Written by Daniel Walton on 15th Oct 2026
Managing Director & Founder, OLPRO
Daniel founded OLPRO in 2011 and still leads its product design. He created the OLPRO Breeze inflatable system after watching too many campers wrestle with pole sleeves in the wind, and that fix-the-real-problem approach shapes everything the team builds and tests in-house.
A blackout tent has a bedroom made to keep out most of the daylight, so you can sleep past a 5am summer sunrise.
They're most worth it for families with young children and for light sleepers. A dark bedroom also shades you from the morning sun, but ventilation still decides how cool a tent feels.
Our advice: open the bedroom vents at night. A dark bedroom that can't breathe gets stuffy and damp.
What is a blackout tent?
A blackout tent is a tent whose bedroom is built to block most of the daylight. The light-blocking usually comes from the inner bedroom fabric, and some brands also add a coating to the flysheet. The aim is a sleeping area that stays dark after sunrise and before a late summer sunset.
You'll see several terms used for this, and they don't all mean the same thing.
| Bedroom type | What it is | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Blackout bedroom | Dark, light-blocking fabric made to keep out most daylight | The darkest option, for sleeping past an early summer sunrise |
| Darkened inner | Darker inner fabric that reduces the light coming through | Takes the edge off early sunrises, but not pitch-black |
| Standard inner | Light-coloured inner fabric | Bright from sunrise |
No bedroom is completely sealed: some light can still come in around zips, vents and the groundsheet.
Are blackout tents worth it?
For many families, yes. Young children wake with the light, and in a UK summer the sun can be up before 5am. A darker bedroom gives everyone a better chance of sleeping to a normal time, and makes an afternoon nap possible.
They're also worth it for:
- Light sleepers who wake as soon as it gets bright.
- Festivals, where you go to bed late and the sun doesn't wait.
- Long summer trips, when short nights add up over a week.
A blackout bedroom matters less if you're an adult happy to sleep in an eye mask, or if you camp mostly in spring and autumn, when sunrise comes later.
Do blackout tents stay cooler?
Sometimes, in the morning. A dark bedroom shades you from direct sunlight, so the sleeping area doesn't feel as bright or as hot in the first hours after sunrise.
Some brands with coated blackout flysheets claim their bedrooms block 99% of daylight and stay up to 5°C cooler during the day. These are manufacturer figures; we haven't seen an independent test that confirms them.
What we can say is that no bedroom fabric keeps a tent cool on its own. How hot a tent gets depends far more on direct sun, shade and ventilation. On a hot day, open the doors and vents, pitch where you'll get shade in the afternoon, and use the living area rather than the bedroom.
Are blackout tents hotter at night?
Not by design, but they can feel stuffy if you close everything up. Darkness and airflow pull in opposite directions: opening vents lets in a little light, while closing them traps warm, damp air.
Keep the bedroom vents open at night. Fresh air keeps the bedroom more comfortable and reduces condensation on the inner walls. Our guide to avoiding condensation explains how.
The downsides of blackout tents
Blackout bedrooms are a real comfort upgrade, but they come with trade-offs:
- Less daylight inside. Great at 5am, less great at midday. Use the living area, with its windows, for daytime.
- Stuffiness and condensation if the vents stay shut.
- Hard to find things in the dark. Keep a small light by the bedroom door.
- Not pitch-black. Light can still come in around zips and vents, so very light sleepers may still want an eye mask.
Our tents with blackout and darkened bedrooms
Many of our tents have either blackout or darkened bedrooms. Here's how they compare.
| Tent | Sleeps | Bedrooms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford 4.0 | 4 | Two blackout bedrooms facing each other across the living area | £209 |
| Stafford 6.0 | 6 | Two removable 3 berth blackout bedrooms | £299 |
| Stafford 8.0 | 8 | Three removable blackout bedrooms | £350 |
| Blakedown Breeze® | 4 | Blackout sleeping pods in an inflatable tent | £649 |
| Kinver 5.0 | 5 | Darkened inner in 3 and 2 berth sections | £359 |
| Orion 6 | 3 or 6 | Darkened bedroom compartments | £350 |
| Abberley XL Poled | 4 | Removable 4 berth darkened inner | £189 |
| Knightwick 3.0 | 3 | Detachable darkened inner | £149 |
| Stafford 2.0 | 2 | Darkened 2 berth inner | £89 |
| Hallow 2.0 | 2 | Clip-in darkened inner | £69 |
Prices and stock checked on 15 October 2026. Scroll sideways on mobile.
For families, our Stafford collection, designed with Ed Stafford, has blackout bedrooms. The Stafford 4.0 puts two bedrooms at opposite ends of the tent, so parents and children sleep apart with the living area between them. The Stafford 6.0 and 8.0 have 210cm of headroom, and you can remove any bedroom to make more living space.
For an inflatable pitch, the Blakedown Breeze® has blackout sleeping pods and nine windows, including two tinted roof skylights, so the living area stays bright while the bedrooms stay dark.
For festivals and couples, the Hallow 2.0 (£69) has a darkened inner that helps you sleep past sunrise. The Stafford 2.0 (£89) has a darkened inner that takes the edge off early summer sunrises, and it weighs just 2.2kg.
If you're still deciding on size, our family tent guide explains how much space each family needs.
Blackout for campervans
Campervans have the same problem: big windows and early sun. For VW T5 and T6 vans, we make two blackout options.
VW T5/T6 Internal Blackout Blind Set, £59
Three pieces cover the windscreen and two side windows from inside the cab. They fix with suction cups and have a thermal silver backing.
VW T5/T6 External Blackout Screen, £55
Three pieces fit over the windscreen and two side windows from outside, with suction cups or magnets, cut-outs for the wing mirrors and a thermal silver backing.
Sleeping in an awning?
Our Cocoon V2 Poled awning (£469) has a removable darkened inner bedroom that sleeps up to five.
How to get a darker, cooler night in any tent
Whatever tent you have, a few habits make mornings darker and nights more comfortable.
Darker mornings, cooler nights: five habits that help.
1. Think about the sunrise. The sun rises in the east. Pitch so a hedge, trees or your car shade that side of the tent.
2. Keep the vents open. Air moving through the bedroom keeps it fresher and reduces condensation.
3. Shade the tent at midday. Open the doors and windows of the living area and sit in the shade.
4. Pack an eye mask. For adults, it's the cheapest way to block the last bit of light.
5. Keep a light by the door. A dark bedroom is great for sleeping and hard for finding socks.
Frequently asked questions
Find a tent that lets you sleep in.
Compare sizes, layouts and bedrooms across our tent range.