Best Beach Tents

Setup time: 22 seconds
Takedown time: 1 minute, 58 seconds

If your motto is “buy once and buy well,” the L.L.Bean Sunbuster Folding Shelter won’t disappoint. This was the easiest tent to set up and take down, and it was also the one that boasted the most features and highest-quality materials.

Setup/takedown: This tent comes with a matching carrying case. The case features a shoulder strap and instructions (with images) attached to the inside. It was the easiest tent to set up in part because the instructions were clear (which wasn’t the case with all of the tents we evaluated). Hold the base of the tent at eye level and look for the helpful “pull here” label on a yellow cord at the base that tells you exactly which piece to tug toward you for the tent to pop up into place. Give the cord a strong pull and make sure it’s locked into place (you’ll know it is once the tent stands upright and doesn’t buckle). Simply straighten out the legs from there and you’ll be in business.

Unlike every other tent on this list, this one doesn’t require you to manually unscrew the legs from the individual bases that are attached (though no tools are required to do this) before setting it up or taking it down, which is a time-saver. Takedown is simple: Hold the top of the hub with one hand and pull the lower hub handle downward with your other hand until the tent collapses. I’m 5 feet, 7 inches and found this comfortable to do, but if you are shorter, you may need to stand on your tiptoes or tilt the top of the tent toward you. 

A majority of my takedown time was spent putting the tent back into its carrying bag. L.L.Bean deserves a round of applause for supplying a spacious bag that isn’t as difficult to pack as the others we tried out. But I still recommend taking your time when folding the fabric on any of these tents so that it’s as compact as possible. (L.L.Bean recommends folding the fabric inward toward the poles like a flower.) This will lead to less frustration when packing it into the bag. 

Wind resistance: The tent comes with eight plastic stakes (which weigh 0.4 ounce and are 8 inches long). I highly recommend securing the L.L.Bean and every tent to the sand. Even if you assemble your tent on a calm morning, it doesn’t take much wind to move it. I also recommend filling the tent’s three nylon sand pockets with sand for additional stability.

Features: This tent feels roomy and could fit two adults (maybe three) and a child. It boasts an extendable floor for extra coverage. It has the best privacy features of all these tents, including a fully private front door that stays in place with secure buckles and loops (you can easily close it from the inside of the tent, too). Three large windows have fine mesh screens for ventilation and privacy flaps that also stay up and secure using a buckle and loop system.

A small zippered pocket is attached to the left side of the tent where you can place your phone or wallet. The tent is made from UV-resistant ripstop polyester fabric with UPF 50+ sun protection, according to the manufacturer. We didn’t test the fabric with a UV meter but it feels thick and provides shade from the sun.

Things that annoyed us: If you lack arm strength or are on the shorter side, you may not find this the easiest tent to set up or take down by yourself. And it comes only in one color.

Setup time: 1 minute, 43 seconds
Takedown time: 3 minutes, 47 seconds

If Oileus and OutdoorMaster (below) could combine forces and create a new tent borrowing from the best of both of their features, you’d have a stellar midpriced option. For now, though, the Oileus XL Beach Tent is our preferred tent by a narrow margin, mainly because of its easy setup and takedown process. 

Setup/takedown: Take the Oileus out of its matching carrying case (which features a shoulder strap and instructions with images attached to the inside of the bag) and shake its legs loose so that they drape around the fabric. Two ropes are located at the top hub of the tent. Pull the ropes—with force—in opposite directions and upward until the tent’s legs are fully spread. The tricky part is lining up and connecting the top hub with the bottom hub, something that took me a few tries to click into place. Straighten out the legs and manually screw the bottom of them (no tools needed) into the leg bases that are attached to the tent. 

To take down the Oileus, hold the top hub with one hand and pull the lower hub downward with your other hand. It collapsed in seconds, but most of my time was spent unhooking the legs from their base and methodically folding the fabric so that it was compact enough to fit back into the carrying case. 

Wind resistance: The Oileus tent features six pockets that can be filled with sand for stability. It also comes with eight steel stake pegs that weigh 0.3 ounce each and measure 6 inches in length. 

Features: We love how lightweight this tent feels; it weighs just 4 pounds and is the easiest to carry. It has two windows that are smaller than the L.L.Bean Sunbuster Folding Shelter’s windows, and both are made with fine mesh for ventilation. You can cover the windows with privacy flaps, but the only way to keep them up is with fabric-fastener closures. Two of them were already beginning to come loose after I tested them a few times.

The extendable floor is a perk, and there are two small mesh pockets inside where you can store small items. The front door can be zipped up from the inside or outside for complete privacy (it also has elastic closures). According to the manufacturer, the tent is made from polyester with UPF 50+ protection, but doesn’t feel quite as thick as the L.L.Bean tent’s fabric. It comes in six colors. 

