Night Cat Pop-up Camping Tent

Bought this tent for my husband, who fancies himself an “outdoorsman” (read: watches survival shows while eating chips). He took the Night Cat Pop-up Camping Tent on a solo camping trip to prove he could “live off the land.” What actually happened? He slept off the snacks.First off: Setup was instant. Like, throw it in the air and BOOM — shelter. My husband said it practically unfolded itself out of sheer confidence. The waterproofing held up like a champ during a surprise midnight drizzle — not a single drip inside. Very cozy, very dry, very smugly proud of himself.Now, the best part. He woke up around 3 a.m. to what he described as “a family reunion of sniffling noses” pressed up against the side of the tent. Yes, folks — three bears. Not metaphorical ones. Literal, furry, curious, potentially Goldilocks-seeking bears. Apparently, the tent didn’t smell like porridge, but it did smell like the beef jerky he stashed in his sock (??). Genius.To the tent’s credit:✅ It didn’t collapse.✅ It didn’t blow away.✅ It didn’t get clawed open like a bear piñata.✅ It muffled the sound of my husband screaming just enough to avoid waking the entire forest.The bears sniffed, huffed, and eventually walked off, probably disappointed by the lack of snacks and terrified human noises coming from inside. Husband emerged unscathed — ego slightly bruised, pride now bear-sized.So yes — this tent is bear-tested, husband-approved.Highly recommend if you want something lightweight, durable, and strong enough to face down three confused bears while you’re asleep with meat in your footwear.

So far I'm very satisfied with my decision to purchase this tent. It's extremely easy to set up and to pack back up, especially compared to other brands of similar style tents. I'm also impressed with the attention to details of the features of this tent, especially for this price range. I'm still waiting to see how the tent will perform in rain. I will update the review with that information.*Rain Update*We had a slow moving front come through my area last night and I was able to see how this tent performed in the rain. While not a strong thunderstorm, it did rain pretty good and for a large portion of the night. Overall I was very happy with the result. PLEASE NOTE: I purchased this tent to have something quick, easy, and compact to setup and take down for an overnight sleep. As such, I don't bother to make use of the stakes. By not using the stakes the tent wasn't as taught as it should be, which caused some areas of the tent to sag and allowed some water to collect. When I awoke I noticed a couple of drops permeating through in these areas. I'm sure that if the tent were fully taught and staked this wouldn't have happened. I woke up to my self and belongings being dry and I'm still a happy camper.Please see my notes regarding rain and waterproofing below...Speaking of rain... I've seen some reviews criticizing leaks and wanted to share some information. The very first thing you should do with a brand new tent, regardless of brand, price, and claims of "waterproof" is apply a waterproofing product. These usually come in the form of sprays. From what I've read in the description is this tent's waterproofing is based on the fabric rating. You should always apply a water repelling product to a new tent - think of it as "rain-x" for your tent. Also, nothing should touch the sides of a tent as this will make water come through regardless of waterproofing. A tarp should be used for the bottom and should never stick out beyond the edge as it will give an avenue for moisture to collect between the tarp and floor of the tent. Tuck any excess tarp under the edge of the tent and under the tarp itself.

This tent is a good 1-man tent. Enough space for 1 person sleeping plus backpack/gear next to you in the tent, as long as you're not claustrophobic (I had a 70L frameless backpack with me in mine). This is basically a sleeping tent. Not a tent you can stand up in, or one you would want to spend a lot of time in otherwise. Crouching down or crawling around on hands and knees is all you get. Probably best suited for overnight thru-hiking on trail.Pros:1. Small footprint, light-weight, with easy-carry handles, and backpack strap option. The shape of the tent makes for good wind resistance during high wind conditions (speaking from experience).2. Set up is quick and easy. Less than 20 seconds (without setting the guy lines). The longest part is getting it out of the bag or staking, tying, and adjusting the guy lines, but even that doesn't take long. Tear down is quick and easy as well. I was able to tear down (guy lines included) and be ready to move in under 10 minutes without rushing.3. Zip-cover for entrance doubles as a canopy for shade (in good weather) when used with hiking poles.4. Waterproof tent, extreme weather circumstances excluded (see Cons for more info on this). Well-stitched seams, with durable material.Cons:1. No Rainfly. This is a waterproof tent, as long as you aren't in heavy/sustained rains. During extreme conditions, moisture may soak through. Speaking from experience here (remnants of Hurricane Helene September 2024 in Northern KY/Southern OH, with 20+ hours of rain). If there were some type of rainfly over the tent, I think it would have held up just fine. It didn't leak, it just became overly saturated due to the amount of rainfall I experienced.2. 3-way ventilation. There is the main entrance, and two small side zippered mesh windows only. No top mesh ventilation. If the "wall" opposite of the main entrance had an additional zippered mesh window or opening, it would maximize ventilation potential since there is no top mesh for "waterproof" purposes. However, I believe Night Cat offers 4-way ventilation in the 2-person version of this tent.Overall:I feel like this tent lives up to descriptions, again, extreme weather conditions excluded, but that probably goes for any tent. Ease of set up and tear down are a plus if you're thru-hiking and just need cover for a quick sleep, or just want something simple for overnighting somewhere on your own.

Perfect for solo camping. Easy setup. Breakdown was a little tedious. But overall no issues.