Inflatable Air Tents

What an inflatable air tent is

An air tent stands on tubes of air, called air beams or air poles, in place of rigid poles. You peg it out flat, connect the pump, and the beams fill and lift the tent into shape. With no poles to thread or snap, one person can put up a big tent quickly, and taking it down is a matter of opening the valves. Many of the air beams here are PVC tubes.

Dome, cabin, pod, awning or roof tent: which air tent

• Inflatable family and dome tents for four to eight. See family tents.
• Inflatable cabin tents, the biggest being 420 by 513cm and 330cm high. See cabin tents.
• Connectable air tents: the MOT-Q500 joins extra bedroom pods by zip. See two and three room tents.
• Inflatable porch awnings and roof tents for caravans and cars. See tents with awnings and roof tents.
• Clear inflatable domes for events. See bubble tents.

The pump, the valves and a spare

Check what pump comes with it. Some air tents here come with a hand pump, one with an electric pump, and on one the pump is an optional extra, so read each listing. A hand pump fills a family tent in minutes; an electric one saves your arms on a big tent. Keep a repair kit in the bag in case a beam is pierced. See tent repair kits.

Heavier than they look

Air beams weigh more than poles. The 4-5 person air dome here, 220 by 220cm, weighs about 7kg and the connectable MOT-Q500 about 13kg. The four-season one-bedroom air tent weighs 29.5kg and the big inflatable cabin 95kg. They are tents for the car.

What the waterproof rating means on an air tent

The rating in millimetres, the hydrostatic head, is the height of a column of water the fabric holds back before it leaks, tested to BS EN ISO 811. About 1,000mm is the lowest rating usually called waterproof, most lightweight flysheets are 1,500mm to 3,000mm, and more is worth having for long wet trips or a family tent left up for days. The groundsheet is often rated higher, because you kneel and lie on it. The air tents here that state it are rated 3,000mm to 5,000mm. Taped seams matter as much as the number. Shop by rating: to 2,000mm, to 3,000mm and 5,000mm and over.

Questions people ask about air tents

Do I need to top up the air?

Air shrinks as it cools, so check the beams the first evening and give them a few pumps if one feels soft.

Which air tents are for winter?

A 4-season tent: stronger poles, and a snow skirt round the bottom of the flysheet to stop wind and snow blowing underneath. See 4-season tents, and hot tents with a stove jack for tents that take a stove. Never take a barbecue or a stove without a flue into a tent: carbon monoxide kills. With a hot tent, use its own kind of stove and a carbon monoxide alarm.

How long does delivery take?

Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when that tent usually arrives, so check it before ordering for a set date.

More to look at

• Air beam tents
• Family tents
• Instant and automatic tents
• Cabin tents
• 5-man tents
• Tent repair kits
• Guide: Air tents or pole tents
• Guide: How to choose a tent: the UK buying guide