If you are looking for a cheap 6-man inflatable tent for a group or family of 4-6 (including kids), you will probably find what you are looking for in this post. There are a lot more 6-berth air tents, I know, but the ones I picked for this post are the ones that are not just decent quality, but very affordable at the same time. You must bear in mind that they are in the lower half of the market, so they won’t compare well to some of the more expensive ones in terms of the quality of the materials used or the space provided.

Most of them are sold as 6-berth tents, but in fact, they are comfortable for 4. Having said that, some of them are actually cheaper than a ‘luxury’ 4-berth tent, so it really is food for thought whether to go for a cheap 6-berth or a high-end 4-berth variant. Nonetheless, if these are too big, or too heavy for that matter, I can recommend 5 of the best entry level inflatable tents that are slightly smaller, or you can have a look at my round-up post for the Best Air Tents in 2020.

For this post I have selected 7, that are truly good value for money. I have tried to pick from ‘across the range’, from the cheapest to the not so cheap. Some are truly entry level inflatable tents, but especially the ones on the second half of the list could be recommended for the seasoned camper too.

• Airgo Air Genus 800 / Eurohike Genus 800
• Eurohike Air 600
• Quechua Air Seconds 6.3 XL Fresh & Black
• Vango Odyssey Air 600
• Outdoor Revolution Cruiz 6.0TXL
• Outwell Ansley 6A
• Berghaus Air 6

 

What Do You Need To Know About Inflatable Tents?

Inflatable tents, or air tents, have air beams instead of classic poles. You can erect them within 8-10 minutes using the hand pump that usually comes with them. They can offer a large living space (10 m2 and above) and most have a blackout room for a better night’s sleep or for a nap during the day.

They are completely water-proof, and some can resist winds up to 120 mph.

To mention some disadvantages as well: they are normally a bit heavier and you must carry the pump too. Plus, they can be a bit pricey; but more often you’d be surprised to see that some air tents are cheaper than the normal tents of the same size.

Affordable 6-person Air Tents

Disclaimer: despite the manufacturer calls them 6-person tents you will see that the size of these inflatable tents can vary a lot. I aimed to find those that truly offer the space that 6 person requires, but as I mentioned above, some may prove a bit tight for 6 adults.

 

Airgo Air Genus 800 / Eurohike Genus 800

I can’t not mention the the Airgo Air Genus 800. The Air Genus 800 and its almost identical successor, the Eurohike Genus 800 are supposed to sleep up to 8 people in two pods that face each other. On paper it sleeps 4 in each room, however the rooms are only 250 cm wide, which leaves 62.5 cms for each person for sleeping. While the Berghaus Air 6 claims to be a 6 person tent with the same layout and same size bedrooms (and bigger head room…)

In terms of living space, on top of having two bedrooms there is a central living area too, but it really is big enough for two camping chairs and a small camping table. The tunnel design should maximise your living space and head height, but the Airgo Air Genus is only 180cms high.

The groundsheet is ‘loose’, meaning you can roll it back to create a ‘wet area’ for your mucky gear. This has been very cleverly though out by the marketing team, in reality probably everything will be mucky. It should also be noted that since the ground sheet is loose, you virtually have no groundsheet under the bedrooms.

The materials used do the job just fine (68D thickness), the flysheet is weatherproof (4000mm HH) and the tent is comfortable inside. The ground sheet is 140gsm thick. I’d would have preferred a darker colour canvas rather than this light beige colour: every piece of dirt is visible from inside, and with time when stains and marks will cover the whole thing.  The pump is of course included.

It is easy to pitch just like all air tents: you connect the pump, fill the beams with air and then secure the pegs.

It packs up to a small and light package, weighing only 13.6 kgs and not taking up a lot of space either.

The one other thing that is a bit of a drawback is that the rooms don’t black-out fully. Having said that, the inner fabric is dark grey, it should give a decent shading…

If you’d like to have more details, I can recommend my detailed review on the Air Genus 800 or the Blacks / Millets / Ultimate Outdoors product page.

Eurohike Air 600

Slightly more expensive than the Air Genus 800, but cheaper than the Berghaus Air 6, the Eurohike Air 600 does not have to be ashamed at all. On sale at Millets’ eBay outlet at the moment, you can grab this for about half the price of the RRP.

