I have not put much thought into grow tents before as I thought they would all be very similar in quality and performance. Testing and comparing the most poplar grow tent brands was more interesting than I thought it would be. There are some real surprises in the results, especially when you consider the price difference between grow ten brands.
Grow tent reflectance comparison
I tested each grow tent to measure the amount of light reaching a simulated plant canopy. I hung a grow light at the same hanging height above a test surface in each tent. I then took 32 PAR measurements across the test surface with an apogee SQ5000 Quantum sensor.
Grow tent quality comparison
I measured the grow tent poles, tent materials, corner reinforcement, door seals and zips. MARS Hydro and Secret Jardin grow tents were the lowest specification tested. They have small poles, thin tent materials and no corner reinforcement. The AC Infinity is in the middle. The Vivosun and Gorilla tents have the best quality of construction.
Grow tent features compared
All of the grow tents are 6ft or 1.8m in height except for the Gorilla grow tent that has an extension to raise it to 6ft 11″ or 2.05m.
All of the tents have a viewing hatch on the front door and multiple ports for cables and ducts except the Secret Jardin with only 1 port.
There are plenty of vents on all tents except the Gorilla and Secret Jardin which only have 1 vent each.
Best grow tent comparison |
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| MARS HYDRO | Vivosun | AC Infinity | Gorilla | Secret Jardin | |
| Model | 4×2 | new 4×2 | Cloudlab 642 | Grow tent 2×4 | DS120W |
| Pole Diameter (mm) | 16 | 22 | 22.5 | 24.5 | 16 |
| Pole thickness (mm) | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Material thickness (mm) | 0.35 | 0.55 | 0.5 | 0.45 | 0.25 |
| Corner reinforcement | N | Y | N | Y | N |
| Door seal | **** | **** | ***** | ***** | **** |
| Zip | **** | **** | **** | ***** | **** |
| Height | 6ft | 6ft | 6ft | 6ft 11″ | 6ft |
| View hatch | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Ports | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
| Vent | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Reflectivity | ***** | ***** | *** | **** | ***** |
| Price | $89 | $129 | $139 | $286 | $149 |
Grow tent comparison Summary
The Vivosun tent is the best combination of high reflectance, quality of construction and price although the MARS Hydro is a very good budget option.
The Gorilla grow tent is very overpriced although it offers a taller tent and slightly stronger poles and zips. The AC Infinity and Secret Jardin grow tents fall disappointingly short on performance and quality considering they are both established brands and mid range in terms of price.
The original article is from MIGRO. Many thanks!
