You can also save quite a bit of money by opting for a tarp instead. These will run you anywhere from $10-20, depending upon your desired level of quality. The Instant Tent 6 is also lacking a couple of other features that would help it compete with several similar tents. For one, there are only two mesh storage pockets, which seemed to be a fairly coleman instant tent large oversight; we would have hoped to find at least double that number . There’s also no room divider, but this was less of a priority given the lack of entryways. Our other main issue was the lack of a vestibule, which means that in the case of a sudden rainstorm, there will be no dry area to store your wet clothes before entering the tent.
The biggest complaint we had was that the poles can be a little sticky at first use. After a few more uses they now move with ease, but it wouldn’t hurt to arrive at your coleman camping campsite with a can of spray of lubricant while you’re breaking this tent in. Also, we would have loved two doorways, to allow for easy entry and exit from either side.
Wiping dirt from the pole sections before taking down the tent and occasionally wiping silicone spray on the telescoping inner pole sections should improve performance. If necessary, fold or invert the tent fabric and clean the bottom of the floor. Campers who have not used a ground cloth or who have camped on flooded ground will likely need to do this. Sweep the inside floor of the tent and wipe up any spills or mud. The small fabric “sock” cover near each corner joint can now be slid over the corner joints to protect them from dirt and rain. An emergency temporary repair of a corner joint might entail bending a metal rod to the same angle and duct taping it to the pole sections on each side.
Lastly, this is the best instant 6-person tent in part because of the full coverage 1800mm waterproof rain fly. Six-person tents are great for family camping or for fewer people who want to store more gear. The instant tents we tested were easy, but they weren’t entirely intuitive for some of our testers. We highly recommend that before you pitch any tent at a campsite, you watch online videos to familiarize yourself with their setup and breakdown processes. For instant tents, this is just as important as any other tent. While many of these tents claim they can be assembled in 60 seconds, that doesn’t include laying down a tarp, putting in tent stakes, securing guylines, or putting on a rain fly.
We’ll also point out that although the Skydome is available in 2, 4, and even 6-person sizes, all models of the tent stick to a single door/single vestibule construction. We’d love to see a back door added , but for now we’re more than happy to live with a single door at this price. Whether that means poles are pre-attached and pop into place or a full-on pop-up coleman canopy design out of the bag, depends on what type of instant tent it is. You’ll also have plenty of ventilation on hot nights and protection from mosquitoes. If it’s raining, you’ll be mostly protected with a 1200mm waterproof rain fly. Pop-up tents are a type of instant tent and are best for solo setups because you don’t need anyone else to hold up poles.
If you want to take it to a festival, consider bringing an extra tarp or sheet for added protection. The Coleman instant tent features a foldable design that makes it easy to carry and store when not in use. The water-resistant design of the tent allows for all-weather use. Owing to its spider-like frame, you can assemble the tent within minutes. The setup and take down is pretty good, unless the tent is wet. Any rainwater comes in the tent poles have started to come apart the bag doesn’t fit.