7 Best Tube Tents For Emergency Survival 2023

We compiled a list of the best emergency tube tents to help you get a head start on building a life-saving emergency survival kit.

Arguably, ways to camp without a tent exist, and comfort often trumps all else. Spending time outdoors is relaxing and a great way to relieve stress. Sometimes camping is forced on us, and the relaxing portion of camping goes out the window. Hurricanes and severe weather shut down the power grid in the hardest hit areas all the time, sometimes for days or weeks at a time.

If your home is flooded, contaminated, or destroyed, you need to be ready to camp indefinitely. Ignoring the fact that there is much more to survival camping than the tent, the tent is the best place to start building a survival cache.

Trying to cope with a disaster plus exposure to the weather will almost always end poorly. In that spirit, we did the hard part for you and found the best tube tents to help you survive in an emergency camping situation.

Durability was our first concern. In a survival situation, you won’t get too many chances to run to the hardware store and buy a new tent.

Patching a tent is out of the question for the same reason. We looked for tents made of sturdy materials to endure rough weather or extended periods of storage. Needing a survival tube tent only to discover it is brittle or broken from lengthy storing quickly reduces morale.

A tube tent typically houses one person. For this reason, size and weight are less of a concern than durability, but we still considered size and weight when choosing the best ones. If you find yourself traveling on foot, a heavy, windproof tent isn’t ideal for surviving. Honestly, the only time a weighted tent designed to withstand high winds is useful is if you become stranded in Antarctica.

Tube tents are easy to set up. They are small and easy to handle if you are alone. Nevertheless, humans often try to fix the unbroken and improve things that are working correctly already. The same is true with these products, so our search for the best ones rooted out several models that took set-up way too far. If it’s not easy to set up in less than five minutes, it didn’t make our list.

Overall customer comments or reviews play a large part in the final results. Comments on the durability of the tent are essential along with what customers say about the comfort level of the tent. Except for two tents, the prices range from around $$ to $$.

Some of the tents are easier to setup and required fewer steps. In some emergency situations wind and lack of light make working with your hands difficult, so setup difficulty and speed wound up making the final decisions for us.

The price isn’t a factor. Most tube tents, especially those designed for emergency survival, are inexpensive. At the bare minimum, you can get a mylar tent for around $. So, we only use price as a tie breaker for this list. If two tents are pretty close on durability, size, weight, and setup time, their prices determine where they fit on the list.

Our Picks for the Best Emergency Tube Tents

We listed the tents in a random order for the details portion of this article. However, the first tent on the list is the lowest ranking tent on the list. That’s the only spoiler you get at this point. Check the buyers guide below the list of tents to find out which of these tents ranked number one.

There is no feasible way for us to determine the exact circumstances you’ll be in when you need an emergency tent. Use our list to narrow your search but consider where you live and what could cause you to need a tent before buying one.

SharpSurvival Emergency Survival Shelter Tent

As we mentioned in the previous paragraph, this tent is at the bottom of the list. Its place on the list is more honorary than anything else. You can put this tent in the trunk of your car or almost any bag. It sets up quickly, and it is better than no tent at all. That said, sleeping in one is similar to sleeping inside a potato chip bag.

• Durability and material: it’s made of mylar and will tear easily
• Size: 8’ x 5’ two-person tent
• Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Setup time: about two minutes
• Price: $ on Amazon

This bright orange tent is perfect for emergency survival or a short hunting trip. It will fit in most packs easily, and it sets up quickly. Reinforced corners and tie-down holes prevent the tent from taking damage from multiple uses. It’s waterproof and helps retain body heat. The only problem we found is the tent is designed to be strung up with a rope through grommets at the top of both ends. The grommets leave room for rain or insects to enter the tent.

• Durability and material: tear resistant material coated with aluminum on the inside
• Size: 6.8’ x 3’ two-person tent
• Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Setup time: about two minutes
• Price: $ on Amazon

This tent isn’t designed to trap heat like a typical emergency heat, so you’ll need warm clothes or a sleeping bag if it’s cold. It’s built to withstand moderate winds and rain. The zippered entrance is covered in a mesh net to keep insects on warm nights. It takes more room to pack and more time to set up, but it will last for years, unlike cheaper tents.

• Durability and material: tear resistant, coated polyester
• Size: 7.8’ x 4.4’ one-person tent
• Weight: 5 pounds
• Setup time: about nine minutes
• Price: $$ on Amazon

Stay cool in warm weather and warm in cold weather inside this tent. It’s water resistant but ventilated for warm weather. The vented roof releases heat quickly when not sealed for cold nights. It weighs less than three pounds and fits anywhere a magazine fits, minus the two aluminum poles. If you leave the rain cover off, the tent functions as an insect free enclosure. It’s almost two tents in one.

