What is an instant tent?
The Coleman Instant Tent has been on the market for about a year and a half and is very popular with car campers. It is rated as sleeping 6 people, but that would be a squeeze. However, it’s not the size of the tent that makes it so popular, but the ease of assembly.
Here are some of the pros and cons.
Pros
- Easy to set up. The tent comes in one piece as the poles are sewn into the structure of the tent itself. It is advertised as being able to be set up in less than one minute. This is a great feature, especially if you are camping by yourself.
- No need to assemble tent poles. They are already attached! No lost poles to hunt for when you assemble or take down the tent.
- Sleeps 6 people. 9 ft X 10 ft interior floor and 6 ft height at center. Will hold 2 queen size air mattresses.
- Lots of large windows for ventilation.
Cons
- 6 people may fit into the tent, but only if you sleep sardine style! The occupancy rate of any tent should be taken with a grain of salt and the Instant Tent is no exception.
- Some owners have complained that it leaks. It has no rain fly. This can be solved by staking a tarp over the tent. It could definitely benefit from a rain fly.
- Also, there is a lot of condensation that builds up on the inside during rainy weather. Because there is no rain fly, the window flaps have to be closed to keep out rain.
- Because the door zippers don’t always close tight, some campers worry about bugs getting in the tent. This problem is easily solved with a bug barrier spray.
Conclusion
The Instant Tent is a great tent to own if your camping party is small. It comfortably accommodates 3, or at the max, 4 people, plus gear.
The ease of assembly makes it a great choice for those camping by themselves. Every review I have read about the tent, states how easy it is to set up. This is the single most positive feature of the tent.
The jury is out on whether it stays dry during rain storms. Some owners have no problem, while others wind up with water in their tent. One suggestion is to make sure that the fabric on the top of the tent is pulled tight so that rain doesn’t pool on the roof. And it never hurts to spray the seams with seam sealer.
The Instant Tent is certainly worth looking into if you are shopping for a new tent. No tent is perfect, but this one comes pretty close. The Instant Tent can be bought at most sports stores and also ordered online. Amazon has very competitive prices and offers free shipping. It’s on sale right now.
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