Reviews You Can Rely On

Coleman Instant Tent 8 Review

gearlab tested logo
coleman instant tent 8 camping tent
Coleman Instant Tent 8
Credit: Coleman
Price:  $310 List
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Manufacturer:   Coleman
By Steve McNamara ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Mar 23, 2015

Our Verdict

The Coleman Instant Tent 8 is a big brother to the Instant Tent 6, the tent that won the Best Buy award in our extensive review of camping tents. The two strongest features of both tents are that their setup is amazingly easy and they are quite inexpensive.
REASONS TO BUY
Fastest to set up
Tall
Inexpensive
Lightweight
Durable floor
REASONS TO AVOID
No rainfly
Door opens to ground
Hard to keep doors taut
Only one door
Vents on top don't seal very well in rain
Bad in wind
Small stakes

Our Analysis

coleman instant tent 8 camping tent - coleman instant tent
Coleman instant tent
Credit: Coleman

Setting up a tent the first time can be a bit of a struggle — and for many people the long time between camping trips means they forget the drill and each time is a "first time." With the Instant Tents, the poles are already attached to the fabric. All that's needed is to extend the poles and click them into place.

The smaller Instant Tent 6 claims to fit six persons, but that's a stretch. Four or maybe five persons is more like it. The Instant Tent 8's claim to fit eight people is suspect as well because it offers 14 square feet per person vs. 15 in the Instant Tent 6.

These two differ in floor size (14 by 8 feet vs.10 by 9 feet), ceiling height (6 feet 4 inches. Vs. 6 feet), and price. Also, the bigger tent can be divided into two "rooms."

To get a complete sense of the Coleman Instant family, go to our review of Coleman Instant Tent 6 and the overview of nine of the best camping tents at the site listed below.

Steve McNamara