Coleman - 10-Person Dark Room Instant Cabin

I have the Coleman 10P Darkroom Cabin, and it's by far the largest tent I've ever used. I quite enjoy the experience once it's set up, and as long as things go the way they're meant to, setup and teardown are rather simple and easy. The darkroom aspect is also super nice.

I have the 10 person instant setup dark room Coleman for my family of 4. It’s not technically 2 rooms but it has a fabric divider you can use to separates one side from the other effectively making it like 2 rooms. A huge plus is it blocks out most light which should make it easier for the kid to nap. It’s also much quicker to setup than a traditional tent. It has 2 entry/exit points but I’d consider this a plus since it gives you options. I previously had a Wenzel tent which did have 2 rooms…it was an OK cheap tent but would highly recommend the Coleman over it.

I have 1 10-person Coleman dark room instant tent and 2 6-person Coleman dark room sundome tent and I highly recommend just buying 2 6p tents. The 10 P tent is great if you want space to play games at night, but need to make sure you have enough space to carry it around in a truck as its pretty huge and more space at campsite to setup. 6p tent seems perfect for sturdiness and space to move a bit, as the 10p tent seems more flimsy in the wind as the poles seem smaller and all connect to one center being it is instant which takes around 15 min or less to setup but 6p tents are also easy as its still only two crossbars.

I have two kids, 5 and 3, and have a Colman 10p dark room tent. We got the dark room to make sure the kids could have a mid day nap when they were younger, but now the youngest has dropped the nap. The darkroom is a sweat box as soon as the sun hits it in the summer, but it stays a nice temp in autumn. I've also got a 23 zero bandit swag that I hoped to take the eldest with away as setting up the 10p tent when he was 4 was a lot of effort while trying to keep him entertained. So far we have only used it in the backyard. If I had my time again I would probably grab a oztent rv5 to go with the swag and our gazebo, because normally our trips are very short, 2-3 nights. So I want to keep the setup time to a minimum to make sure it is worthwhile. Most of our holiday time is spent visiting family interstate and overseas. I'd consider what type of camping you are doing? Are you staying in one spot for a while, or touring etc? Maybe with having 2 extra kids, a second hand soft floor trailer tent would be the go if you are doing 1-2 week trips.

If weight and bulk isn’t an issue - which I guess carrying two cots prolly isn’t… Coleman’s pop up cabin tent is 👌

I love my darkroom tent. It really makes a difference.

I recently bought a Coleman 10 person dark tent I recommend it for families who are car camping like you describe. Lets the kids sleep in more. I have pics of it in my profile in one of my posts. For my kids I just use a reflective heat pad thing under their sleeping bag and then bring a lot of extra blankets in case people get cold. Bring fun little dollar store activities like glow bracelets or those little whistling slingshot helicopter things you shoot in the air. Main issue will be if the 2 year old requires a lot of attention at night. Some are good sleepers and some wake up screaming. I’ve gone through both situations and when it goes bad it can be very tiring but you know what your kids can handle. Not sure what else to say but I’ve taken my young kids camping every year multiple times for many years so if you have specific questions I can try to answer. I think it’s super good for them to do it even when it’s hard for the parents. Edit: white noise app on a phone hooked up to a battery overnight can help a lot with the quiet/random loud sounds at campgrounds. I recommend that too.

I have the coleman version of the first tent, not blackout. I have used it to take little kids camping and it works well. Just mind the fact the footprint of such a large tent may be hard to fit into sites.

