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 coleman ice chest 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.
Unfold the bundle of nylon and interlinked poles from its duffel bag and the shelter almost pops to its shape. After about 3 hours of light rain, all the fabric of the main tent body (both the blue and black fabric) was still dry, which was great. 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.
The hinged D-door measures about 50 by 34 inches in dimensions, and is only about 47 inches from the ground to the top of the door, because the side walls aren’t really that vertical. If there’s no rain, you you can unzip the windows for more ventilation, and there’s a bug net to prevent larger bugs from getting in. Also, the side walls aren’t as vertical as I expected them to be. Next, pull the tent out tight and drape the rainfly over the tent. The green side of the rainfly is the right side up, and the underside of the rainfly is black. Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers has field-tested and rated the top three-season tents.
Also, it’s not completely opaque, and you can actually see quite a bit through it. Each window comes with a small latch to tie the fabric of the windows up, so that it looks neater. Finally, insert the green-colored fiberglass pole through the door pole coleman sundome sleeve (which can be zipped open and close). That being said, I think this is the absolute perfect tent for hot summer days. I was so comfortable inside this tent, and didn’t feel like I was baking (even at 12 noon, when the sun was scorching).
The problem may appear with vertical flaps when you have rain and strong wind which can force water to move to the sides and under the flaps tp the zippers. So my point is that I would not rely on this system as fully waterproof, although it really looks great and durable. Note that in any variant with beds (cots), you always have space underneath the beds, so you can use it to store your gear. Using air mattresses on the ground is also an option, but they will take all space. Off-ground sleeping is a far better option in any tent. The tent can accommodate two full-size queen beds, one in each of the two rooms.
Costing less than $50 and small in size it is best kept for younger children who would like a tent of their own to sleep in. 10 of Coleman’s tents have a suggested retail price of less than $100 You can often find another 10 or so, that coleman instant tent with discounts fall into this category. Rather than just playing safe and highlighting those that are always cheapest. Ditto the last two reviews — the tent is great but Coleman NEEDS to re-engineer the crappy plastic corner pieces.