How this site works

Where the numbers come from

Every specification is read from the manufacturer's own product page for that tent — not from a retailer, a forum or another comparison site. Each tent page links to the exact source URL and shows the date the figures were last checked against it.

Imperial figures published by US and Australian brands are converted to metric here, and rounded to the nearest whole unit. Where a manufacturer publishes a range rather than a single figure, the conservative end is used.

Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the field shows an em dash. We do not estimate — with one flagged exception, an approximate setup time by construction type, always labelled “est.” — and we do not fill gaps from third-party listings. A blank is information: it tells you that brand has chosen not to state that figure. In the comparison table a blank is never counted as a loss, because silence from a manufacturer is not a bad specification.

How the scores are calculated

We have not slept in these tents. Publishing a “sleep comfort” score based on our feelings would be inventing data, so instead nearly every score is a pure function of specifications the manufacturer publishes. The one exception, noted in its formula below, is ease of setup: when a maker publishes no setup time, an estimate from the tent's construction type stands in. Here is every formula in full — check our arithmetic against any tent's spec sheet.

Ease of setup

From the setup time: 5 at 30 seconds or less, 4 up to 60s, 3 up to 3 minutes, 2 up to 5 minutes, 1 beyond that. When the maker publishes no setup time, an estimate from the tent's construction type stands in — about a minute for a hardshell, longer for a hybrid, longest for a softshell.

Weather resistance

Starts at 3. +1 for a hardshell, +1 for a published 4-season rating, +1 for a heater or HVAC port, −1 for a fabric lighter than a 280gsm canvas. Capped at 1–5.

Living space

Half from total interior floor area (4.5 m² scores 5), half from interior height (130 cm scores 5). Not divided by sleeper count — a large tent is roomy even when only two people use it.

Sleep comfort

From the mattress thickness the maker ships: 7 cm or more scores 5, 3 cm scores 1. Room to sleep is covered by living space, so the sleeper count — a recommendation, not a spec — never enters here.

Value for money

Price per square metre of sleeping floor, ranked against every other tent in the database with a published price. Cheapest per m² scores 5.

A score is left blank whenever the specifications it needs are not published. A blank score is never treated as a zero, and a tent with a blank score is excluded from sorting on that score rather than sorted to the bottom.

How we keep it current

Manufacturers change prices, revise models and quietly discontinue them. Every tent record is re-checked against its source page monthly: prices, weights, dimensions, features, and whether the model is still sold. New models are added and discontinued ones are marked. The last verified date on each tent page is the real date of that check, not the date the page was built.

How the site is funded

rooftoptentcompare.com earns a commission on purchases made through links on this site, at no extra cost to you.

Affiliate links are marked with rel="sponsored", which is what Google asks for and what lets you see exactly which links earn us money. Where a tent has no affiliate programme yet, the “check current price” button goes to the manufacturer's own page and earns nothing.

No manufacturer pays for placement or for a better score. The scores are computed by the formulas above, and the order tents appear in is decided by your own sort and filter choices. The site also carries display advertising, which is why you will see a cookie consent prompt before any advertising script loads.

Corrections

If a figure here disagrees with what the manufacturer publishes, that is a bug and we want to know. Email [email protected] with the tent and the source, and it will be fixed.