Written by 8:28 pmTents

Coleman 8 Person Instant Tent Buyer’s Guide & Reviews

Photo of family having an outdoor camping

Camping trips can be loads of fun – a nice getaway with the family full of BBQ’s and fun. It can also be a terrible, stressful experience if you don’t have the right gear.

It really depends on what type of tent you go for. Tents are the base of your camping trips. They act as storage, keep you safe whilst you’re asleep and are essentially your home or hotel for the weekend.

With this in mind, you want space, comfort and stability. Even in the worst of weathers, some tents still allow for the good times. Especially instant cabin tents.

Finding the best tent can be difficult as there are so many out there with all different kind of specifications and dimensions. You may even feel overwhelmed with the options.

If you’re going with a group of family or friends, a tent of a good size is always the way to go. You don’t want to be cramped in a tent that only allows room for sleeping bags. This is a camping trip, not a survivalist competition.

In this article, we will discuss the Coleman 8 Person instant Tent so you can read about it yourself and decide if it’s the one for you. It’s a roomy number, with big windows and an easy set up. It’s an instant cabin tent, so like a cabin but without the price tag of renting one out for the weekend. But read on and find out for yourself.

Review of the Coleman 8 Person Instant Tent

Description

The Coleman Instant Tent is an instant set up which means that the poles are pre attached to the tent. All you have to do is unfold it and extend the tent poles so it stands. With an ordinary tent, you would need to attach all of the poles together and feed them through a narrow hole to erect the dome, before attaching the whole thing to the ground. However, with this instant Coleman, you don’t need to faff with these steps, as it’s already put together for you. You could say it was fool proof. And takes up a lot less of your time!

This Coleman design is an instant, cabin-type tent which means that the nearly vertical walls measure around two meters. This luxury means that sitting in your tent and even standing in your tent won’t be an issue. If the sun is shining, you can sit out but if it gets a little chilly, rest well knowing you can always opt to sit in your spacious, high ceiling tent.

The instant tent is a single-layer type with a built in fly. This means that the set up is made easier, as it’s just one layer that needs putting up. It does mean that the ventilation won’t be its best as you don’t have the added mesh on the ceiling, but crack open one of your many windows, and this issue is sorted.

This instant tent is free standing, meaning it can be placed on any terrain and can easily be moved once set up. Of course, you can always secure this with guy lines which is always recommended.

This instant Coleman tent is also a 3 season tent so can be ideal for most of the year with its huge windows and weather protection design.

Specifications

All of the info you need about this Coleman:

  • Instant freestanding, 3 season tent Type:
  • 8 person tent
  • Weighs 16.5 kg
  • Dimensions: 14 x 10 ft
  • Floor area: 140 square feet
  • Cabin-type tent
  • Measures 6 ft 5 in in height
  • Measures 47 x 10 (L x D) inches.
  • 1-year limited warranty
  • Made from 150D polyester
  • Seams are taped
  • 2 vents
  • 2 doors
  • 7 windows
  • Expandable carry bag included Carry bag
  • Guy lines and stakes are included

Key Features of the Coleman Instant Tent

Tent Layout

When it comes to this instant Coleman tent, the floor layout is more than generous. You have 140 square feet to move around in. That means plenty of room for sleeping bags, tents and camping chairs. This is more than you can get with bigger tents, made for more people, so it really is a great size.

The walls also come up to around 2 meters so this is definitely a spacious 8 person tent. With your floor space and height, it more than lives up to being a cabin-type tent.

Easy Setup

As discussed above, this instant tent comes with the poles pre attached, so from being folded away, this tent can be put up straight away.

You will just need to start by spreading the tent out on the floor and spread the legs out (the already attached poles). You then need to expand the poles, stand the tent up and then the job is done. It can be done in under 2 minutes which is what makes it so instant. What a dream to hear.

Perhaps you are travelling with small children and the thought of putting a tent up puts you off wanting to go. Maybe you have driven a long way to your camping destination, and the last thing you want to do is spend another hour trying to put a tent up.

However, there is no hassle with this instant tent – the clue is in the name. You won’t be connecting tent poles and feeding them through narrow passages, in fear that they might snap, with this instant tent.

All you need to do is extend the poles and it’s up! It also comes with guy lines for extra security which is always recommended.

Quick to Put Down

As well as being easy to set up, getting it down is also a walk in the park. You don’t need to worry about dismantling this instant tent and undoing all of the hooks like you would with an ordinary tent. Plus, this Coleman tent comes with only 1 layer, so just one piece to fold.

