweight Backpacking Tent |
| Occupancy Number | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Material | 75D 210T polyester, polyurethane coating | fly: 210T rip-stop poly; inner tent: 190T poly; floor of tent: 210D reinforced oxford fabric | 210T polyester taffeta, polyurethane coating; 150D oxford cloth floor |
| Fly Hydrostatic Head (mm) | 5000 | 3000 | 3000 |
| Floor/Tub Hydrostatic Head (mm) | 5000 | 2000 | 3000 |
| Footprint Hydrostatic Head (mm) | not published, but 190T Poly, so in the 2000-5000 range | does not come with footprint | does not come with footprint |
| Factory Taped Seams? | Y, with composite waterproof tape | Unknown, the manufacture states ‘seams are well stitched and are waterproof’, but reviewers have yet to chime in | Y, the manufacture specifically states the seams are taped using a hot press lamination method |
| Weight (Tent & Footprint) | 5.96 lbs | 5.4 lbs + Tyvek footprint = 5.87 lbs (assumes 0.22oz/sqft. Tyvek) | 5.3 lbs + Tyvek footprint = 5.77 lbs |
| Pack Dimension | 16.5 x 5.9 in. | 19.7 x 5.9 in. | 16.9 x 7 in. |
| Price at Time of Publication | $76.99 + $19.99 (footprint) | $79.99 + footprint (Tyvek or tarp) | $56.99 + footprint (Tyvek or tarp) |
| Price to Waterproof Rating Ratio (Fly) | $19.40/m | $33.33/m (assumes $20 for footprint) | $25.66/m (assumes $20 for footprint) |
| Price to Waterproof Rating Ratio (Floor) | $19.40/m | $50.00/m (assumes $20 for footprint) | $25.66/m (assumes $20 for footprint) |
Top Waterproof Tents Under $100
Of the 5 tents I examined in detail, 3 of them deserve a closer look, based on their hydrostatic heads, and price to waterproof ratios. I’ll list them below with some review quotes of people that used them in rainy conditions.
Forceatt Camping Tent
Pros:
- Low price to waterproof rating ratio
- entire fly and bathtub floor seams taped
- bathtub floor rated at a 5000mm hydrostatic head
Cons:
- A little heavier than the other tents on the list
- inner side wall seams not taped
- footprint unavailable (make your own with Tyvek)
This high-quality, lightweight tent, held up in a thunderstorm and kept me dry! This is exactly why I bought this tent, and I verify that it held up without any extra seam sealant. I am very pleased. The rain cover is perfectly functional, and the stitching is quality.
Amazon verified purchase review
Clostnature Lightweight Backpacking Tent
Pros:
- highest waterproof (hydrostatic head) rating for fly and floor on the list, at 5000mm
- has very low price to waterproof rating
- footprint available for purchase
Cons:
- a little heavier than some of the other tents
- footprint brings the cost up to close to $100
- guy line loops are a little high up on the tent
FIELD TEST: I tested this in the mountains of middle Tennessee with rain overnight (temps in the low 50’s) and the tent kept completely dry, ventilated and comfortable. The rain fly kept any moisture condensation off the tent itself (because it did not touch the tent as all with guy-lines installed) despite heavy rain, and the double sided vents at the top of the fly added balanced ventilation.
Amazon verified purchase review
Gonex Lightweight Backpacking Tent
Pros:
- Cheaper than the other tents on the list
- Low price to waterproof ratio
- Seams taped via hot pressed lamination
Cons:
- Bathtub floor has lower waterproof rating than the most waterproof tents I examined
- No footprint available for purchase
There was heavy rain on our last night in Colorado. Really heavy, with some medium strength wind, too. There was three of us in the tent (definitely room for one more, but it would’ve been tight). We thought the sound of the rain was relaxing, especially since our tent wasn’t compromised in the least. In the morning, we let the tent dry a bit before packing, but the final air dry didn’t happen before I returned home.
Amazon verified purchase review
If you’re looking for a cheap waterproof tent, I hope this research helps you out! Thanks for reading and take care!
Further Reading
Thanks for checking out my ‘waterproof tents under $100’ article.
Check out my Hiking Gear and Camping Gear pages for more analysis, reviews, and recommendations.
See ya out there…