This is my first post and i must say I am thoroughly enjoying this site. Been wanting to start getting out more. I saw these instant tents and was wondering if any one was using them? How do they hold up? Do they leak? And does any one have dimensions with one all packed up?
Coleman Instant Tent?
- Thread starter rwmagee90
- Start date
john101477
Photographer in the Wild
wow a cheaper turbo tent.
Man I have not used one of these but for the most part I am not a fan of hub style tents. even worse is if the hub is plastic. As for the weather protection, they may guarantee it to stay dry but with the new tents I have yet to see that actually happen. My biggest worry with this tent would be wind, not rain.
Man I have not used one of these but for the most part I am not a fan of hub style tents. even worse is if the hub is plastic. As for the weather protection, they may guarantee it to stay dry but with the new tents I have yet to see that actually happen. My biggest worry with this tent would be wind, not rain.
john101477
Photographer in the Wild
You might look at the posts by barlowrs we actually just went through all this. I never hinted at your possibility of being new to camping. Many times in my past a sleeping bag and maybe a tarp was my options when camping. When it rained we just pulled the tarp over us. As you know or are finding out when you start taking your family gear is essential. Being army you can apriciate quality vs garbage. Simply put, while you do not have to spend 500 or better a good solid tent with good reputation will benefit. If you would like search out my review thread as I am in a similar situation as you as far as family
I picked one of these up at Sam's a few weeks ago to use as a more versatile screen room to supplement a camper shell on my truck. My thinking is we can close the windows and use the tent as a changing room or open them for a screen room to hang out in.
I've only used it one night (in my yard) so I can't comment on longevity. The tent does go up and comes down very fast, which is why I bought it. It is defiantly faster than setting up an ezup and attaching screen panels. The tent fabric and zippers seem to be high quality for a tent in this price range.
The hub and joints are plastic, but they seem fairly beefy. I'm worried about the clips that hold the tent body to the poles, they look like they could be broken easily. I agree with John, there is no way this tent will stay dry in a storm. My biggest complaint about this tent is that there is not a good way to secure the window flaps when they are zipped down.
This is not an expedition worthy tent and I wasn't expecting it to be. I do think it will be perfect for fair weather family camping and should last several seasons with a little care.
I've only used it one night (in my yard) so I can't comment on longevity. The tent does go up and comes down very fast, which is why I bought it. It is defiantly faster than setting up an ezup and attaching screen panels. The tent fabric and zippers seem to be high quality for a tent in this price range.
The hub and joints are plastic, but they seem fairly beefy. I'm worried about the clips that hold the tent body to the poles, they look like they could be broken easily. I agree with John, there is no way this tent will stay dry in a storm. My biggest complaint about this tent is that there is not a good way to secure the window flaps when they are zipped down.
This is not an expedition worthy tent and I wasn't expecting it to be. I do think it will be perfect for fair weather family camping and should last several seasons with a little care.
john101477
Photographer in the Wild
My only thought to this is you could do better with the $200. Better yet with a little more. I am very unfamiliar with the Appalachians but live in an area that see's extremes on both side of the weather spectrum. 110 degrees in the summer and driving rain + upto 60mph winds in the winter with snow 30 min away. I would seriously check out REI and Cabelas for a decent tent even if it is just a summer tent. Anything that will make the outdoors easier and more comfortable for the family. As I have told others, many tents can be put up by one person. Saving 5 minutes of setup time in the grand scheme of things is not a big deal.
JIMBO
Expedition Leader
:sombrero: I don't know what you're driving, but
You might consider a "Hatch tent" lots of them out there
Mine is 9' x9' and we can sleep init/ dress init/bathroom init, or jump in the X/jeep and close the door to sleep/dodge predators/hide !!
Or get an Airzone Odessy 8' x 8' blows up with air in less that a minute and will withstand rain or heavy winds
Possibilities are endless, I have an AIRZONE Goldfinch (5' x 8'), on my trailer and it is very quick and takes up almost no room
:wings::costumed-smiley-007 JIMBO
You might consider a "Hatch tent" lots of them out there
Mine is 9' x9' and we can sleep init/ dress init/bathroom init, or jump in the X/jeep and close the door to sleep/dodge predators/hide !!
