It is, however, one of the easiest family camping tents we’ve ever assembled, making it a perfect middle ground for a family that wants an easier setup and a sturdy build, without the bulk of an instant tent. If you’d prefer to pitch your tent in a matter of seconds rather than minutes, the Coleman Instant Tent 6 has you covered. At only $146.99, it’s one of the cheaper 6-person camping tents on the market, and it delivers a foolproof approach to tent-pitching that can easily be accomplished by one person, perhaps even one-handed.
No parent has the time to wrangle with unruly kids and complicated tent poles. This can be problematic with all family camping tents, but we noticed in testing that this was a major issue with many instant tents. Many lacked windows on four sides of the tent, which can be stifling in warmer weather if you haven’t positioned your tent in the right direction for a cross breeze—something we found frustrating. The only issue is while the Coleman Skydome calls itself an instant tent, it really isn’t one. It lacks telescopic poles or pop-open features to make it truly instant.
We’ll be taking another look at family-size tents next, as a few readers have noted some issues with our top pick’s window design that we’d like to follow up on. We’ll be testing coleman cabin tent tents that would be ideal for a family of four camping in all terrains and in three seasons. That mesh also keeps the tent feeling more airy and cool in hot climates.
This pop-up tent packs up into a large, lightweight, flat disc. While it held up fine in drizzling rain, there are only two guylines to secure it to the ground, so we’re skeptical it will be able to stand up to heavy winds. 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 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.
I use the word ‘cabin’ in the name because this is officially part of the name of this tent, but it is best to simply disregard it. I have included this tent in my list of best tunnel type tents for camping. The Coleman Instant Family Tent is a fast-pitching shelter of epic proportions. Camping is far more fun when you have someone sharing the experience with you. But with a family-size tent, you can camp in groups, whether you’re traveling with your in-laws, your spouse and kids, your favorite friends or a combination of all of the above.
That’s especially true of the 2018 redesigns because you can no longer wear either tent’s storage sack like a backpack—you now have to sling it over one shoulder. We talked through the Copper Canyon’s specs with Ryan Flynn, sales manager for Johnson Outdoors, Eureka’s parent company. Flynn told us that the advantage of the lighter aluminum poles found in the company’s Jade Canyon coleman bbq tent is purely about weight. Our only quibble with the Mineral King 3 is that it comes with a mere six stakes. That’s just enough to secure the tent and fly but not to fully secure the tent with extra lines in very windy conditions. You can find a plethora of options out there, but these inexpensive stakes are comparable to the ones that accompany the Mineral King 3.
The tent is made of a rugged double thick fabric, that will keep you warm during cold nights. For each of these 6 factors, we’ll compare the different tents to find out which one is the best. The tent with the highest combined score will win the title of “Best Tent” in its category.
They’re great for keeping stinky boots dry and safe without having to bring them into where you’re sleeping. The pocket isn’t too large but could easily house some phones, a tablet, a lunch box, glasses, a book, a torch, and some minor camping gear. GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves.
It has a nice mesh roof, mesh walls in the first room, and small windows in the second room, making for great ventilation overall. With 7 mesh windows and a full mesh roof, the Ozark trail has great ventilation. With over 1,000 5-star reviews, you really can’t go wrong with the Coleman 8 man instant tent.
The picture below shows the tent from the back side and with the fly on, so you can see some interesting features in its design. As you realize, the fly is a partial-coverage type, but this is why you have those 3 nice screened windows on all the sides. They are the double-layer type with mesh and inner panels for protection and privacy. But when the porch is added, this screen room offers full protection from the rain, although not full protection from the groundwater, this is because of the mentioned floor mesh section.