Although we wanted to understand the pros and cons of various tent materials, we didn’t want to get stuck in a “best is always better” philosophy, especially with regard to our picks for family tents. Both Olsson and Howe emphasized that a great family tent is one that gets more kids outside—which means one that’s affordable for most families. A difference in floor quality, however, will become obvious quickly as you use and abuse the tent.
All seams are taped, and the floor is a bathtub style so you are safe from splashes. The tent has windows on the front and on the back and they are partly protected with the fly. You have a protected space of 100 ft² (9.3 m²) under its simple dome supported by only two fiberglass poles and a short ridge pole. The tent can be described as suitable for a 3-season camping, its waterproof rating is high. The shape is a mix of a tunnel and a cabin type, with very steep and high walls. The tent is also very tall, the peak height is 80 inches (203 cm).
So this is a fully protected room, and and it doubles also as a screen room. This area is of around 40 square feet (3.7 m²) and its floor is fully sealed. The picture shows that it allows for an awning configuration with included poles. This is an incredibly popular tent, and this is partly because of its great price. It is nicely ventilated, the fabric is with a huge waterproof rating, and the windows are solid. The Coleman Oak Canyon 6 Tunnel Tent is one of the tents they built for the EU market.
Instead of the poles following a continuous arch around the tent, the Skydome™ tent poles include an elbow connection which breaks up the arch, resulting in a more squared-off shape. There are plenty of coleman tents high end camping brands out there, such as Marmot, Nemo, and Big Agnes. When looking at tents from those companies, you can typically expect to pay an arm and a leg for anything from their catalog.
Literally anyone can have this tent out of the bag and fully pitched in about 10 seconds. That’s because Coleman uses a flexible fiberglass frame that packs down flat for storage, but then “pops” up instantly into its fully pitched form the second you unfold it. You can literally just toss it into the air and watch it expand before your eyes coleman sleeping bags (you won’t be the first or last camper to do so). If you’re gonna give your tent a name like “WeatherMaster” it better deliver on the goods. Luckily for us, the folks at Coleman hit the WeatherMaster with the full gamut of their current weatherproofing technologies, and this big ol’ 10 person shelter lives up to its name pretty darn well.
It’s well known that Coleman’s shelters aren’t the lightest or most compact by any stretch, so we recommend just leaning into it and getting the largest tent you can transport and carry. We love the simplicity of the instant tent design with its pre-attached poles, which allow you to get this tent set up in well under five minutes with or without a helping hand. Add to that the fact that the Coleman Instant Family Tent uses the same integrated rainfly technology as the classic Coleman Instant Cabin above, and you’ve got one of the easiest pitching large tents on the market.