The Eurohike Air 600 features high-performance air tubes and valve that makes pitching and deflating impressing: it literally takes seconds.

What you notice straight away that there are high- and low-level vents all around the tent, helping air ventilate thus reducing condensation on cooler mornings, and heat in the summer. The tent fabric is fully waterproof (4000mm HH) from the outside, while you have two black-out rooms inside. The divider is detachable.

The 465 x 385 cm footprint includes two 180 x 210 cm bedrooms, and a 235 x 385 cm living room.

The living room has 1 door at the front, 1 on the side, and two PVC windows on the side corners of the tent. There is plenty of room for 2 or more camping chairs on the 3000mm HH waterproof sewn-in groundsheet.

The inner height is full stand-up height, more than 2 metres; making it fully comfortable even for the highest member of the family.

The packed size is 75 x 45 x 43 cm and it weighs only 18.7 kg.

There are plenty of options to find out more details and to check the price of the Eurohike Air 600: eBay, Blacks / Millets / Ultimate Outdoors

If you’d like to know more, click here to see the full review of the Eurohike Air 600, including all the good and the bad stuff…

Vango Odyssey Airbeam 600, 600SC & 600 Deluxe

Vango are a Scottish company, who was probably the first introducing the air beam design. They are still the leaders in innovation and quality on the market of inflatable tents.

The Vango Odyssey 600 collection are all 3 beam tunnel constructions. They have full mesh doors and spacious living and sleeping area. Set up is of course easy, takes less than 10 minutes with a pump that comes with the tent. The structure is strong and prepared for all weathers (oh that Scottish heritage…): the canvas is made of durable 70D ProTex polyester that has 4000mm HH waterproof rating.

The living space is almost 17 sqm, the sleeping area is 210 x 360 cm (more than 7.5 sqm) so it can easily accommodate the family or friends. There is a divider to split the sleeping zone into two rooms. Also, worth noting that the rooms are equal size (180 x 210 cm), that provides a 60cm wide sleeping area for everyone.

Due to its design there is no vent on the top of the tent, so in warm weather it may become hot inside the Odyssey. Both rooms have a ‘Lights Out’ feature, meaning that you have an external waterproof shell tent, plus an inner smaller tent with a darker material that blocks the light out. The patio area is a single layer structure.

The Vango Odysseys are almost 2 metres high so there is plenty of headroom. Thanks to the tunnel type design, the 3 pre-angled air beam arches support the tent, and this gives it its tunnel profile and a high ceiling in the bigger part of it.

There are some nice built-in features too; like the full mesh doors, lantern hanging loops, storage pockets, see-through PVC windows and an inner tension band system for greater stability.

While the Odyssey 600 packs up to a rather concise carry-bag (70 x 38 x 38), they are quite heavy: the 600 weighs 17.5kg, the 600SC weighs 19.95 kg.

The SC stands for Sun Canopy, which attaches to the patio beam on the SC model. At the time of writing this article there is only a £10 difference between the SC and non-SC Odyssey 600, so it is really a matter of preference which one you go with.

As far as my recommendation goes: the Vango Odyssey 600s are slightly smaller than the Eurohike 600, but they are made more weatherproof. Owing to the fact that the Eurohikes are on sale, the Vangos are more expensive at the moment…

But real deal here is the Vango Odyssey 600 Deluxe. It has a 150D flysheet with improve waterproof coating, sewn-in groundsheet, mesh on all doors, and zipped divider in the bedroom rather than a toggled one.

I like Vangos a lot… and Vango tend to change their prices every day. If you like the Vango too, and want to grab it at the best price, follow this trick:

Add it to your Amazon Basket (but don’t check out) and get instantly notified by Amazon when the price drops!

The Odyssey 600 range is exclusive to Amazon. I place the links below, they should show the current price. If you can grab the Odyssesy around £430, or £480 for the SC, then I would not hesitate much. If you can get the Deluxe around £550 you have made a very good deal: other air tents with these features or even less, tend to go around £600 and upwards. If you’d like read more about 6-person Vango Air Tents, I recommend you this post: Vango 6-Berth Air Tents Review Pt1. (Odyssey 600, Amalfi 600, Icarus 600, Keswick 600)

Quechua Air Seconds 6.3 XL Fresh & Black

The Quechua Air Seconds 6.3 XL is the first and only 3-bedroom tent on the list: it features three 140 x 210 cm black-out bedrooms. Even with three bedrooms, the living room remained fairly large (300 x 240 cm, more than 7 sqm). The 3^rd bedroom can be removed too, in case you need a bigger living space.