• Durability and material: water and tear resistant materials
• Size: 3’ x 7.5’ one-person tent
• Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Setup time: about five minutes
• Price: $$ on Amazon

• Durability and material: waterproof and tear resistant Rip-Stop fabric
• Size: 3’ x 7.5’ one-person tent
• Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Setup time: less than a minute
• Price: $$ on Amazon

Great for a hiking trip or surviving a natural disaster. Like many single person tents, this one uses a waterproof cover to blanket an inner mesh. With the cover on it helps retain heat and keep the weather out; remove the cover for warm, dry nights. It packs easily and fits in any space that’s at least 15-inches deep and 8-inches wide.

• Durability and material: waterproof and tear resistant cover
• Size: 2.6’ x 8’ one-person tent
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Setup time: about 3 minutes
• Price: $$ on Amazon

This tent is ready in a flash, even in poorly lit circumstances. It’s small enough to fit under the seat of your car or in a small survival kit bag. The waterproof outer polyester cover keeps you dry in bad weather. With the cover removed, the inner nylon mesh protects you from insects and lets heat escape on warm, dry evenings.

• Durability and material: waterproof and tear resistant Rip-Stop fabric
• Size: 3.25’ x 7.8’ one-person tent
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Setup time: about 3 minutes
• Price: $$$ on Amazon

The Final Results

In the end, our favorite tent was the Winterial Single Person Tent because it goes up fast, keeps the weather out, and got the best customer comments. The price difference between most of the tents except the last two on the list was close. Expect to spend $$ to $$ on a durable tent that you can use for emergencies or an overnight hiking trip.

All the tents we reviewed are excellent solutions for most emergency camping needs. The results were close. The top three tents we chose made the list because they are the easiest to setup and have the fastest setup times. The fourth and fifth tents on the list are more difficult to set up. The last two tents are easy to setup, but less durable and don’t offer 100 percent waterproofing. They are the cheapest tents on the list. So cheap you could buy three or four of them to store in several locations, or for additional family members.

• #1 Winterial Single Person Tent
• #2 Mil-Tec Recon One Man Tent Coyote
• #3 Aqua Quest Hooped Tent
• #4 Snugpak the Ionosphere One Man Dome Tent
• #5 Eureka! Solitaire Tent
• #6 SE ET3683 Emergency Outdoor Tube Tent
• #7 SharpSurvival Emergency Survival Shelter Tent

Our Emergency Tube Tent Buyer’s Guide

Being prepared for any emergency that comes up is impossible, but you must start someplace. A good tent is a great place to start. Depending on the tent you chose, the price might be low enough to buy three or four tents.

Store them in your survival bag, in the car, or anywhere you can get to quickly. Consider mix matching your tent choices with a high-quality tent and a few mylar tents. If your main survival kit is unavailable, a cheap mylar tent will do in a pinch, and you can store them anywhere.

A good tent is an excellent start, but no amount of prepping will help you if you don’t consider your environment. For instance, if you spend most of your time in an area that never has tornadoes, prepping for a tornado is probably a waste of time. Before you commit to a tent, decide what natural disasters or other emergencies occur near you.

The tent you choose needs to fit in with your environment. Consider tents that hold in body heat for colder climates where blackouts or heavy snow is a factor. In places prone to hurricanes or flooding, a waterproof tent is better than a water-resistant tent. Almost any tent we listed works in warmer climates if it has a removable outer cover.

Will you fit in the tent and can you get in and out of it quickly? Most tube tents will accommodate a person up to 6.5′ tall easily. It’s dangerous to use a tent you can’t escape from quickly. During a flood or storm with heavy rain, water can rise rapidly. If getting in and out of your tent is a struggle, you run the risk of being trapped inside the tent. Always have an exit strategy.

They key things to consider before buying a tent are where you plan to use the tent, the durability, weatherproofing, and storage options. You want a tent that fits your potential emergency needs and is durable enough to withstand prolonged use or storage. Your tent must be suitable for any weather conditions you expect from heavy rain to cold weather comfort.

The tents we listed are all lightweight tents you can store in any backpack, survival kit, or under the seat of your car. Emergencies often require travel to stay ahead of rising water, get to safer areas, reach supplies, and a host of other reasons.

Merely waiting for help is never a good idea unless it’s unsafe to travel. The tent plus the weight of your other survival gear will slow you down. Always choose a survival tent that weighs less than five pounds including any support rods or stakes.

Conclusion

You can’t prepare for every emergency, but you will improve your chances of surviving if you adjust for most emergencies. An emergency tent is arguably the best starting point. The tent is the single most expensive part of your kit, so put some thought into the purchase. Our list is a great place to begin your search.