What Wall Tent Size Should You Buy? A Guide to the Most Common Sizes

What to Look Out For When Deciding the Size of Your Wall Tent?

Canvas wall tents come in a variety of sizes that can accommodate multiple needs and uses. Whether the wall tent is used by the solo fisherman who needs just enough room for himself and his gear or the family of five who want enough room to camp comfortably, wall tents are versatile and suitable for a few different uses.
Wall tents are a pleasant alternative to traditional camping tents because they provide an upright, four-walled structure, allowing ample space to move around and a homey feel. Owing to the way they’re built, wall tents are suitable for use as semi-permanent structures.
White Duck’s canvas wall tents, for example, boast a heavy-duty aluminum frame with steel wiring, which helps stand up to inclement weather. So whether you’re looking to get out on a hunting trip in the fall, or building out a year-round glamping site, wall tents are an ideal solution.
The size you choose for your wall tent is contingent on the nature of your trip, the number of people going with you and how you plan to set up the interior of the canvas tent.

Standard Wall Tent Sizes

Wall tents come in a variety of sizes ranging anywhere from 8×10 feet to as large as 16×24 feet. Our Alpha Wall Tent is now in six convenient sizes to accommodate multiple needs and uses, including a 10’x12’, 12’x14’, 14’x16’, and 16’x20’. Determining which of these sizes is the best fit for you is as simple as figuring out exactly what you plan on putting in your wall tent, how long you plan to set it up for and your primary activities.
The 8’x10’ wall tent has the space to sleep up to eight people, but this capacity is naturally dependent on what else needs to fit into the tent as well as on the desired layout. For example, while the 120 square feet of shelter provided by the 10’x12’ wall tent can accommodate eight people of an average height of 6 feet, it will only do so if everyone sleeps side by side in an orderly fashion.
There is also a significant difference between a smaller and a large canvas tent. By adding only a few feet in each direction, a 120 square foot space suddenly becomes a 320 square foot space capable of accommodating significantly more people and gear. A larger space does take more heat to stay warm, but a few extra feet can make a world of difference in the amount of space you have to work with.

If you’re looking to buy a wall tent, we provide standard dimensions of furniture commonly used in wall tents as well as multiple diagrams of layout options to help you decide which size of wall tent will best accommodate your needs. Each wall tent includes the maximum sleeping capacity as well as several arrangements that include stoves, beds, and tables for outfitting your space.
If you’re not yet ready to explore the specific sizes in detail, here’s a handy guide that should be a useful starting point in your research.

Wall tent size guide:

8’x10’

• Capacity: 6 people
• Floor area: 80 square feet
• Wall height: 5 feet
• Windows: 2
• Total weight: 146-153 lbs

10’x12’

• Capacity: 8 people
• Floor area: 120 square feet
• Wall height: 5 feet
• Windows: 4
• Total weight: 192-198 lbs

12’x14’

• Capacity: 10 people
• Floor area: 168 square feet
• Wall height: 5 feet
• Windows: 4
• Total weight: 198-205 lbs

14’x16’

• Capacity: 10 people
• Floor area: 224 square feet
• Wall height: 5 feet
• Windows: 4
• Total weight: 262-276 lbs

16’x20’

• Capacity: 14 people
• Floor area: 320 square feet
• Wall height: 5 feet
• Windows: 6
• Total weight: 357-379 lbs

16’x24’

• Capacity: 16 people
• Floor area: 384 square feet
• Wall height: 5 feet
• Windows: 6
• Total weight: 441-461 lbs

Planning for a Tent Stove in the Tent

Tent stoves are a wonderfully useful and sometimes luxurious addition to any wall tent. They can keep you warm on the coldest of nights and can even serve as a stove top or an impromptu drier for wet clothes.
They do, however, require extra space for safety and comfort, so be sure to always include 36-40 square feet of space for any canvas wall tent with stove, depending on the size and type of stove you plan on using. Depending on the size of your wall tent, you may even plan to bring two stoves in order to comfortably and consistently heat the entire space of the tent.
For ease of use, it’s worth exploring the option of a wall tent that’s equipped with a stove jack already built in. White Duck’s Alpha wall tent series, for example, offers both 5” and 6” options already included in the fabric, so depending on the size of the stove, you can quickly cut out the size that makes sense.

Making Space for Camp Cots and Other Furniture

Cots can be much more comfortable to sleep on than the hard ground and are an easy camping accessory to enjoy when camping in a wall tent. However, cots do take up a bit more room than sleeping directly on the ground or even on an inflatable mattress, which is additional square footage that should be accounted for.
An average cot can take up anywhere from approximately 17-24 square feet. When figuring out how many cots can fit into a wall tent, be sure not to completely fill the square footage of your tent with just cots, but to leave some space to walk around the cots as well as for any gear and equipment you plan to bring along.

Wall Tent Accessories and Add-ons

Wall tent accessories, the kind we have here at White Duck, are great for increasing protection as well as usable space around your tent. While fly sheets can help to protect your tent, especially if it’s kept up for extended periods of time, porches overlap any wall tent to provide an additional covered exterior space. Whether you use this to cook, eat, or to simply enjoy your camping space, wall tent porches extend your overall space for greater freedom and enjoyment.

Takeaways

When thinking about the size of the wall tent to invest in for your trip, it’s important to keep in mind what you want to keep in the tent in addition to sleeping bags or cots. Think about any furniture, stoves or any other equipment for the outdoors as you consider the size of the tent, which will help determine whether you need one with more than just the sleeping capacity.

Learn More:

Different Types Of Wall Tents: Fabrics, Frames And Treatments