All you will need to do is minimise the poles and fold the tent away. As easy as that. No need to stress and allocate a large amount of time for packing away after your holiday, as this one will be down in seconds. It even comes with an extendable bag, so no need to squish it in to a tiny holder. Now, time for the drive back!

Portability

As discussed above, this instant tent comes with a portable bag. It’s not the easiest to carry around as it measures around 47 x 10 inches and weighs 16.5kg. This means it’s quite heavy and bulky to manoeuvre so it’s ideal if you have a car to help you out.

The bag is also expandable. Although this adds to the weight, it makes for an easy process. It can be annoying having to squeeze a large tent in to a smaller bag – which is the case with a lot of them, so the expandable bag that this instant Coleman has to offer, is another plus when it comes to portability.

It’s hard not to be heavy when it also comes with such a big floor space and poles already attached, so we still think that this is worth the weight and slight inconvenience when it comes to portability. Most people need a car when camping anyway, so this shouldn’t be enough to put you off this spacious 8 person tent.

Extra Features

As well as being easy to put up and being very spacious, this instant tent has many other features to offer.

Divider

You can split this instant Coleman in to two rooms with the added divider. It comes with a central zip so you can either have two areas, or one large one.

You can leave it down to create privacy, or you can choose to zip it up and roll it up against the walls with the attached toggles.

Storage Pockets

This Coleman 8 person tent also comes with added storage, which is very handy when it comes to travelling with a family and going on an adventure. There are two mesh pockets inside the tent where you can store anything you may need to hand. Whether it be shoes or camping equipment.

Double Doors

This Coleman cabin comes with two doors. Both come with panels and mesh so are very handy. This is also handy if you are splitting the tent in half with the divider, so you have an entrance from each side. It’s useful if you have a large family coming in and out!

Windows

Although the windows have been mentioned slightly, we feel they need their own section. The large windows cover the outside of the Coleman instant tent and allow you to enjoy the outdoors whilst sitting inside, cosy and warm. They are sealed the whole way around so allow you to keep warm and dry.

Waterproof

This Coleman instant tent is fully waterproof, which is always great to know when camping. At any moment, the rain could give way, so it’s good to know that you will be protected in your instant Coleman. Even where the windows sit, there are panels on the inside, with horizontal flaps designed to stop water going in.

The floor is a Weather Tec patented system. This is known as plastic welding which creates the most durable seals. They don’t decay and are very strong, so no water will be getting in with this flooring in place.

Tips for Using the Coleman Instant Tent

When it comes to using the Coleman instant, things seem to be pretty straight forward. We would advise using this in summer, spring or autumn as it doesn’t have the right specifications to see you through winter.

It’s always best to have car or any type of vehicle when you are using this tent. It can be heavy to carry and comes in a large portable bag, so having a car to ferry it around is always advised.

If you’re going with a family, which you could well be, we would advise going for camping beds with a gap underneath and maybe even bunk beds to make use of the height and floor space that this has to offer.

Who is the Coleman Instant 8 Best For?

As we have already discussed, this tent is a big one. The Coleman 8 person instant cabin has a 140 square foot floor size.

Although it comes with a divider, it does not come with a vestibule, so most of your camping gear must fit inside. With this in mind, it is recommended that this tent would be suitable for a family with 4 children at a maximum.

Two full size queen beds can fit inside the tent, so 2 adults and a maximum of 4 kids would be ideal. Although it might mean some sharing, you can still all fit in with ease and add in that divider for a private area. Each department will fit one queen size bed in.

If you are worried about your kids sharing, another option could be bunk beds, as the headspace more than allows for it, measuring 2 meters. If you do opt for bunk beds, you can fit more people in, make use of the height and still have the capacity for storage and activities.

Of course, if you’re not needing any beds or living area and are simply using it for an event or using it as a hub, this would be ideal for a big group of friends, as there is plenty of space for cover and gathering.

Our Verdict

In conclusion, we would say this instant tent is ideal for a summer trip with the family. It’s roomy, allows for privacy between the kids and the grown ups and is waterproof if any showers do happen to spring upon you.

Not only is is a spacious one, it’s very easy to put up. All you have to do, is extend the frame and secure it with guy ropes and you’re good to go. With these two in mind, it’s a win win situation and an investment you should consider making for many of your upcoming camping trips.

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