The 10 BEST Motorcycle Camping Tents

Welcome to our top motorcycle tents guide! This handy article is packed with info on how to pick the best tent for a long-term motorcycle trip, a buying guide, loads of top tips and the 10 BEST motorcycle camping tents on the market today for adventure bike travellers. Happy camping!

Motorcycle Camping Tents
Our MSR Hubba Hubba in action over the Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan

Contents

Motorcycle Tents

Camping and motorcycle travel go together like toast and butter, tanks and bags, whisky and a glass… and other better examples of things that work well together.

Camping is integral for long-term motorcycle travellers. Unless you’ve got a fortune tucked in your tank bag, you’re going to need to camp often as hotels will burn through your budget. If you’re planning a big trip, tour or even a round the world adventure, check out our How to Motorcycle Travel on the Cheap guide for money saving tips, tricks and budgeting advice.

But camping is not only a great way to save money; it’s also a visceral part of motorcycle travel, back to basics and fun.  You can ride all day, explore remote and wondrous landscapes and then pitch up and rest your head in wild lonely lands. You don’t need to stay close to civilisation or worry about finding a hotel as night sets in. It turns motorcycle travel into true freedom… probably a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.

But the last thing you want after an epic day’s ride is to put up a flimsy tarp tent that could collapse after a powerful fart. There’s a lot that goes into buying a tent for bike trips: it needs to be the right shape, lightweight, low-volume, durable, have space to store your riding gear, free-standing and more.

This guide’s job is to provide you with a handy guide to picking a decent tent, a bunch of top tips and the 10 BEST motorcycle camping tents on the market today for motorcycle travellers.

More…

And once you’ve had a look at those, dig deeper into our camping guides by checking out the motorcycle camping guide page. You’ll find every guide we have on motorcycle camping on there including the ultimate motorcycle camping guide, the complete camping gear checklist, the best bike friendly campsites in the UK and much more. 

READ MORE: Motorcycle Camping Guides

How to Choose the Best Motorcycle Camping Tent

Here are the things you need to look out for when choosing a tent for your motorcycle travels. Not all the points on this list are essential and not all will apply to your specific needs. Check through them, see if they apply to you and your adventures and hopefully they’ll help guide you to the perfect tent for your motorcycle trip. 

Free standing

Freestanding tents are the most versatile because you can use them on any terrain. Freestanding simply means that you can erect your tent without having to secure guy lines or peg it into the ground. The shape of the poles will keep the tent up. A freestanding tent can be used in the desert, on snow and on very hard and rocky terrain where it’s tricky to whack a peg in. If you’re on a motorcycle trip and camp in a variety of conditions, then this is a must. 

Lightweight

Finding a lightweight motorcycle tent goes without saying. Packing for a motorcycle trip is all about weight saving. The last thing you need is your luggage weighing you down as you’re flying over sand dunes. Anything over 2.5kg is considered a heavy tent. Try and opt for something under that weight and make sure the advertised weight includes the poles, pegs and materials. All the tents in our Top 10 Motorcycle Tents list are under 2.5kg. You’ll find some more info on what to pack on your trip if you fancy digging in deeper below.  

READ MORE: Motorcycle Packing Guides

Low volume

Volume is something that’s often overlooked as people tend to concentrate solely on weight. While weight is very important, volume is just as integral when it comes to camping kit. Your camping bag will be the bulkiest of all your luggage. Tents, sleeping bags, roll mats, pots and pans all take up huge amounts of space. The trick is to find kit that packs up very tightly, so try and go for a tent with small pack size dimensions. For more info on volume, space saving and what to take on a motorcycle camping trip, check out our checklist below:

READ MORE: The Motorcycle Camping Gear Checklist

Easy to erect

Sounds obvious but you’ll be surprised at how many travellers there are out there spending 20 minutes fiddling with contraptions that look like umbrellas in the wind. Sometimes you need to peg a tent in fast, putting one up shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.  

Space inside

Plenty of motorcycle travellers (myself included) start trips with super lightweight, tiny solo backpacking tents. A couple of nights spent in a cocoon buried under all your wet gear, luggage and clothes and you’ll soon swap it out for a two-man tent. Space inside the tent is of course personal preference, but if you’re camping often on your motorcycle trip, then it’s worth the sacrifice of a little more money and volume for loads of extra space. 

