In this article I will be writing down my Coleman 8 Person Instant Tent review, giving you my opinion and letting you know if it is worth your money or not.
Coleman tents are on the ever-expanding rise, so does this mean their products are becoming more worthless and lower quality every year? In essence, no.
However, Coleman are a trusted brand, but I find that this doesn’t mean all of their products are made perfectly. I often review tents and give my honest opinion, the Coleman 8 Person Instant Tent is no different.
Some of their tents are made near-perfect for the price you pay, while some are almost better off sitting in the rubbish bin after 1 days use. If you are wanting my personal opinion on this product then keep reading my review below.
Specs
Weight: 43.8 lbs
Measurements: 14 by 10 feet
Color: Brown, black, blue
Occupancy: 8 person
Ventilation: 2 doors and 7 windows
Guarantee: 1 year warranty
Product Overview
The Coleman 8 Person Instant is designed for 8 person use, with the capability of being set up within minutes due to it being an ‘instant setup’ tent.
It is a cabin-styled tent with 2 room dividers, which I find to be very helpful if you prefer to have privacy when camping with friends.
This tent is also able to fit 2 queen-sized air mattresses, and because of the cabin shape this tent offers, it gets A LOT of looks and compliments by passersby and fellow campers.
What Ultimate Benefits Does This Product Provide?
I typically find that the Coleman 8 Person Instant tent is really a unique product, because it has a different design and shape, it does stand out from the other tents in the campsite.
It is also very spacious, and what I find to be the most beneficial feature that this tent has to offer, is the amount of rain it can protect you from.
A lot of 8+ person tents at this price range will actually fall over or even start leaking after a few hours of rain – I find that this tent doesn’t do that.
Pricing & Purchase Details
This tent is now available on Amazon.com for just over $200, which includes free shipping and a 1 year return warranty. If anything gets broken on this tent you can simply return it for a repair.
Who the Coleman 8 Person Instant Tent Is For
I find that this tent will be a great choice for family car campers, due to the weatherproofing abilities it has to offer, you and your child’s safety can not be taken lightly.
I would say that it will also work for friends that want to go out on a weekend trip, whether that be in a public campsite or the wilderness (who knows what these young bucks get up to, lol).
However this tent is not for you if you plan on going for an extended hiking trip. It’s sitting at 43.8 pounds, even if it’s split up between 3-4 of you that is still too heavy. Be smart and take something lighter if that’s what you want to use it for.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- It’s very spacious, with enough room for 2 queen-sized air mattresses, you could put one in there and use the rest of the space for a table and chairs, more gear, and more boxes of beer 🙂
- The fabric/material is strong, this is a must have if you want something that will actually keep water out, which it does, and I find that it stays standing in strong winds
- It fits back in the carry bag perfectly fine, just remember to keep the windows/doors open to help let the air out when you roll it up
- Because of the 5 windows and 2 doors, you can keep it well ventilated during the hot summer days and let the cool breeze come in
- It is greatly waterproofed, as it contains a bathtub-styled floor that comes up about 6 inches off the ground to stop water from seeping through.
- The ceiling is high enough even for a tall person to walk around freely
Cons
- It’s really heavy (43.8 lbs), so it won’t make a good choice for long hiking trips
- Because there’s no mesh roof, at night time – heat can get trapped at the top of the ceiling resulting in condensation buildup
- Some people are reporting a piece that gets broken which is only worth $2, it would be better if they supplied extras so you don’t have to pay for shipping when ordering a new one
- Not the greatest customer service, as reported by many people who have had something broken they have simply been brushed off or ignored
See The Cheapest Price On Amazon.com
Alternative/Similar Tents
If you want a tent with better customer service, capable of housing the same amount of people and just as weatherproof and much cheaper, although it is a dome-styled tent, the Coleman Red Canyon Tent is my recommended choice.
If you’d rather prefer a tent roughly the same price as the Canyon, although not as waterproof but still a good recommendation for summer camping trips, the Coleman 6 Person Tent might be more your cup of tea.
Do I Recommend This Tent?
I would say it’s a good quality tent that does good in rain and wind, however not everything is made perfectly, so don’t be surprised if you get a bad tent with weak poles or hinges.