Or get an Airzone Odessy 8' x 8' blows up with air in less that a minute and will withstand rain or heavy winds
Possibilities are endless, I have an AIRZONE Goldfinch (5' x 8'), on my trailer and it is very quick and takes up almost no room
:wings::costumed-smiley-007 JIMBO
we currently own 3 vehicles and all three are soon to be one the market. A 1987 toyota supra non-turbo, 5-speed, cherry interior, needs paint, only 106k on it, a 1998 acura integra ls, auto, interior ok, body ok, 128k, and a 1989 toyota pickup, 22r, 4 speed, 225k, 2wd, has 4runner interior, 4runner front end swap. The toyotas are mine, the acura is the wifes, I am currently looking at either a 4runner, xj, or an isuzu trooper.
I'm bumping this thread for a short one year review. My family has used this tent several weekends with a couple of week long trips along the way.
First the good: It sets up and packs super fast, just as advertised and it's holding up well. After one rainy trip I had it set up in the yard with no stakes to dry. An unexpected storm came and blew the tent across the yard, bending some of the joints backward and leaving it in a jumbled mess. After folding all of the joints the correct way I was surprised that there was no damage to the tent or frame. I have used the tent in moderate wind and, when anchored down well, it has been stable and relatively quite .
The bad: As expected, it leaks. The worst of this is above the doors. The water pools on the roof and when the door is unzipped it runs into the floor of the tent. There are no straps for stowing the window panels when they are zipped down. We ended up leaving the windows zipped up about 6 inches and tucking the flaps in between the tent wall and the screen.
Overall, it's a good tent for the money, just keep in mind that it was designed for fair weather family camping, not expeditions to a rain forest.
First the good: It sets up and packs super fast, just as advertised and it's holding up well. After one rainy trip I had it set up in the yard with no stakes to dry. An unexpected storm came and blew the tent across the yard, bending some of the joints backward and leaving it in a jumbled mess. After folding all of the joints the correct way I was surprised that there was no damage to the tent or frame. I have used the tent in moderate wind and, when anchored down well, it has been stable and relatively quite .
The bad: As expected, it leaks. The worst of this is above the doors. The water pools on the roof and when the door is unzipped it runs into the floor of the tent. There are no straps for stowing the window panels when they are zipped down. We ended up leaving the windows zipped up about 6 inches and tucking the flaps in between the tent wall and the screen.
Overall, it's a good tent for the money, just keep in mind that it was designed for fair weather family camping, not expeditions to a rain forest.
pete.wilson
Adventurer
Hey
A friend of mine purchased the Coleman 6 man instant tent and camped out of it for a week in April here in central VA. It went up in about a minute and was instantly able to withstand wind of about 25+ w/o problem during setup. During the week we had a couple of storms that blew through with winds in the 40-60mph range and it had no problems during or after the storms. As for water leakage, we were under alerts for potential flooding with a near sideways blowing rain, the only spot that got wet in his tent when it was over was one area about 4" square and this was due to the vent/screen being left open for ventilation,otherwise it would have been totally dry. With some of the weather we had, I was very impressed on how well it held up. Long term quality will yet to be seen, as well as winter/cold quality of those said plastic parts.
Note: Another party had a cheap Wal-mart tent that broke a fiberglas tent pole due to the wind and became useless to use.
Pete Wilson
A friend of mine purchased the Coleman 6 man instant tent and camped out of it for a week in April here in central VA. It went up in about a minute and was instantly able to withstand wind of about 25+ w/o problem during setup. During the week we had a couple of storms that blew through with winds in the 40-60mph range and it had no problems during or after the storms. As for water leakage, we were under alerts for potential flooding with a near sideways blowing rain, the only spot that got wet in his tent when it was over was one area about 4" square and this was due to the vent/screen being left open for ventilation,otherwise it would have been totally dry. With some of the weather we had, I was very impressed on how well it held up. Long term quality will yet to be seen, as well as winter/cold quality of those said plastic parts.
