I realized that tents are not very soundproof during a recent hiking adventure where my tent shared the same camping site with a loud family. In order to sleep peacefully, I decided to learn and experiment with different methods of blocking noise that entered and exited my tent.

How do you soundproof a tent effectively? Here are 8 different tips you can implement to help mitigate noise:

• Line tent with sound absorption material
• Install soundproof curtains
• Place down carpet or thick mat liner on the floor
• Mask the noise
• Setup outside sound barrier
• Buy a soundproof tent
• Wear earplugs
• Create a room within a room

Soundproofing a tent is very challenging because of its thin, lightweight design. However, the ideas listed above can help deaden the sound. Let’s a take a more in-depth look at each of these to show you exactly how they work and how to apply them.

Line Your Tent With Sound Absorbing Material

Lining your tent with a dense, sound absorbing material will help to capture noise thus reducing the overall decibel level of sound entering and leaving your tent. This added lining will act as an acoustic barrier between you and the source of the noise.

What type of material can you use to line your tent in order to reduce noise? Here are a few recommendations that worked for me:

• Mass Loaded Vinyl
• Acoustic foam
• Sound absorbing blankets

Mass Loaded Vinyl is a dense, light material that is perfect for lining the inside of your tent. You can roll it out so it covers the floor of your tent, which also makes for additional padding to sleep on instead of the hard ground.

MLV is light enough to hang up in your tent from the tent poles. You can make holes in the material and then attach to the ten poles using twist ties.

Acoustic foam panels can also help to soundproof your tent. You can easily line the inside of your tent with this lightweight material using double-sided tape.

Weaving a soundproof blanket between your tent poles is another way to reduce noise in your tent. You can also hang up a soundproof blanket with grommets for easy installation using twist ties to hold it between tent poles.

Using one of these materials or something similar will act as a sound barrier between you and the outside of your tent. This will help to decouple the sound and stifle the noises.

Install Soundproof Curtains

Installing soundproof curtains is an excellent, affordable way to deaden the noise. You can hang it up from the tent poles in the ceiling and walls, which will absorb the sound coming from outside the tent.

If your tent is big enough, hanging soundproof curtains can act as a barrier between you and your snoring tent mate. This will help to give you a more restful night of sleep.

It can also work to help silence the sound of a crying baby. I remember seeing one family hanging up these curtains inside their large tent as dividers, which created individual makeshift rooms. This created more obstacles for the sound to travel before exiting the tent thus reducing the noise level and making for a more peaceful campsite.

Using soundproof curtains can be a useful tool to prevent sound from escaping and also protect you from outside noise. Make sure to use thick curtains for the best results.

Place Carpet or Matting on the Floor

Lining your tent floor with carpet or some type of mat will help to absorb lower frequencies of sound. Using a thick area rug or mat usually yields the best results.

Density and thickness are key for your tent flooring. I really like these interlocking EVA foam tiles to place on the ground. They will help deaden the noise and also provide padding for a more comfortable sleep.

If your tent is large, then putting down a thick area rug or some carpeting will help to capture additional noise. You can even double up on the layers to improve overall density, which is key for soundproofing.

Mask The Noise

You can soundproof your tent by masking the noise. You can do this by producing white noise or background sounds. Here are a few ideas to help mask the noise:

• white noise generator
• box fan
• ac unit
• playing soft music

Implementing some type of sound interference will help drown out the noise. The sound waves produced from this type of sound source disrupts the path of the noise. It will not completely prevent you from hearing noises but it will certainly make it less noticeable.

You can try using this white noise machine, which does an excellent job of creating white noise that helps to mask unwanted sounds. Although this method does not technically soundproof your tent, it does help to reduce the amount of undesirable noise you are hearing.

Setup a Surrounding Sound Barrier

Setting up an external barrier between your tent and your neighbors will greatly reduce the noise. Using some type of fence or shield gets in the way of the sound waves.

Using something like this drum shield to block noise is a great idea to help protect you from loud campsite neighbors. This type of barrier will reduce the amount of noise that reaches your tent.

Even using a privacy enclosure can help reduce the noise. You can get creative and drape soundproof blankets or curtains over this structure for added density. This will not only aid in soundproofing your tent but also provide more privacy.

Buy a Soundproof Tent

Another way to hack the soundproofing tent dilemma is to actually buy a noise canceling tent. During my research, I came across this nifty Thermo Tent, which actually came to fruition from a Kickstarter campaign created by Derek O’Sullivan.

Its insulation technology is what truly sets it apart from other tents. It remains cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The powerful insulation design also provides a sound barrier, which makes it one of the quietest tents you will ever experience.

Wear Earplugs

Another way to enjoy peace and quiet in your tent is to wear earplugs. While this is not an actual soundproofing strategy, it will help to block out noise so you can sleep peacefully.

One of the best earplugs for sleeping in a tent is the eargasm earplugs. The innovative design can reduce noise up to 21 decibels. They also fit comfortably in your ears so you don’t have to worry about them getting in the way if you sleep on your side.

Create Room Within a Room

Creating a room within a room is an excellent strategy to decouple noise. If your tent is big enough you can easily achieve this by setting up a sleeping pod inside your tent, which acts as a soundproof bed enclosure.

This is a great idea for soundproofing large tents so you can sleep at night. A sleeping enclosure will help to decouple the noise entering your tent and also provide additional privacy. Having this extra barrier will disrupt the path of the sound waves that penetrate your tent thus reducing the overall noise level.

Is Soundproofing a Tent 100% Effective?

Unfortunately, there is not a 100% effective solution for soundproofing a tent. I have tried a variety of different ways to soundproof a camping tent and the actions listed in this article have proved to be the most effective. If you can implement a few of the tips mentioned in this post you will notice even better noise reduction results.