Space outside

A vestibule is the fancy pants word to describe that space outside the sleeping part of your tent where you leave your boots. A decent sized vestibule is very import for motorcycle adventure riders because of the amount of kit we carry. You might not want to leave it all on your bike and probably wont want or have space to bring it all inside your sleeping compartment overnight. So a vestibule is perfect to store your boots and muddy bags as it’s close to you, under cover and protected from the elements. It also doubles up as a front porch and a place to get changed before climbing into the clean part of your tent. 
Some tents come with two vestibules (one on either side) and posh tents come with extra large ones that you can stand in, put your bike in and cook under. 

Removable fly cover

A removable fly cover isn’t a must, but it’s a very nice extra. You can whip it off on those hot nights and let the air flow through your mesh net. It’s also quicker to dry your tent. Often, if your tent has a removable cover you can set it up without the inner tent for a quick shelter too. 
 

Seasons 

Consider the season and climates you’re travelling through. If you’re not going to be camping in freezing cold Siberia, then don’t both with a four-season tent. Most people only camp in warmer conditions and so a three-season is more than good enough. Whatever season you choose, make sure the tent is well ventilated throughout. 

The 10 Best Tents for Motorcycle Trips

We selected the Top 10 Best Motorcycle Camping Tents in this list by applying the advice we gave in the above section on how to choose your tent. So, all the tents are a mixture of freestanding, removable fly covers and can be used with or without the inner tent. Most importantly, as these are tents specifically selected for motorcycle travellers, and the majority weigh under 2.5kg. 

All the tents in our list are also two-man tents. The milligrams of weight you save with a one man tent just isn’t worth it for the complete lack of space and claustrophobia. And also, motorcycle travellers tend to need the extra room for boots, luggage, helmet and gear. Most of these tents have one-man options, but this list displays the 2-man examples and specs to keep it all fair. We have also updated the list by adding new tents and notable mentions. 

MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Motorcycle Tent

Quick info: Lightest, Freestanding, Three-season, £380 approx

MSR is a high-quality and well-known brand and the Hubba Hubba NX is one of their flagship tents and bestsellers. It’s a lightweight, dome style three-season tent. It was developed for backpacking and mountaineering, so it’s been specifically designed to be light and compact. But as it’s a dome tent, it’s still very roomy inside.

One of the biggest perks of the Hubba Hubba (and the reason we use this tent on our RTW trip) is because it’s freestanding. That’s important because it means you don’t need to peg it in to erect it. That makes camping in sand, deserts, snow and on ultra rough terrain a doddle. Another great thing about the Hubba Hubba is its removable flysheet. The body of the tent is mesh, so you can leave the sheet off in hot weather and gaze at the stars. 

READ MORE: MSR Hubba Hubba Tent Review

Lone Rider MotoTent Motorcycle Tent 

Quick info: Large and comfortable, Extra large vestibule, £460 approx

Lone Rider is a relatively new company, but has already cemented their place in the world of motorcycle gear. They’re the only tent manufacturer on this list who are a motorcycle specific company, specialising in tents and luggage for motorcycle travellers. The owner is a very well travelled rider, so his MotoTent is packed with features that fellow riders will find useful. 

It’s one of the largest tents in this list and probably one of the most comfortable. It has one huge vestibule up front, which can fit a large motorcycle with panniers if you want to keep it out of sight. The tent can also be set-up without the inner in case you want to work on your bike under cover. The front area can also be used to cook and relax in case of bad weather. 

Terra Nova Voyager Motorcycle Tent

Quick info: Freestanding, Four-season, All weather, £600 approx

British firm, Terra Nova, has been building quality tents since 1980. They’re a world-renowned and award winning firm who know their stuff and the Voyager is one of their best tents. It’s also freestanding, which means it can be used anywhere and can also be used without the flysheet. 

The Voyager is an all-weather, four-season tent. It comes with silicone coated nylon fabric, is fully seam sealed and able to stand up to difficult conditions. If you’re on a trip where you require a tough do it all tent, this might be the one for you. 

Redverz Atacama Solo Expedition Motorcycle Tent

Quick info: Three-season, Extra large vestibule, High quality  £449 approx

Redverz originally produced the bike-in-tent design with the humungous front vestibule. You can park your bike inside the tent to keep it out of sight or work on it under shelter. It has a quicker set-up time than its direct competitors as it uses two-poles and, according to experienced reviewers, performs better in harsh winds. 

