Air Tents with Porch / Canopy

Air tents with porch or canopy are becoming increasingly popular: a porch provides a much needed extra living space, while protects from the elements. Some air tents actually have bigger porch than the size of the enclosed living room.

In this post I have looked at the different size and type of porches, to give you an idea of what’s out there and make it easier for you to find an air tent with a porch.

What you will find in this post:

Things to consider
Air tents with porch (built-in)
- Small air tent, large porch (4-berth)
- Medium air tent, large porch (5-7-berth)
- Large air tent, large porch (8-berth +)
Air tents with additional canopy
Comparison table

Things to consider when looking for an air tent with a porch

How I grouped the air tents according to the size of the porch

I have categorised them by the size of the tent itself and the size of the porch. One thing to add as a footnote: a small porch on a large air tent is completely different to a small porch on a small air tent. So when I say small porch, it’s rather compared to the size of the living area and the size of the porch of other tents of similar size, then the objective size of the porch itself.

You can find a comparison table with search function at the bottom of this page (viewing on a desktop computer is recommended). Obviously, it is not a comprehensive list, it’s just to give you some idea if you are completely stuck and/or confused and can’t choose your next air tent with a porch.

Canopy vs. Built-in canopy

I tried to focus on the ones that actually have a large, built-in porch, and exclude those that only have a canopy. I detailed tents such as the Genus 400 and Genus 800 (you can buy an additional canopy that fits the Genus tents), or the Zempire TM Lite Air – Zempire have a unique canopy system whereby the front door of the porch can be used as a canopy, in this post as well, just to get the full picture.

These additional canopies can be great if you are looking for something that protects you from the sun for example (and from light to moderate rain), but they don’t have side walls at all. On the other hand, you can enjoy a summer breeze while sinking into your camping chair – built in porches are usually better protected from the elements in a good and a lesser good sense as well.

I excluded those that only have a small built-in canopy. These are good if you want to avoid rain spattering on the front door, so you can at least leave the mesh open. Therefore, tents like the Berghaus Air 6XL, or the Vango Lomond 500 are not the ones that you look for, if you need an air tent with a larger porch.

Porch – airbeam v. fibreglass pole

The canopy over the porch, most often, is held by an extra air beam; but sometimes there’s a fibreglass pole included with the inflatable tent just for the canopy. There’s not a big difference in functionality.

Function and Size of the porch

In terms of size, the canopies vary from being relatively small (1 metre) to very large. It really depends on the philosophy of the manufacturer: for some, the enclosed living space is more important and the canopy is there for merely protecting the front entrance from rain.

Others prefer to have a large porch which strengthens the connection with the great outdoors, and the living rooms has a function of a ‘last resort’ in case the weather turns miserable.

Groundsheet under the porch

Types of groundsheet

There three types of groundsheet under the porch:

No groundsheet at all
Loose (toggle) groundsheet (can be rolled up when not needed). Normally, they are attached by velcro or toggles and covered by flaps to ensure they a smooth attachment to the flysheet. Very often, the bottom of the front entrance is not attached to the loose groundsheet at all, leaving a gap there. Water can come in on that gap, which then remains on the groundsheet (as it cannot escape into the ground).
Sewn-in or Built-in groundsheet (cannot be removed). It gives better insulation and protection from water / bugs / cold, however I slightly confused by the concept that there is minimal difference between the porch and the living room.

As for the materials used, groundsheet is made of a heavy duty polyester material (‘tarp’) with additional water resistant layer(s), which is reflected in a HH(mm) rating. Because of the different type of usage, you can really compare this HH rating to the one given for the flysheet; for a groundsheet, at least 5000mm HH is considered ideal.

Thickness

The thickness of the material varies, on cheaper tents it starts from 120 gsm, while premium tents tend to have 180 gsm and above. Obviously, it’s reflected in the weight of the tent, but as premium tents usually are above 35 kgs, it does not really matter if they weigh 37 or 38.5 kg.

Protecting the groundsheet

The thickness also has an effect on the durability – imagine you pitch the tent on a rockier surface with some small stones, and you step on the groundsheet with you 70-80 kilos or so. Even a small rock can easily pierce the groundsheet under such weight. So it’s important to protect the groundsheet with a footprint or a carpet, if you intend to keep it free of water.

Air tents with porch

Small air tents, large porch (up to 4 berths)

1. Coleman FastPitch Air Valdes 4

The Coleman FastPitch Air Valdes range has always been the one with large porch area, in exchange for having a relatively small living area. The porch takes up almost half of the tent: while the tent sits on a 18.9 sqm footprint, the porch takes up 7.9 square metres (39%). And, contrary to some of the other tents detailed in this post, this is the actual area covered by the canopy and the area measured on the footprint.

The bedrooms are good sized, providing 70cm per person which is above average, certainly in this category. The bedrooms are full black out (Coleman was the one who introduced the term ‘Black Out Bedrooms’; more on this in Air Tents with Blackout Bedrooms).

As I said, the only downside is the small bedroom which is only 4.5 square metres large – 150 cms by 300 cms. It’s is easily accessible through the large side doors or through the porch.

The Coleman FastPitch Air Valdes is, needless to say, 100% waterproof: 4500mm HH flysheet combined with taped seams and fully sewn-in groundsheet will keep you dry, whatever the weather. The UV guard providing is SPF 50 (which sounds good but in fact it does not block both UVA and UVB rays so be careful).

The Coleman FastPitch Air Valdes 4 is available on Amazon.