The flysheet is rated 2000mm HH; however, Quechua use a different measure: they pour 200L water per square metre onto their tents for over 4 hours. While the PU or HH rating measures the waterproof properties of a fabric, this method measures the waterproof properties of the entire tent.

It’s possible to make a tent that will leak in many places through the seams and poorly designed openings with a fabric that can bear a 10,000 mm column of water or a perfectly waterproof tent with a fabric that has a 1000 mm rating. That’s why the column of water in millimetres ratings are not always the best indicators for measuring the waterproof properties of an entire tent… they only measure the waterproof properties of the fabric.

The Quechua tents are designed and developed to stop any water getting through the seams, flats, openings, zips, etc. so you can rest assured even if the weather turns bad.

The Air Seconds 6.3 XL is no different: Quechua sent it through this laboratory testing and put its durability to test in a wind tunnel too. The tent resisted in force 7 winds (around 40 mph).

The Air Seconds 6.3 XL folds into a 85 x 38 x 38 cm rectangular cover. It is quite heavy though, it weighs 25 kgs.

You can read my full review on the Quechua Air Seconds 6.3 XL here: Quechua Air Seconds 6.3 XL (Full Review)

Where to buy the Air Seconds 6.3 XL: Decathlon UK

Outdoor Revolution Cruiz 6.0TXL

The Outdoor Revolution Cruiz 4 and 6-berth air tents hit me by surprise with their low price ticket. The entire Cruiz air tent range have been introduced in 2019, shooting at weekenders and those who are not too picky on lower quality parts and fabrics, but sensitive to the amount of cash they leave at the tills… But Outdoor Revolutions idea of a  ‘lower quality’ air tent must be through the lenses of the already high quality tents they make. The result is an affordable, versatile range of air tents that have better specifications than most other tents on this list.

One example is the Oxygen Air-Frame of the Cruiz 6.0TXL. It utilises a quadruple oxygen air frame tube technology and these air frames could only be found on more expensive models previously. It is said to be the quickest, easiest, and most reliable inflation system on the market: inflating takes about 6 mins.

The Cruiz 6.0 TXL comes with an ultra-lightweight 100HDE fabric flysheet – this basically a 100D polyester fabric, but lighter, and packs away into the carry bag easier than other fabrics. A 3000mm HH rated PU coating ensures that no water can seep through, all seam are taped and the groundsheet is fully sewn-in.

The darkened bedrooms are not extra-wide, but they are longer than the average (230cm), so there is storage space inside, as well as outside. The living area is 13.5 sqm, and you can open up the front door to enjoy an extra 3.5 sqm porch area.

Click here to read my full review on the Outdoor Revolution Cruiz range. At the time of writing this post the Outdoor Revolution Cruiz 6.0TXL is just under £500 which is outstanding value for the price.

Where to buy the Cruiz 6.0TXL: Winfields Outdoors

Outwell Ansley 6A

The Outwell Ansley 6A is a 2018 model, so with a bit of luck you can grab one at a pretty decent price. Like all Outwell tents, the Ansley 6A features high quality fabrics and components to create a very comfortable, ample environment in a robust, sturdy, reliable tent. The flysheet is made of Outtex 4000 (the 4000 is the hydrostatic head rating, it is 4000mm; Outtex is a polyester taffeta fabric), the groundsheet is double-coated PE and is sewn in, the seams are all taped.

The living space is slightly smaller than the Cruiz 6.0TXL’s, its only 7 sqm but the porch is huge: more than 9 sqm.

The sleeping area is separated to 3 darkened bedrooms. There is a kingsize bedroom (140cm wide), there is a ‘normal’ 120cm wide bedroom and there is a small one, which is only 100cms wide. This could be used by the kids, or can become a storage. So the Ansley 6A is not truly 6-berth, but it may actually suit families with smaller kids better than any other 6-berth tent with only two bedrooms.

