But with the panels on and with closed vents, this is a different story. Even the rain fly is harder to attach due to the height, we still think putting the rain fly on is super simple. You secure the rain fly to the tent using velcro, although you also have to pull it tight and stake it. It is a three-season coleman ice chest tent that is best suited to fair-weather camping throughout summer and in the milder months of fall and spring. Overall, the mesh design of this affordable tent provides proper ventilation in the summer to keep you cool. It is a bit of a disappointment that this tent doesn’t come with a vestibule.
This is why it is without an extra fly, you want unobstructed views when you have such great windows. Customers found the stakes more durable than they thought they’d be, and the bulk of the tent durable to the elements. If you are planning a winter camping trip, do not take this tent with you as it won’t provide enough protection for you to have an enjoyable – or safe! The 10-Person version of this tent also comes with Dark Room technology which makes it even better for handling the summer heat. If keeping cool when camping is important to you, it might be worth going for the larger size.
A good family tent should not only be a refuge from both rain and blazing sun, and it should be a comfortable place for kids to take a nap or steal some quiet time. Since most families camp in milder weather and during summer vacation, we tested for air ventilation and for water resistance against a summer storm. While many of these tents claim they can be assembled in 60 seconds, that doesn’t include coleman sundome laying down a tarp, putting in tent stakes, securing guylines, or putting on a rain fly. For our testing, we allowed a 5-minute start-to-finish setup time, to be completed by one person, with all of the additional steps. Any tent that took longer than 5 minutes to fully set up was docked half a point. Each tent was assembled by yours truly, and some were additionally tested by family friends.
Also, with its 59 inches (1.5 m) of peak height, this tent is really a livable space. They do not provide any information about waterproofness, there is only a statement about the WeatherTec patented system which includes welded floors and inverted seams. Weight and packed size for the Instant Tent 6 are 24.9lb and 48”x9”x9”, so it’s certainly a hefty tent that will take up a decent amount of space in your trunk. However, it’s very easy to unpack and pack away with respect to its travel bag, which we consider much more valuable. In the setup category, the Coleman Instant Tent 6 is a true standout amongst our 2021 review, and we were quite impressed with what it could do.
If the coleman ice chest isn’t for you there are a few other options that are similar with a few different features. This takes some of the pressure off of the center of the tent and makes it easier to close. Or you can just roll up and tie up the inner tent flap and not bother with it at all.