Coleman Instant Cabin 6 Family Tent Review

Coleman INSTANT CABIN Family 6 WITH FLY Tent Review

Editor: Cory McLaughlin

Just the Facts:
The Coleman® Signature 6-Person Instant Cabin with Rainfly makes camping easy so you can enjoy every moment of your outdoor adventure. In about a minute you can have the tent set up or taken down. The spacious interior fits two queen-sized airbeds. The exclusive WeatherTec™ system and an included rainfly help keep you dry and comfortable when it rains. Double-thick, rugged Polyguard 2X™ tent fabric helps prevent rips and tears, and a ground vent provides increased ventilation. You’ll love the Illumiline™ reflective guy lines, as well as the pre-attached poles of this instant cabin. When it’s time to go home, the whole thing fits in the included carry bag with rip strip.
•Spacious interior has room for 2 queen airbeds
•Pre-assembled poles for fast and easy setup in about a minute
•Illumiline™ reflective guy lines for greater visibility at night
•Included rainfly for extra weather protection
•WeatherTec™ system’s patented welded floors and inverted seams help keep water out
• Rugged, Polyguard 2X™ double-thick fabric stands up to the rigors of the outdoors
•Ground vent for increased ventilation
•Carry bag with rip strip makes packing up a cinch
•10 x 9 ft.
•6 ft. 2 in. center height
•1-year limited warranty

My Story:
Pop, lock, and drop it! For those of you who follow the hip-hop world you will see the joke. For those of you who are not hip-hop fanatics it’s all right if you take that statement literally. The Coleman Instant Cabin 6 is truly that simple to set up and take down. Pop it out of the bag, lock the attached extending tent poles, and drop your butt down in a chair because you’re done. This bad boy can be set up in about 60 seconds once you get the hang of it. You will have to spend a bit more time pounding in stakes and guy lines. But the main part of the work is done in just about a minute.
When I first learned of the Instant Cabin 6 tent I knew it was going to be something that I wanted to review. My family of 4 had been searching for a great easy to use and fast-set tent for quite some time. We do our fair share of car camping and we require a good tent. As I’m sure you are aware there are several choices out there. The problem with big tents is that it is no small commitment to make that purchase. Most tent options are not very friendly to the pocket book. Now before anybody gets excited I do know they old adage “You get what you pay for.” In my gear testing life I have found that to be mostly true but there are exceptions to every rule and low cost does not necessarily represent low quality. Such is the case with the Instant Cabin 6. With a price point of $249 this will be gentle on the wallet but tough in the woods.
When I first rolled the tent out of the package I was a bit intimidated. It looked like nothing I had used before. I knew it was only a silly thought as the advertised set up of 60 seconds could not be accurate if it was truly difficult. I slowly unfolded the tent taking care to note how it was rolled up.

After it was completely unfolded I pulled on the extension area of the leg until I heard it click.

After repeating the process three more times I was done. The tent was up and standing in all of its magnificent glory. I was truly surprised at just how simple it was. After a bit more time staking the tent out it was sturdy as could be. The rainfly is simple enough to put on. All that needs to be done is to locate the tag that says Front Side. The rest is common sense.

As luck would have it my tent arrived right before a family camping trip was about to start. Though the temperature was a bit cool I decided that we would be tent camping. As it turned out that trip was a great success. The following week we had another weekend trip planned and we again chose to bring the Instant Cabin 6 tent.

The 4 of us, and our two labs, loaded into the truck and off we went. Not surprisingly that trip ended with the same success as the first. The Instant Cabin 6 tent had earned the seal of approval from Mom and the kids and I was incline to feel the same. There was but one other area that I needed to test out. How was this tent going to hold up in a downpour? As luck would have it I could not find a good rainy day to get the tent set up for testing. Being that I live in Washington I am sure this comes as a surprise to many of you. The truth is that Eastern Washington is actually quite dry and aired, but that is beside the point. So, I had to create my own rain with a sprinkler.

As I’m sure you can see the testing was wet and wild. The important thing is that it stayed dry. I cannot stand waking up in a puddle of water because my tent leaked. I have had this happen more times that I care to admit. After the hour long sprinkler barrage I am confident that water will not be an issue with my Instant Cabin 6 tent. The WeatherTec waterproof basin does its job wonderfully and all that should be dry, will be dry.

Find it Here:
http://www.coleman.com/instant/instant-cabin-6-with-fly/2000016071.html#start=6

What can be done better?
This tent is pretty dang cool. I can’t find many things that I would want to change. I would like to have a tie down put on the window that is attached to the door. When opening the door it allows the flap to fall out of the small pocket it sets in. A small loop style tie would fix this. Other than that this is a solid choice for a family car camping set up. Great Job Coleman!

I give this product 5 stars in the category of inexpensive family tents.