On our first attempt and of course, without reading the instructions, we were able to setup the Coleman Instant Tent in about two minutes and 20 seconds. The answer is yes, it can easily be setup in the time Coleman claims but most likely on the third or fourth attempt (in our experience). But if you take into account the time it takes to setup all the ground stakes provided, you are looking at close to six minutes of total setup time in which you have a fully erected and stable tent.
Also, the side walls aren’t as vertical as I expected them to be. For spaciousness, I looked at the peak height, slope of the walls, and base area. To take down the Coleman 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent is the exact reverse of the set up process.
For those cloudless summer nights, this could make for an attractive option for families in search of low-cost camping; however, there are still several competitive options out there at similar price points. The floors and canopy on the Coleman Instant Tent 6 are made up of a rugged 150D polyester, which is noticeably thicker than many of the tents in our review and should hold up to a great deal of punishment. The aluminum poles are also quite durable; the leg poles are 16mm thick, while the roof poles are 12mm thick. All of these heavy-duty materials add a great deal to the weight—at nearly 25lb, this is the heaviest tent in our 2021 review. However, this was not a bother to us, as this tent really only needs to be transported from the car to the impact pad, and we’d rather heft a few extra pounds than sacrifice durability.
It works just like a regular door, with no need for any zipping. I tried for many hours to fix this issue, but the pole just wouldn’t budge, even though I tried to unscrew it and tried to loosen it up by oiling it and stuff like that. So, that was a bit disappointing, but I guess manufacturing defects do happen, so this is probably just a one-off thing. I don’t think this Coleman 10-Person Instant Tent will do very well against strong winds.
Fall scenery is nearing its peak across the U.S., and one of the best ways to immerse yourself in the season’s kaleidoscopic views is to camp right under the arboreal canopy. But, before you can wake up to the variegated foliage on a crisp autumn morning, you need to make sure that your camping gear is up to par. The fulcrum points of the frame have soft mesh covers to help you avoid finger pinches, but we did notice the mesh gets pinched in the joints quite a bit and it might not hold up over time. With 56 square feet, the inside is big enough for a queen air mattress or two twins. Headroom is limited to 4’ 11’’, but this is a fairly small, cheap tent that’s expected. Taking it down wasn’t really the issue here but dealing with the bulky mess was a pain in the butt.
Thanks to pre-attached telescoping poles, it setups up in as little as one minute, while keeping you and your gear dry with welded corners, inverted seams, and large awnings for the wide front and rear doors. It fits two queen-size airbeds, has mesh storage pockets for organizing gear, an E-port for running an extension cord inside, and an easy to use stuff-and-roll carry bag. Tested to withstand winds up to 35 mph, it’s designed for three-season use. Coleman isn’t mincing words when they call this an instant tent. The advertised setup time is a blistering 60 seconds, and we found that this was not an exaggeration—even if you start the clock with the tent still inside its travel bag.
The length of the Coleman 10-Person Instant Tent is about 13 feet and 11 inches, while the width is about 9 feet and 9 inches, so slightly smaller than the marketed dimensions (which is about 14 by 10 feet). I did this on my own, so 1 person, and also, I tested this with 2 people as well. The front zipper came off track from almost the get go and never did zip up right after repeated attempts to fix it. About halfway through the brief year and a half that we owned it, one of the tent stake rings started to tear loose from the seam, followed by another a few months later. It seems like something else went wrong with it that I can’t remember now. At any rate, we left it behind in a dumpster at Indian Cove Campground in Joshua Tree last year.
That gently used hand-me-down held up really well under all kinds of conditions. But eventually, the years and the mileage caught up with Ol’ Blue, and she provided her last night of cover to us sometime in the summer of 2014. Another thing to consider is how flexible your camping plans typically are. If you coleman cooler make reservations six months in advance and stick to them, even if Hurricane Tentzilla is bearing down on you, this might not be your tent. On the other hand, if you find yourself watching the weather and altering your camping plans to avoid wet weekends in the woods, the Instant Tent will treat you right.
The tent is made from 150D polyester and you can see the seam seals all the way around. The tent has plenty of windows for air circulation and did an excellent job in keeping the bugs out while allowing the cool evening breeze to flow through. The tent also features two interior pockets perfect for keeping your phone, flashlight, or mp3 players. For an 8 Person tent, perhaps two additional pockets would be a nice touch. I have many routes suitable for easy drives, family days and and overnight camping trips and would be pleased to lead your group – please contact me via email. Each tent comes with a zip up bag which has a very handy printed instruction sheet sewn into the seam – the tents are so easy to erect and dismantle you probably won’t need to refer to it after your first time out.