So, if you have this tent, I recommend putting the zippers higher up where it’s more protected by the rainfly, instead of lower down, where water can seep in. Even in light rain, majority of the mesh will get wet, as you can see in the picture above. I could crack the windows open a tiny bit in light rain, but in heavier rain, it’s best not to. Apart from the roof, this Coleman 10-Person Tent has 5 windows and 2 doors, almost all of which are pretty massive, allowing for plenty of ventilation when it’s not raining. The back door measures about 47 by 46 inches in dimensions, and it’s about 53 inches from the floor to the top of the door.
How does this Coleman 10-Person Instant Tent compare to other similar tents though? Well, here’s a blog post where I bought, tested and compared 6 of the best 10-person tents. Also, instant tents have a much bigger packed size than regular tents of the same size. And if you’re the type that doesn’t like a single spot of light when you’re sleeping at night, well, you’re in luck. With all its windows closed, this Coleman 10-Person Instant Dark Room Tent is almost pitch black, even though there are still street lights from the outside. If I were being nitpicky, I would say that there’s a little bit of light seeping in through the gap between the roof and the rainfly, and also from the bathtub flooring at the bottom of the tent.
The poles extend and snap in place, just like it’s shown in the video. If this tent is not completely what you are looking for, just look around on this site. Check my separate list of Coleman 8 person cabin coleman screen tent tents. But note that the fly covers mainly the roof, see the picture below, but there is some protection for the zippers as well. So it is up to you, it depends on where you are going to use this tent.
Before starting, ensure that all guy lines and stakes are removed. Begin by collapsing the poles starting from the center, gently pushing each section downwards. Take care to neatly fold the tent fabric, avoiding any sharp twists or bends, to prevent tears and maintain its longevity.
Our main issue with the integrated rainfly is that we lose all ventilation (and views of the outside) when there’s risk of rain, but there is a slight solution to this. For an additional $28, Coleman offers a secondary rainfly accessory made of Polyguard 2X that straps to the top and allows you to have open vents without getting your stuff soaked. Although it’s less than ideal to add a 20% upcharge to unlock this feature, it’s still much easier on your wallet than the majority of the tents in our review.
Refunds
are issued to the original form of payment; some exclusions may apply. For pros, I found the Coleman 10-Person Instant Tent much easier to set up than regular 10-person tent, taking anywhere between 30 to 90% less time. But it’s probably more obvious in this tent than other tents because of the dark room feature. Also, I noticed a pretty big pool of water from the zipper of the hinged D-door at about 30 minutes of light rain (so maybe it started leaking at around 15 minutes in). There are no ground vents in this Coleman 10-Person Tent, so there’s hardly any ventilation when it’s raining, except through the gap between the roof and the rainfly.
This season, our family has been doing several weekend camping trips. We will leave right after the kids get out of school and drive to a near by state park or area campground. There have been a few times that we got stuck in traffic and had to finish setting up camp in the dark.
Its peak height of 73.5 inches is lower than most other 10-person tents, the tent body feels a bit droopy on the widths of the tent, and the side walls aren’t as vertical as I expected them to be. COLEMAN 7X7 ILLUMILINE INSTANT TENT has pre-attached poles make setup a simple matter of unfold, extend and secure, so your tent and the integrated rainfly are ready in about 60 seconds. If it rains, the WeatherTec™ system with its patented welded floors and inverted seams will help you stay dry. When Coleman introduced their first Instant Tent to the world back in 2013 I was a little skeptical it was smaller than similar tents and quite a lot more money. The original Instant 8 has over the years has become an all time favorite along with the more recent Instant Cabin both have huge followings with great ratings. Another of Coleman’s newer two room cabin tents is the Prairie Breeze 9″pictured below” It is also getting very good reviews.
The downside of this design is that the panels must be closed when it is raining. In such situations, this tent will not be a very pleasant place, you do not have mesh on the ceiling as typical for summer tents with a separate fly. Here, on vertical zippers, you have double flaps, plus Velcro tabs which keep them in place.
This Coleman 10-Person Instant Tent has 5 windows around the tent, excluding the 2 doors (on the widths of the tent). I felt like there weren’t enough pole clips in this coleman sundome tent, and the tent body felt a bit droopy, especially on this side of the tent. For spaciousness, I looked at the peak height, slope of the walls, and base area.