The Redverz tent is exceptionally well thought out and produced using high quality materials and a high attention to detail. It packs up light and small for the type of tent it is and is perfect for travellers who need a bit more space. Redverz also offer the Expedition in a three-man set-up as well with an additional 23 inches of sleeping room. 

Snugpak Scorpion 2 Motorcycle Tent

Quick info: Four-season, All weather, £300 approx

Snugpak are a British company who are known for their super high-quality sleeping bags. They also produce tents, hammocks, rucksacks, clothing and camping equipment. 

The Scorpion 2 is one of their best tents. It’s superbly built, designed for four-season camping and packs away relatively small. It isn’t a freestanding tent and can’t be erected without the flysheet, but that makes for a quick set-up and take down. 

Vango Nevis 200 Motorcycle Tent

Quick info: Tunnel, Fast set-up, Low price tag, £90 approx

The Vango Nevis 200 is the second cheapest tent in this list. It’s a fantastic, lightweight and compact tent. The Vango’s main selling point is how quickly it can be put up and taken down. It uses one pole in the middle and is fastened using guylines. It’s not a freestanding tent and is put up all-in-one, so there is no option to use the inner body without the flysheet. There’s not oodles of room in the vestibule or inside to be fair. 

But, that’s not what this tent is designed for. If you prefer hotels, motels and hostels but want a cheap, dependable, lightweight and extremely easy to use tent for emergencies on your motorcycle trip, then the Vango Nevis 200 is perfect for you!

Vaude Low Chapel L Motorcycle Tent

Quick info: Exoskeleton style, Ultra fast set-up, £400 approx

Vaude are a large European outdoor sports company. The firm produce a range of tents and the Low Chapel L is one of their best exoskeleton models. It’s a fancy way of saying the pole is on the outside of the tent. And the benefit of that is it makes setting up much faster. There are no loops or sleeves to pass the poles through. You simply stake the tent down, lay the pole over the top and then clip it all into place. The tent’s inner body is already in position inside the tent. The downside is that there’s no option to have the tent up without the flysheet, but that’s common with a bunch of tents on this list, at least this one makes setting up quicker though. And you can also easily use the tent as a quick shelter on hot days without the inner tent.

Wild Country Zephyros Compact Motorcycle Tent 

Quick info: Tunnel, Three-season, light and compact, £160 approx

Wild Country Tents are made by Terra Nova (who produce the Voyager tent listed above). The Wild Country Zephyros is a lightweight, compact and easy-to-use tent for a very fair price. 

It’s a quick set-up tent as the inner can be left attached to the flysheet and it can all go up in one go. It comes with vents, two doors, a polyester groundsheet and has been designed for three-season use. Its main selling point is the low weight and tiny packed dimensions. 

Terra Nova Laser Compact 2 Motorcycle Tent 

Quick info: Tunnel, Three-season, light and compact, £450 approx

Another option from Terra Nova. While the Voyager listed above is a freestanding dome tent, this Laser Compact 2 tent is a tunnel tent that is pitched all in one. There’s less space inside and it won’t be as comfortable as the Voyager on long-term trips. But the compromise is that it’s the lightest and most compact tent in this list. It can be buried away in your panniers and won’t take up any room. It’s easy to set-up up as the inner body is attached to the outer flysheet. 

Vango Soul 200 Motorcycle Tent 

Quick info: Tunnel, Three-season, Budget £40 approx

Yep, you read that right – £40 for a tent. Now wait, we know it’s incredibly cheap and that of course means it’s an ultra budget tent, but hear us out…

Not all motorcycle travellers enjoy camping (crazy, we know). And many people want to give it a go without dropping a fortune on something they might not do again. Enter the Vango Soul. It’s not going to be winning any awards for high-quality components, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a great entry-level tunnel tent is only 2.17kg and has a decent pack size. It’s easy to set-up with only two poles and can be set-up and used without the flysheet (something we usually pay hundreds of pounds for).  

It has a very small vestibule, so you won’t be able to get much in there, but it can definitely handle a pair of smelly boots. If you want to give motorcycle camping a go, or on a tight budget and don’t need a fancy pants tent, or even if you just want something cheap as you don’t think you’ll be camping all that often, then you might want to give the Soul a go. 

Notable Mentions

Here are four more motorcycle tents that readers regularly use. These have proved quite popular and so we’ve added them here as notable extras with links to more info if you fancy one. 