To add to the comfort level, there are plenty of storage pockets, large PVC windows to let the light in, lighter colour fabric on the ceiling to make it feel even roomier. There is one side door (fully meshed), and large front door to the porch, and an enormous double-wing door as the main entrance, of course fully meshed.

The Ansley 6A packs up into a 98 x 51 cm carrybag, and weighs only 23.4 kg.

If you don’t like the unusual layout of the bedrooms, you may want to check out the Greenburgh 7A (read my review here).

The Ansley 6A is currently on sale by GoOutdoors (you can expect to pay £499), more details and info here: Ansley 6A

 

Berghaus Air 6 person Inflatable Tent

Lastly, the Berghaus Air 6 person inflatable tent. It usually costs above £800, but you can almost certainly can grab one around £500. In fact, at the time of writing this post, this 6 person inflatable tent is cheaper than its 4 person sibling (Detailed review here)!

This model is one of the newest in the product line of Ultimate Outdoors (and Millets & Blacks), re-introduced in 2019 with improved quality.

Update 2020: You can find the Berghaus Air 600 – along with other Berghaus Air tent models – at GoOutdoors.

It has the same high-performance inflatable beams and quick release air valves as the Eurohikes, which means that inflating and deflating only takes a few seconds. The bedrooms are pre-attached, so once the tent is up it is ready for moving in.

A fully sewn-in ground sheet helps keep the water out, along with a 6000mm HH seam taped fly-sheet.

The Berghaus Air 6 is impressively BIG (much bigger than the Airgo Air Genus 800): the footprint is 250cm x 730cm (!!), while the headroom is 215cm in the living room, and 185cm in the bedrooms.

The size of the bedrooms only adds to the spacious feel: both bedrooms are equal size of 230 cm x 210 cm, and they sleep 3 people. The rooms have a ‘black-out’ feature meaning that dark materials are used for the inner fabric to keep the light out. They are well ventilated to help you stay cool and made of breathable polyester to minimise condensation.

The Berghaus Air 6 has a decent size 7.75 sqm ‘living room’ between the two bedrooms.

There are two doors accessing the living room, both equipped with a rainhood to prevent leaks.

As for storage space, the Berghaus Air 6 has large organisers below the windows and multiple pocket organisers in the living area.

It packs up to a 48 x 48 x 86 cm carry bag. As it weighs 26.5 kgs, the carry bag has wheels and adjustable buckles to assist carrying and transportation.

Click here to find out more details and to check the price of the Berghaus Air 6 on eBay, or click here for the normal price listing on Blacks / Millets / Ultimate Outdoors.

Update 2020: You can find the Berghaus Air 600 – along with other Berghaus Air tent models – at GoOutdoors or in their eBay shop.

 

My Recommendation

As you might have noticed I reviewed these inflatable in the order of my preference. I believe that the Berghaus Air 6, the Airgo Air Genus 800 and the Eurohike 600 provide outstanding value for the money they cost, but don’t forget that they normally cost double the price and retail around £600. The Air Genus 800 is really for those who regard the tent as a place to sleep as there is only a small living area, and the Air Genus does not have the versatility as some others on the list, ie getting rid of the sleeping rooms you don’t need, and have a bigger living room.

The Vango Odyssey and Odyssey SC are roughly the same size as the Eurohike. Vango tend to change the price every day, so if you are lucky and keep your eyes open you could get a really good deal on the Vango inflatable tents: You could probably get one for less than the Eurohike Air 600 (unless the you get the Eurohikes with a 70% off the RRP).

The Quechua Air Seconds 6.3 XL is pricier than the previous air tents, but this tent not only has big bedrooms, all are ‘black-out’, but it has 3 of them! So, it is very versatile, can truly accommodate 6 people in comfort; but can suit smaller groups or families who would like bigger living space under the tent too.

The Outwell Ansley 6A is LARGE, yet it only costs the original price of the much smaller Eurohike 600. Its biggest feature is the enormous amount of living space it provides; however, the unusual layout of the sleeping pods may be a deal-breaker for some.

The Outdoor Revolution Cruiz 6.0TXL is the underdog of this list: with its recent price-drop to £500 it is extremely good value for money.

What do you think? Do you find the 6-person tents big enough for 6 persons? How big a tent you take with you for a group of 6? Leave a comment!