Coleman - Instant Up 8P Silver Series Tent (Side Entry)
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 15, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
1923
560
"I even washed them accidentally and still worked perfectly fine afterwards."
"Been using them for about four years working out in my gym, and cycling daily (45+ minutes on a bicycle outdoors)."
"They last absolutely forever (I know 1980s models still in daily use)"
436
33
"We have traveled to 3 countries with it, set it up on taxis etc."
"Super easy. ... Took about 20-30 minutes"
"sets up in under 3 min including stake out time. ... Take down is just as fast and it fits in its storage bag with out much fuss. ... set up in under 90 seconds 120 if you putting in stakes."
98
12
"it's the best car camping tent I've owned"
"It’s one of the few ways I can sleep out camping."
"had the best sleep in a long time while camping"
217
45
"The footprint of the floor is a square for the T4 hub tent, so you should find the available space easy to work with, even with mattress. ... We have the T4 plus, which is just two squares with a room divider. We use cots and there is room for 5 and the dogs."
"I also loved how tall it was, you can probably stand up straight even as a tall person. ... Standing up straight in a tent is a game changer"
"I'm 6'3 and can stand up in it."
41
23
"We’ve camped in the rain and woke up dry with just the fly, no additional tarp needed."
"I've had a REI half dome tent for nearing 10 years. ... otherwise it's been holding strong over multiple backpacking trips and car camping in rain and snow."
"I’ve bought both to festivals with multiple severe thunderstorms and was much dryer than people who brought much more expensive tents."
Disliked most:
17
16
"And it leaks. Consistently. It sometimes even manages to flood things."
"Biggest issue I had with the tarptent was that the weatherproofing/seam sealing started to fail."
"Both of my Coleman Instant tents have holes in the floor after just 2 uses. Both of them leaked water in a moderate storm. ... The Coleman Instant Tent has a known issue with leaks so they sell an additional aftermarket rainfly. ... I have the rainfly. Doesn't even cover the windows.... The windows fill up with water and then the water started dripping right off the keeper for the windows screen...."
9
57
"traveling with it is painful. ... The pack size is huge and heavy."
"the packed size, it's fkn big ... You really need to be sure you can fit it in your car or be prepared to strap it to the top. ... When I had a Jeep, it BARELY fit! Bottom right corner. When I shut the tailgate, it would nudge it and that was having to move the passenger seat up as far as I could and still be able to sit in the seat."
"It's about the size of 12 by 12 popup shelter folded up."
2
9
"The pole design means they are under twist pressure, and after I'd replaced the third set of poles I decided to go inflatable. ... and the poles kept breaking."
"It was a great tent up until the fiberglass pole snapped on a trip last year."
"Personally snapped a three season tent on rainier from the wind a few seasons ago. Granted it was a big Agnes tiger wall."
1
6
"I believe the Lanshan is silnylon, so based on your climate I would go with an xmid. It won't sag in heavy rain and won't absorb water if you have to pack it up slightly wet."
"The sagging fabric of the Lanshan is a bit annoying, especially when hiding out from the rain and I feel the tent becoming smaller and keep reorganizing my stuff so nothing touches the inner."
"We found that in bad weather the Coleman was too cramped whilst we crowded in and kept out of the rain."
2
4
"Repacking is not fun ... found that using straps helps getting it back in its case."
"much more difficult to pack down. ... Coleman was a real pain packing down - aligning the tent poles so it it could fold over was tricky"
"Not quite as easy to pack away."
Dark room tents were just appearing right after I got my instant tent so I missed the boat, but instant tents are a heck yeah from me. I call them relationship savers. No hunting for tent poles, trying to fit this to there, having to roll the tent tight to get it bagged up. Yes, they're heavy and not meant for backpacking or lugging any distance. They're bigger packed than regular tents, but I can put it up and take it down on my own and don't need to crawl around on the ground for anything.
r/camping • Coleman Instant Up Darkroom Tents opinions and pros and cons ->I had the 8 man for about 6 years. Get the rain fly for it and make sure you treat it every season. It worked so well during a downpour the floor turned into a water bed but we stayed dry inside. Dont touch the walls while they are wet though. It likes to condensate inside so keep it well ventilated. I lent it to my roommates inexperienced friends and they busted one of the legs but I was able to use it for another full two years. Money well spent. That said I'm upgrade to a canvas tent this year because most of my camping is done in the fall and winter now and I need a hot tent. That said, that Coleman will treat you well as long as you treat it like you're supposed to.
r/camping • Coleman 4 man "instant setup" tent. Any good? ->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.
r/camping • Coleman 4 man "instant setup" tent. Any good? ->I agree that the Coleman is a great value. I have a 8p one and use it for troop outings. When it’s just my son and I, I opt for my smaller 4p one as it is easier to set up and tear down.
r/camping • What should I look for when purchasing a tent for 2-3 people? What should I avoid ? ->I have the 8P, love this tent and it may be the easiest tent to set up that I’ve ever owned.
r/camping • Coleman, skydome w/ dark room tech 10P ->I have the 8 man. Overall good tent
r/camping • Coleman 4 man "instant setup" tent. Any good? ->Get one you can stand in or almost. Coleman ‘’instant tent’’ is not hard to set up. Best by tarp for rain fly so rain doesn’t go in windows
r/camping • Any reason not to get a bigger tent. ->I second this, I've bought 2 Coleman instant up tents and they are perfect. I do have a more hardcore tent but that's for hikes.
r/OutdoorAus • Newbie camping tent ->Coleman makes decent lower cost tents. I had an 8 person that withstood several crazy winter storm fronts in florida while island camping (60-70 mph)...I did use all the guy lines and they were secured to trees or tree roots. I have also had a 4 person 10x10 dome tent from coleman that worked great https://preview.redd.it/f61egic2lptf1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7894d5619f7bcf8c2db3f933bfa9419af460dc4
r/camping • I need a new tent; what do you recommend? ->I have a 4,6 and 8 person Coleman Insta-tent. I take the 8 person when my wife goes with me. Plenty of room, actually has a divider to section it off into two rooms. Get the biggest tent you can afford. You'll never regret extra space,
r/camping • Looking for a solid 6-person tent — any recommendations? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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