Vango Tempest Pro 200

The Vango Tempest Pro 200 is a tunnel tent priced at £185 and weighs 2.7 kg.

Lowest price option on Amazon  

Vango Tempest Pro Vango Tempest Pro Specs

Coleman Kobuk Valley 2

The Coleman Kobuk Valley 2 is a dome tent priced at around £75 and weighs 3.2kg.

Lowest price option on Amazon

Coleman Kobuk Valley 2Coleman Kobuk Valley 2 Specs

Coleman Darwin

The Coleman Darwin tent is dome shaped, priced at around £100 and weighs 4.9kg.

Lowest price option on Amazon

Coleman Darwin Motorycle TentColeman Darwin Motorycle Tent 2

Khyam Biker Plus

The Khyam Biker Plus is by far the heaviest tent here at an eye-watering 9.1kg, but it’s very popular amongst touring riders who aren’t necessarily travelling for long periods of time. It’s priced at £329.99 and the Khyam Biker comes in other options too such as the Khyam Fast Pitch and standard Biker. The prices and weight are lower on some of the other models. 

Check their website for variants and prices khyam.co.uk

Khyam Biker TentKhyam Biker Tent specs

The Best Motorcycle Camping Tent Winners

The Best All-Round Motorcycle Tent:

MSR Hubba Hubba NX 

5/5

The MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 takes the win. It’s freestanding, which means it can be used on any terrain. It can be used without the flysheet on hot days and the mesh is see through for star gazing. It’s a high-quality product, one of the lightest and most compact in test and reasonably priced. 

The Best Luxury Motorcycle Tent:

Lone Rider MotoTent

5/5

The Lone Rider MotoTent takes this win because of its huge vestibule. Usually, you’d expect to get your panniers and boots in there, but the MotoTent has enough space for a GS! This is particularly handy if you need a quick shelter to work on your bike. You can stand up in the tent, it’s a lot more comfortable than crawling into a small tunnel tent and would be the best tent to live in.  

The Best Budget Motorcycle Tent:

Vango Nevis 200 

5/5

The Vango Nevis 200 isn’t the cheapest tent on this test (that goes to the ultra budget Vango Soul), but it is the best budget tent. You get a lot for your money here. At under £100, the Vango offers a quality tent, incredibly easy to pitch, light, fast packing and erecting and small pack size. This is the perfect tent for getting into motorcycle travel and camping or for those who don’t camp often but need to carry a tent for emergencies. 

Final thoughts…

There’s a lot to consider when choosing a tent for your motorcycle travels. Do you want a removable fly sheet, does it need to be freestanding, weight, volume and pack size, how much are you willing to spend, how often will you sleep in it and so on. It all comes into play and there’s no definitive answer as everyone’s wants, needs, trips and requirements are different. Personally, we have found, after travelling on bikes and camping along the way for the last fifteen years, that lightweight, low volume, freestanding tents with removable fly covers work best in the widest variety of conditions and trips. But what works for us might not for you, so we hope the above guide and 10 options help you make up your mind and pick the perfect motorcycle tent. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and happy camping!

Read more on Motorcycle Tents and Camping Gear

Thanks for checking out our 10 Best Motorcycle Camping Tents Guide. We hope you enjoyed it! Here’s a few more articles on motorcycle camping, packing, luggage and gear that we recommend you read next. 

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Let us know what you think of this 10 Best Motorcycle Camping Tents Guide in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you if you have any suggestions, questions or use any of these tents. 

23 thoughts on “The 10 BEST Motorcycle Camping Tents”

  1. Top article guys. I was considering the Lone Rider tent because i’m tired of getting changed on my back and want the extra space so i’m glad it was listed here. Cheers

    Reply
    • Hey Danny, thanks very much for your comment. Yeah, it can really start to grate after a while – especially on rainy days, it’s just miserable. The Lone Rider is a pretty solid choice if you want a bit of extra luxury to get changed and even cook with that massive vestibule. Good luck on your trips!

      Reply
  2. I’ve been debating whether to take a tent or a hammock on my trip. But your guide bit here has got me thinking about freestanding tents and what i’d do if i can’t find any trees! Think i’m going for a tent and freestanding. Perhaps the MSR. What do you think?