I think it’s quite difficult to get a tent at this price range with this amount of weatherproofing it has and the spacious room it provides, so I’m going to recommend this tent 100%.
Although it isn’t exactly on the cheaper side, so it should be able to keep the rain out for this price, and it does just that.
My Final Opinion
It is a great tent and good quality, which I would probably use myself for future car camping (I probably have to soon anyway, mine’s starting to get worn out :P).
If you are a small-to-average sized family and want something for a weekend trip, then this tent would work perfectly and highly recommended for you.
If you want to use it for extended hiking trips with few people this tent is not recommended!
However to be sure that it doesn’t blow over in strong winds, tighten all guy lines and stake the tent down correctly.
For the reasons I have outlined, and the fact that a cabin-styled tent at this price with as much waterproof it offers, it can be quite difficult to come across, so I’m going to recommend this tent 100%
Excellent review Brandon! Really unbiased highlighting the pros and cons of this particular tent – this Coleman 8 person instant tent sounds like a perfect option for a family car camper trip, or a group of partying students to have a road trip lol.
I actually think i might get a tent in the future, so i will let you know if i do and ask your advice 🙂 can you recommend a good tent for 2-4 people?
Hi Marley. I would 100% agree with you, actually I think that is the only time you could use this tent, while you’re car camping.
And backyard camping of course, especially when the extended family comes over to stay 🙂 I would also say that it works wonders for a group of partying students as well. Lol
That’s good buddy. I will be happy to help.
The ALPS Mountaineering Extreme 3 Person tent works amazing against the weather, the vestibules are what makes this tent stand out by giving you more room for your gear.
The Slumberjack 4 Person tent is not as expensive as the ALPS but it’s not as good against strong winds either, however it is bigger on the inside.
Hope this helps you my friend 🙂
-Brandon
Hey Brandon,
Thanks for the great review on the Coleman 8 person instant tent review. It was very informative in which you did very well sharing both pros and cons. I appreciate that you also shared alternatives. Very nice. Makes me wanna go tent shopping but think Ill have to wait til next spring beyond were in Minnesota and winters just around the corner. 😉 ~Cary
Hi Cary, glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Well if you don’t know how to camp in the winter, this article explains how to easily do it.
-Brandon
As a person who does a lot of camping, and actually uses tents like this on a regular basis, I must say, you have some very informative things here. Also, I have never seen one that opens up, as the one in the third image. That is actually really cool.
Very nice work here!
-Kenny
Hi Kenny, thanks for the kind words buddy. Glad you found this post helpful.
-Brandon
Great review! Lots of good information. We are a small family and typically pack light. I don’t think this is the right tent for our regular trips but would be great for backyard camping! How warm does it stay in colder temps?
Namaste
Kate
Hey Kate! This isn’t a tent for you if you want to go ultralight, correct. It is only 3 season tent and made for good ventilation so it isn’t the best for cold temperatures, however that’s what your sleeping bag/blankets and pad is for after all 🙂
Kind regards,
Brandon
We have this tent, and it was fine last year on our two several day camping trips, but hard to setup for me alone. I prefer a tent that I can setup without needing help. I LOVE the spacious of this tent. We a young family of 4. However, we recently brought it to camp on a trip, and there was some heavy rain… and it leaked terribly with the fly on and windows shut properly. The whole floor soaked. Granted we forgot a group tarp. Question: do you think the sole problem was the lack of ground tarp? Had we put one down do you think it would not leak next time? Or perhaps we have a bad model. (We did rain proof spray it last year).
The Coleman products were always a mainstay in my family.. pop-up campers, stoves, lanterns, sleeping bags….. on and on…….
That being said, I was quite confidant when I bought an Echo Lake 8 person tent for my family.
Then,………I found that I needed a replacement part! I have come to deeply regret my decision.
The old trustworthy company is now part of a conglomerate of un-related companies and customer service doesn’t exist.
The parts lists on the website and those included with the tent are the most ambiguous I have ever tried to decipher. Assuming that I will never figure out how to communicate in a two way conversation with an answering service, I can probably throw the tent into the trash bin…. the cost of the tent and the times we were able to use it before the poles exploded calculate down to $75.00 per use. Not a stay at the Four Seasons, but certainly enough for me to never purchase Coleman again.