Things that annoyed us: The elastic closures on the windows and doors are not as secure as buckles and loops. And we wish the carrying bag was roomier because stuffing the tent’s fabric into it after takedown is no one’s idea of a good time.

Setup time: 3 minutes, 14 seconds
Takedown time: 6 minutes, 12 seconds

OutdoorMaster, why must you break my heart? This tent had so much promise—it includes three large ventilation windows and not a stitch of Velcro in its design—but its setup and takedown times left a lot to be desired. 

Setup/takedown: Let’s get straight to my biggest gripe: I found setting up and taking down this tent inconsistent regarding the time it took. The tent comes in a matching carrying bag with a shoulder strap. (Instructions with images are attached to the inside.) I was grateful to see labels on the top hub that read “push down” to tell me exactly where to apply pressure to get the tent to pop up.

It took a few tries and a bit of strength, but it popped out—and then came the part where I unfolded one leg to straighten it, and at the same time, a different leg that I had already straightened popped back up into its original position. After playing a game of Whac-A-Mole with the legs, I found more frustration in twisting the legs into the small holes on their bases. Some slid into the hole in the base with ease, while others did not. 

Taking the tent down was easier. The bulk of my time was spent carefully wrapping the tent’s fabric around its legs so that it would fit in the carrying bag. Push the two sides of the top hub toward each other, and the tent collapses. Make sure you move your fingers quickly, though, or they could get stuck in the hub area, which seems like it would hurt.

Wind resistance: The OutdoorMaster Pop-Up Beach Tent is designed with five sand pockets for stability. It came with six plastic stakes that weigh 0.5 ounce each and are 8 inches long.

Features: This tent has several great features. Three large mesh windows provide airflow but can be covered with privacy flaps that stay secure thanks to buckles and loops (not a fabric fastener). It has the same extended floor as the L.L.Bean and Oileus tents, and the front door can be zipped up from the outside or inside for complete privacy.

Two small interior mesh pockets can be used to store items like your phone and wallet. The tent is made from polyester, fiberglass, and nylon and has UPF 50+ protection, according to the manufacturer. The material feels similar to the Oileus XL Beach Tent—substantial, but not as sturdy as the L.L.Bean tent. 

Things that annoyed us: The setup wasn’t entirely stress-free. The carrying bag is frustratingly narrow, and it took too long to fold the fabric after taking the tent down and trying to fit it back inside the bag.

Setup time: 3 minutes, 22 seconds
Takedown time: 3 minutes, 46 seconds

Do you enjoy feeling your blood pressure soar on an otherwise beautiful day? Well, have I got the beach tent for you. The Wakeman Outdoors Leisure Sports Pop-Up Beach Tent is so determined to give you a headache that it doesn’t even include instructions—so your fun begins with taking wild guesses at what Target had in mind when it designed it. 

Setup/takedown: I tore this tent in two places the first time I set it up, and that’s because I am wildly bad at setting things up, and because it lacks instructions. And if you push too hard on its legs to get them to unfold, the material will rip. It comes in a carrying bag with a short shoulder strap (it’s more like an elbow strap). Position the legs around the top hub and push down until it pops up. That’s the easy part. The unbearably frustrating part is extending one leg and securing it into an attached base while another leg pops out of its base and pokes you in the face. 

Taking down the tent was easier. Remove the legs from their bases before collapsing the tent by pulling upward at the hub. Take your time folding the fabric so that it’s compact or you may find yourself on the beach at midnight still trying to cram the Wakeman tent fabric back into its carrying case. 

Wind resistance: The Wakeman Outdoors Leisure Sports Pop-Up Beach Tent is designed with five sand pockets. It comes with four metal stakes that weigh 0.4 ounce each and measure 6.5 inches in length. 

Features: This lightweight tent has two windows made from fine mesh and privacy panels that roll up and stay up with buckles and loop closures. If you want to use the flaps for privacy, they can be secured at the bottom with a fabric fastener. It’s the only tent on this list that doesn’t have a floor that extends, and there’s no way of closing the front for complete privacy. It has two interior mesh storage pockets and is made from 190T polyester with UPF 50+ PU coating, according to the manufacturer.

Of all of the tents we evaluated, this one felt like it had the cheapest material. While the floors of all of the other tents felt smooth and relatively comfortable (at the end of the day, it’s a tent, not a sofa), this one was slippery and crinkly and felt the most like a tarp.

Things that annoy us: I like saving money, and I want everyone to save money when possible. So what I found most annoying about this tent was that it costs about $43—not $15—and for about $20 more, you can purchase the Oileus XL Beach Tent, which is far better quality and has more features. If the Wakeman costs half the price it currently does, I would shout from a rooftop, “Buy it! Careful not to rip it!” But I can’t justify spending more than $40 for a tent that feels like it won’t last very long.