If you can’t find the Air Valdes 4 (which often happens), or you find the living room too small, you can give the WeatherMaster 4XL a chance. It has large blackout bedrooms, full stand-up height across the entire lenght of the tent, 5 airbeams, large windows and light colour ceiling, sewn-in groundsheet and a large living area.

The porch area, relative to the size of the entire tent is not outstanding; but because the tent itself is large, the porch is quite roomy in terms of square meterage. There’s no groundsheet under the porch area, unless you buy a footprint separately.

The good news is, that the cheaper 2020 Coleman Weathermaster 4XL model is still available while the new stock is due in shortly.

Coleman WeatherMaster 4XL air tent with porch – focus on the living room, but because the tent is large, the porch is large too

2. Zempire EVO TM Air

This small 4-person air tent is very different to the Coleman Weathermaster 4XL: roughly 75% of the size, yet, the porch is almost as big as of the Coleman’s. The large porch of the Zempire EVO TM Air is 4.5 square metres and takes up little more than the quarter of the the tent (28% exactly).

Unlike the Weathermaster, the Zempire EVO TM Air’s built-in porch has an upright front profile rather than a sloping one, meaning that 150 cm length of the canopy can be measured on the roof, not just on the ground.

There are large windows on both sides of the porch, so it won’t feel enclosed and isolated.

The tent itself has two large bedrooms and a decent living room, however the living room is only marginally larger than the porch area.

There is no groundsheet under the porch, unless you buy the additional footprint. The footprint is available as a bundle deal.

Apart from that, the groundsheet is fully sewn-in, the flysheet is 150D, 135T Poly Oxford fabric with HH 5000mm PU Coating . All Zempire models are torrential rain tested to ensure maximum weather protection. As I said, the bedrooms are large (70 cm per head) but they are not black-out bedrooms.

Big thumbs up for weighing only 22.5 kgs.

The Zempire EVO TM is available at Winfields Outdoors, or you can pick up last year’s model from eBay as long as stock lasts

Zempire EVO TM air tent with porch – upright / flat front profile to maximise the porch area. 150 cm measured on the roof.

3. Outdoor Revolution Edale 4TC

The winner of this category – it seems – is the Outdoor Revolution Edale 4 TC air tent. It is only slightly bigger than the Zempire Evo TM Air, yet, the porch area is 5.89 square metres. It means, that exactly 33% , one third of the footprint of the tent is the porch.

There is one BUT, which is the sloping front profile – the length of the canopy (measured on the roof) is only 1 metre, compared to the 150 cm measured on the Zempire.

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If you can forgive that, you can be as big a fan of the Edale 4 TC as I am: it is a POLYCOTTON tent, which is absolutely amazing given that it’s only a £100 more expensive than the Zempire EVO TM for example (and same price as the 2021 Coleman WeatherMaster 4XL).

The tent occupies little over 17 square metres. As I said, one third of it is the porch area, the other big chunk is taken up by the bedrooms that sleep 4 and provide 65 cm per head. Understandably, the living room has been sacrificed: it’s only 4.5 square metres large (small).

The groundsheet is fully sewn-in under the main tent, and loose under the porch: it can be rolled up when not needed.

The Outdoor Revolution Edale 4TC is exclusive to Winfields Outdoors, click here for more details.

Outdoor Revolution Edale 4TC air tent with porch – a polycotton tent with a sloping front profile. Large porch, compared to the size of the tent.

4. Outwell Parkdale 4PA

Another air tent with a sloping front, but the porch area is still considerable. The canopy, measured on the roof, is ‘only’ 120 cms or so, while the enclosed porch area is 6.82 square metres, which is 35% of the size of the whole tent.

The Outwell Parkdale 4PA is a large tent, the 19.6 square metres of footprint allows for a relatively large living room and decent bedrooms as well (70 cm per head, sleeps 4 in two bedrooms).

It also has all the good things that normally come with an Outwell air tent: Outtex 4000 polyester flysheet, dark bedrooms, magnetic doors, HookTrack system and plenty of storage pockets.

The Outwell Parkdale 4PA is available at CampingWorld

Outwell Parkdale 4PA air tent with porch – large porch with the possibility to create a semi-open-plan space with the living room.

Medium air tents, large porch (5-7 berths)

5. Outdoor Revolution Mojave PC 5.0

Almost everything the I said above for the Edale 4TC, applies for the Mojave 5 PC too, but everything is bigger. The canopy (roof) is 140 cms, but thanks to the sloping front the toggle groundsheet extends 270 cm over the living room. It means that the porch area is more than 9 square metres, which is an amazing 39% of the size of the whole tent.

The porch is not just longer but wider, as the Mojave PC 5.0 is a 5-berth air tent. The bedrooms can sleep 3+2 providing 60 cm per head – so in reality it sleeps 4 with one master and a smaller second bedroom. The living room is more than 6 square metres large (mostly because the whole tent is wider than the Edale 4TC).

The Outdoor Revolution Mojave 5.0 PC is available at Winfields Outdoors.

Outdoor Revolution Mojave 5.0 PC air tent with porch – or living room?It does not matter if you open them together like this. The porch area is more than 9 square metres in itself.

6. Kampa Bergen 6 Air Pro

Spreading across almost 35 square metres, the Kampa Bergen 6 is definitely not short of space. A large proportion of it has been allocated to the living room, but there’s still enough left to include a 10.5 square metre porch area.

The Kampa Bergen 6 has a sloping front, the canopy itself is around 140 cms measured on the roof, while the footprint (if you buy that separately, otherwise there’s no groundsheet under the porch) under the porch area is 460 cms by 230 cms. Just as a reality check, it is bigger than an average single bedroom.