If you hate the rigmarole of pitching enormous, heavy family tents, Decathlon’s Air Seconds 4.2 XL tent is here to make your next camping trip far simpler.

The outer skeleton of this rather futuristic-looking tent is inflated using a pump (not included), and the two roomy bedrooms are pre-assembled and pop up ready to use in no time.

Decathlon’s Fresh & Black tents all use blackout material to line the bedrooms, and this really does keep them darker and cooler than your average tent, which is a big help on baking hot summer holidays (or just when you’re trying to get kids off to sleep).

We also liked the large central living room complete with wide door and windows, ideal for eating and hanging in in bad weather, although there isn’t much spare headspace to speak of.

Air tents don’t really come much better (or much bigger) than Berghaus’ palatial Berg Air 6XL. This is a huge (and heavy) family tent – you’ll need space to store it at home and a large car boot to transport it on camping trips, as it weighs a hefty 36.7kg.

But if you like to have as much space as possible when you get to your holiday destination, it’s a great choice, and will sleep six adults in comfort. While the Berg Air 6XL isn’t lightweight, it is quick and simple to erect its inflatable poles using a pump.

Clever dividers mean you can split the tent into different blackout bedroom arrangements – either two bedrooms sleeping two and four, or three bedrooms sleeping two each.

There’s plenty of headspace throughout, and huge windows make the tent feel light and airy – it’s perfect for retreating into in bad weather, and proved waterproof and strong in the face of high winds when on test.

The Palmdale 600 Lux is one of Easy Camp’s bestselling tents – and for good reason. This is the Goldilocks of our roundup – it’s a good-sized tent sleeping four or five in comfort or six at a stretch, but it isn’t prohibitively bulky or heavy, and is straightforward to pitch and dismantle.

There’s one huge blackout bedroom that can be divided into two if you want to give kids their own space, and the tunnel-style living area has generous head height.

A big protected porch is perfect for storing kit or for cooking in wet weather.

You get an impressive amount of quality and space for your money here – on test we found that the Palmdale 600 Lux performs as well as tents at twice its price.

The rather futuristic-looking Coleman Cortes Octagon is as fun to camp in as it looks. Inside, one huge octagonal room makes an airy living space, and this can be divided into two rooms come bedtime. If you dislike dark, cramped tents you’ll love this tent’s generous standing room and wall-to-wall windows, which can be fully opened to let light and air in and offer a 360 degree view.

The inner mesh tent can also be erected on its own on really hot nights. With or without its fully waterproof outer fly, the Octagon also works as a brilliant playhouse in the garden or as a beach shelter when you aren’t camping. While the Octagon isn’t lightweight at 24.7kg, its carry case has handy wheels for easier transportation.

The heaviest tent in our round-up is best suited to campers with generous car boots and who are planning chilled-out camping holidays in the UK or Europe.

It’s well worth the 42.2kg weight once you erect the Outwell Montana at your destination – two generous blackout bedrooms have space to sleep six adults comfortably or are positively palatial for a family of four, and there’s a spacious living room with plenty of standing height and room for kit as well as a table and chairs, plus a handy enclosed side door.

This sturdy tunnel-style tent is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows that can be rolled open or covered at night, making the popular Montana, known as the ‘Monty’ to Outwell fans, an airy and well-ventilated space to relax in.

Summer time, and the living is easy in Vango’s Stargrove II.

We were impressed with how thoughtfully the Stargrove has been designed – this sturdy tunnel-style tent stands at lofty two metres tall and is also wide enough inside to allow for plenty of storage, head room and living space throughout.

‘Nightfall’ blackout bedrooms can be customised with dividers to create one, two or three bedrooms – it might be a tad snug for six but this is a very generously sized tent for four or five campers.

Wide windows in the double living room, a tough waterproof flysheet, mesh insect panels and the option to pitch the side door as a canopy make it a pleasure to use the Stargrove in rain or shine alike.

Our most affordable family-friendly tent, Kelty’s Palisade is listed as a six-person model but we reckon it works best when sleeping two adults and two children in its one large bedroom, leaving some space in the porch for kit.

This is not a big multi-room family tent, but if you don’t mind sharing a bedroom on camping holidays or if you’re planning shorter camping weekends with smaller children, it works very well, and is also useful for festivals or even just pitched as a roomy play tent in the garden.

You can also pitch this tent using just the transparent mesh inner layer, which protects against insects and is lovely for stargazing on hot, clear nights.

The Palisade’s low weight and compact size also make this a great tent to plump for if storage is limited.

Most tents that will comfortably fit four people are heavy, multi-bedroom behemoths designed for traditional summer holidays.

Not so Snugpak’s Journey Quad, which is lightweight and portable enough to work for wild camping adventures as well as for quick camping weekenders, but can still fit up to four adults comfortably.

There’s only one bedroom, but there is also a generous porch/living room where you can store extra belongings. It’s hassle-free to pitch the Journey Quad in about ten minutes, and on test we found it reliably waterproof in bad weather.

This is a great choice if you want to invest in just one tent that can go from backpacking trips to festivals to traditional family campsites.

There’s lots of things we like about the reliable Lichfield tent, but where it really stands out is in its easy pitching and its great weatherproofing.

Despite being a large and heavy six-person model, this tent can be pitched in ten minutes flat by pumping up the well-designed inflatable Airbeam poles.

Once erect, the Lichfield feels very sturdy and weatherproof.

A tough plastic groundsheet keeps the inside of the tent warm and dry even when pitched on wet ground, and the tent’s thick outer fabric is fully waterproof and withstands wind and changeable weather, making it a sensible choice for summer camping holidays in Britain’s ever-unreliable summer weather.

While the Lichfield will sleep six, there are only two bedrooms, so we’d recommend it for a family of four or five.