    Reply
    • Hey Brian, thanks very much for your comment. That’s a good question, I have seen a lot of people recommend hammocks and they do seem like a good idea in some situations, but not for long-term trips where you have no idea where you’ll be sleeping every night. The times they seem to work are for people going on a tour who know the terrain they’re travelling through. The last thing you want to do after a long ride is spend an hour searching for two trees or poles.
      It depends on where you’re going, the type of terrain you’re travelling through and how often you’re camping.

      Yeah, the MSR is a great tent and I’d certainly recommend it. I have been using it for the last three years nearly daily and it hasn’t let me down. I’d go for a two or three man version for extra space.

      On a separate note, I am pulling together a Top 10 Hammocks guide and will reply on here when it goes live. Cheers

      Reply
  3. Hi, great guide and I found the how to choose the right tent bit particularly useful. I’ve decided on my tent now (thanks to you), just got to arrange the rest of the camping equipment as it’s a bit of a mess at the moment. It’s been a long time since touring with a tent and I’m looking forward to getting back into it. Many thanks

    Reply
      • Thank you very much for your speedy reply. Brilliant thank you for the links. I had seen the camping gear one but missed the trip packing list and it looks very in-depth which is exactly what I need.
        I’m thinking of doing a few big Europe tours to cut my teeth and get used to it all again and hone my packing. I’m considering heading south to Portugal, north to Norway and then east to Slovakia and Turkey so I can cover a really good chunk of it. If you have any suggestions i’d be grateful.

        Reply
        • No worries! That sounds like an excellent idea and a pretty big Europe trip! There’s loads to cover on a trip like that, it all depends on how much time you have, but it’s certainly a good plan. We actually have guides for each of the places you’ve mentioned and the countries in between. You’ll find all of them in the Europe Motorcycle Travel Guides page. There are guides in there for Norway, Portugal, Slovakia and Turkey as well as countries you’ll be crossing to get to them like France, Italy etc. Check those out and shoot over any specific questions you have. ps. definitely dedicate a good chunk of your time to Turkey, such an incredible country to ride. Our Turkey guides go into more detail on routes etc.

          Reply
  4. Cracking i’m going to try out the lone rider. Can’t be doing with laying down in a tent while putting me trousers on. I need to be able to stand up and it looks like your lonerider tent you listed is the best for that. Thanks for the article chaps

    Reply
    • Hey! Thanks very much! Cool! Let us know how you get on with the Lone Rider tent… it seems to be quite a popular choice. Cheers

      Reply
  5. You don’t test Big Agnes? Like the Big Agnes Copper Spur hv ul2 bikepack which has poles with a length of only 12″. RTWPaul seems to be very glad with it.

    Reply
    • Hi Paul, thanks for your comment. Yeah, the Big Agnes isn’t currently on this list. Thanks for pointing that out – I’ll do some research into the tent. Cheers.
      Andy

      Reply
  6. Another great, detailed review.
    You certainly put the effort in!
    Very informative, lots of good info to help make the right decision ?
    Thanks.
    Gary.

    Reply
    • Hi Gary! Thanks very much for your comment, that’s really kind of you to say and greatly appreciated! Many thanks 🙂
      What tent did you go for? Off on any trips soon?
      Cheers,
      Andy

      Reply
  7. A lot of effort put into make a great review/comparison. One critique however, it may not bother many people but for me a dealbreaker is to do with where they are made and who owns the company. abC – anywhere but China! If I can find a domestic manufacturer they get first shot at my business but beyond that, abC!

    Reply
    • Hey Francisco, thanks for your comment and suggestion.
      Interesting that you say that. While the Abel (and other similar style tents) do look cool, i’m not convinced of long term practicality for extended motorcycle trips.
      Would love to hear your thoughts!
      Cheers,
      Andy

      Reply
  8. Great reading these articles. I have always found the Vango Omega 250 a great tent. Plenty of space/weight and can even sit in a lightweight chair and cook if need be.

    Reply
    • Thanks for your comment Julia, glad you’re enjoying the articles! Yeah, I agree, the Vango is a great tent and like you say especially for space and weight – and price too.
      Thanks,
      Andy

      Reply
  9. I can relate to your sentiment regarding the manufacturing location. Most companies seem to choose Asia for that. I know that Swedish brand Hilleberg has their production facilities in Estonia. Their tents are of a very high quality and by no means a budget choice in any regard. Especially backpackers like them due to their small pack size and weight, a consideration they share with many motorcycle campers.

    And being Swedish, Hilleberg should know a thing or two about how to design a tent that can take a beating in any weather, in any season.

    Reply

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