This is a single skin tent featuring a Weathertec Polyester flysheet with taped seams providing 3000mm hydrostatic head waterproof protection. The polyethylene groundsheet is sewn to the flysheet to create a fully sealed unit. Coleman has a very European coleman camping chair approach to the design of their tents as they sell to all major European countries. They place great emphasis on quality features which means that while Coleman Tents may not always be the cheapest tents, they certainly manufacture quality tents.
Admittedly we were skeptical when we read the claim on the storage bag, Instant setup in 60 seconds or less. When you put the words Instant Tent in your title, you’re setting a high bar for yourself. The only variable factor in set-up time is how fast you feel like walking around the tent unfolding the poles and pulling them to their full length. The rain fly might take another couple of minutes, but it’s also a very simple set of buckles that even one person can handle with ease. If you’ve always had a more traditional tent, you’ll find yourself laughing at how quick and easy the Instant Tent 6 goes up. The Coleman Instant Tent 6 has average dimensions for a 6-person tent, at 10’x9’ (90sqft).
If you prefer to take your time, you’ll probably take more like 60 seconds. But wait, they must have made the rest of it waterproof to compensate, right? Coleman’s patented and much ballyhooed WeatherTec technology only uses a weather-resistant, coated polyester fabric. This means that any part of the tent not covered by the rain fly will get wet and leak in moderate to heavy or consistent rain.
You’ll also want to set aside some extra time to strap on the secondary rainfly should you opt to purchase this along with the tent, but we’ll talk more about that later on. It’s also worth noting that this tent can easily be set up by only one person, something that coleman camping chair cannot be said for several of the two-person tents in our review. As mentioned earlier, the tarp floor is a nice touch as well. Because the pole system relies on hinged/jointed corners, you’re unlikely to stress any poles to the point of bending or breaking.
The Coleman Instant Cabin makes getting camp set up quicker and easier than ever. This instant tent has pre-attached poles that make setting up camp as simple as unfolding, extending, and securing. You can assemble the tent in about a minute and then get started on your adventure. This camping tent is designed with the WeatherTec system that features patented welded floors and inverted seams to help ensure you stay dry if it starts to rain. An integrated vented rainfly offers added protection from the rain and improves airflow without the need for extra assembly. This backpacking tent is made from rugged Polyguard 2X double-thick fabric that stands up to the rigors of the outdoors, so you can use it reliably season after season.
Another thing to consider is how flexible your camping plans typically are. If you make reservations six months in advance and stick to them, even if Hurricane Tentzilla is bearing down on you, this might not be your tent. On the other hand, if you find yourself watching the weather and altering your camping plans to avoid wet weekends in the woods, the Instant Tent will treat you right. At the time of publishing, the price started at $94. Ditto the last two reviews — the tent is great but Coleman NEEDS to re-engineer the crappy plastic corner pieces. A 10 cent aluminum die cast piece would be far superior to what they currently have.
To their credit, the floor of the Instant Tent is tarpaulin. Even then, it stops right at the edges and doesn’t run up the sides even a few inches to further guard against ground wetness. As long as the weather cooperates, you won’t have a problem, but if the forecast calls for much rain, you’ll coleman instant tent want to look elsewhere for either a tent or a drier place to go camping. But the only problem is the plastic joints break and are hard to replace. I had one joint break which happened to be a corner joint and no parts were available and that they would be back orders for over a month.
While many tents of this size include some form of vestibule to keep your shoes or other gear out of the tent, but also out of the elements, the Instant 6, does not. Leaks in moderate to heavy rain and tent corners break easily. If someone could make them out of metal it would be a great tent. Unlike traditional tents, the Coleman Instant Tents come with pre-attached poles which extend and snap into place, making the entire setup process a lot quicker compared to your standard tent. Of course, this is also the reason why it weighs a lot more.