Note: Another party had a cheap Wal-mart tent that broke a fiberglas tent pole due to the wind and became useless to use.
Pete Wilson
RVR2RSQ
Observer
Just a note, I see on amazon that coleman has come out with a rainfly for the tent that also adds an additional vestibule. I beileve I will add that to my set up as leaving the windows up in the rain is kind of crappy. It would also be nice to be able to cook out of the rain.
It always rains at the cubscout campouts
Brian
It always rains at the cubscout campouts
Brian
It's not unrealistic, but most of the cheap tents out there are going to be a mixed bag of poor quality, poor materials, and poor design. The problem is that there are so few true outdoorsmen anymore. There is just no market. 40 years ago you could go to any sporting goods store and buy a Wenzel or Coleman cabin tent built like a tank for a reasonable price. I had one that lasted 20 years before the thread finally rotted. People used them for hunting, fishing, and camping in the actual forest, not in a full service campground. Now days the people who can still afford to hunt do it from 5th wheels and motorhomes. Good packable heavy duty tents now are all custom made and run in the neighborhood of $1,000 to $1,500 for the smallest. There is very little middle ground between those tents and the cheapos. I spent a good year looking for an alternative and found the best compromise in a Black Pine 6 man tent. I can't afford the other high dollar options. I got a good deal on it at $450 and have used for a year with no complaints. I travel solo and this tent is easy for one man, even in wind to set up. Pretty good quality for the price and the weight. In the $100, $200 range I didn't find any tent I would take home if it was given to me.
This is one of my favorites: http://www.kwikkamp.com/kwikpack.cfm , But I can't afford it right now.
Couldn't find a link to the exact model I have but it is similar to this: http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=52sYT9DKGcvciQKF1LS9CA&ved=0CFsQ8wIwAA# Mine is forest green and black which looks much better. I bought it from Costco during a roadshow special for $450.
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SWITAWI
Doesn't Get Out Enough
:camping:
I can pretty much echo what brice said about this tent 8mos ago on page 1. My Instant Tent 6-man is a great choice for where I live & camp (Central and South TX, Padre Island). No snow, relatively dry. In the picture above you can see I didn't even have to tie it down one weekend. It does handle wind just fine so far, but I figure the profile is too upright for winds of 40mph or more (I could be wrong). The most moisture I've seen on the inside was from body-heat condensate when I didn't use a heater. I had a couple of spots where the stitching holes were big enough to see daylight through, and during a rare moment of rain those spots allowed some drips. During that same shower I was not entirely happy with the short overhang on the roof vent flaps, and I can confirm there is some pooling on the top. I understand that Coleman wanted to tout this as being the truly 'instant' setup tent but a fly should still be an available accessory. Not just for rain, but for heat as well. Even when the windows are fully open this sucker can be an oven during a hot day with no breeze. Overall I can say that I am alright with having an easy-to-set-up tent that I can actually stand up in for the <$150 I paid for it.
Brian,
Please, PLEASE, Puh-LEEZE show me where Coleman has come out with a fly for the Instant Tents. I WANT ONE. My Google-**** must be weak today... Nevermind. Just found it - http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Rainf...8PFG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1327010388&sr=8-5 That's now on my short list and I'll post up the results after the first time I get to use it.
Sparky,
I say you get what you pay for. At this level I'm with Squatchout in thinking that I'm not bothered by my tent needing some seam sealer 'touch-up', and since I'm not camping in really adverse conditions or on a mountainside this tent works fine for me. Now if I were going on a serious trek and not having my *** get frost-bitten or otherwise pulverized by Mother Nature was truly dependant on my gear?.. Then I would have paid big $$$, and you could be durned sure I'd be rather annoyed at any shortcomings in a tent's performance.
:safari-rig:
downhill, I hear where you're coming from, and I figure you're spot-on when you say that the market is just not there anymore. On a side note, a friend of mine is currently trying talk our hunting/camping group into getting one of the Base X Expedition Shelters from GovLiquidation.com. Problem is hauling +300lbs of 'shelter' around. I guess if we were going to be out there for a week or two...
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