I would recommend a Coleman Instant Cabin. 4 person or 6 person. Make sure you get the rain fly accessory. I have used this tent in all conditions including heavy snow and it’s surprisingly durable for the cost. I’m 6’4” and can stand up in it. https://www.coleman.com/tents-canopies/tents-by-size/6-person-instant-cabin/SAP_2157803.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=oe_col_DTCSearch_2024&utm_term=conversion&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD0GYNrORZoDaJ5GCrNIcIWJ13RZc&gclid=Cj0KCQiAu8W6BhC-ARIsACEQoDBPykcFSxwrB7SB-OJ7JRGrplMf_e2pFKKYiHMkRC7Dpc9WNorqo60aAlACEALw_wcB&actionPoint=Show

I have a Coleman instant up cabin tent and it’s completely waterproof. I suspect your tent is flawed and should be returned

I got this for my winter tent. And at this point it’s my everything tent except for the middle of ca summer

I've never had a CORE tent, but Coleman and Kelty have both worked well in the past for car camping. The Coleman "instant cabin" would probably be an easier setup, but not much easier, and at cost of some sturdiness. Coleman Dark Room and Kelty Daydreamer are also neat; they're designed to black out sunlight, so the material is a bit heavier... and yeah, you can sleep in past dawn much more easily.

I've never had a CORE tent, but Coleman and Kelty have both worked well in the past for car camping. The Coleman "instant cabin" would probably be an easier setup, but not much easier, and at cost of some sturdiness. Coleman Dark Room and Kelty Daydreamer are also neat; they're designed to black out sunlight, so the material is a bit heavier... and yeah, you can sleep in past dawn much more easily.

Smaller then my 10 man Coleman.

I’ve had this tent since 2018 and used it probably 70-90 times. It’s been great. Only reason I’ve more recently stopped using it is we got the larger version of the same tent that’s been just as good. I’m sure there’s higher quality brands that people will recommend, but it’s been great overall.

I don’t have this specific tent but a similar 10 person Coleman and it’s great for 2 adults and 2 kids, with a good amount of space between beds so we can have luggage or hang out if it’s raining. If it’s just two people it’s a really big tent but if you want a lot of extra room, it’s great. Our setup was done with 1 person and it went up in about 15 mins.

I've had a Coleman 10p tent for around 13 years now and it's still going strong!

I have a new 10p Coleman that I just got to replace our old, similar Coleman cabin tent and I love it. The old one held up for years of abuse and I kind of just wanted to treat us to a shiny new one, the older could still be used for years to come. The one feature that I LOVE and this one doesn't have is the hinged swinging door. It's a huge game changer for kids going in and out of the tent non stop. Otherwise, I'm sure this tent is awesome and the dark tech sounds fabulous too!

I got one of the Coleman tents with dark room technology 2 years ago and when I tell you it’s so worth the investment! Stays cool/dark enough to sleep in once the sun comes up if you want to.

You’ll definitely want a canopy, I’ve always had my dark room tent partially under one to help protect from the sun even more. You can probably place a pickup order for a canopy at a Walmart in Indio.

Buy Coleman with the Dark Room tech, or a brand with similar like Logos. Don’t buy the cheap shit people are telling about. They will get insanely hot and keeping out the sun is the only way they are useful.

Love my coleman dark room tents!

I love the Coleman 6 person dome tents. I use them for my Girl Scout troop. If you want to use them in colder temps, I recommend the Darkroom over the Sundome. The rainfly goes lower and provides more insulation.

Love my Coleman Darkroom for car camping. I need to use a lantern to see during daylight hours with the rain fly on. I've had it for about 5 years with no major issues.

Get the cabin tent!!! I work stage crew for festivals, so I live out of my tent in the summer. My issue with the other tents is the flimsy poles that split and break with use. I got caught in heavy storms in a field with a Coleman darkroom tent last year, it completely flattened and the poles split on two sides. I sprung for a cabin tent and have lived through at least a dozen storms (did you see what happened at Secret Dreams last month?) with no issues at all. That tent cannot be bothered!

Good buy! Man I had a dark rest tent for a while and freaking loved that thing

Are you saying there's no point in camping if you don't want to be up with the sun?

So you've kind of answered your own question. It doesn't make sense to you so don't buy one. I've been camping for going on 30 years and we bought one and it's fabulous. I don't find that it adds any extra bulk or weight, it wasn't really more expensive, and we enjoy the extra sleep in. Don't buy one if you don't want one but leave everybody else alone about it if they do.

Then it isn't a good one. My dark rest tent does not let any light in whatsoever except a few specks where the zippers are.