Octagon 8

Generally speaking air tents are quicker / easier to pitch. But they take a lot more space in the bag and a bit more faff getting the air pressure correct etc. Poled tents generally have a worse rep because there are more low budget ‘starter’ tents which have weak poles and weak seams which therefore disintegrate more easily in bad weather. I have a Coleman Octagon 8 which is well made with steel poles, and super quick/easy to assemble. My wife and I can throw it up, including pegging out guy ropes etc within 5-10 mins. It has held firm in a couple of storms - only casualty so far is a broken peg loop as I didn’t set it up right for the bad weather. My friends with airtents - berghaus 600xl, Outwell etc take a little longer mainly because they have more guy ropes to do. Another friend has an Outwell poled tent that he is still putting up by the end of the camping trip, and another has a single pole tipi which is up and pegged out in 3 mins flat so he gets to help the rest of us. I can’t find a comparable air tent in terms of pitch speed, space, price and pack size so will be hanging on to my trusty Octagon for the foreseeable. So yes generally air tents are quicker and perhaps more forgiving in adverse weather (if you don’t know how to set the guy ropes etc correctly), but for sure there are still some great pole tents out there that can be pitched just as quick and take less space. To avoid the bickering just crack open a cold one before starting, say cheers and remember you’re about to have a glorious few days camping!

We have a Robens Aero Yurt and it’s brilliant. The step up from the Coleman Octagons we’d used before is enormous. Really, really impressive build quality.

When I got a new knee, after surgery, and we had a small tent, my bf got us a McMansion tent..for like 8 ppl! I could stand up in it and we could use an air mattress for ease of getting up/laying down. No one said a word, but it was sort of laughable, but I didn't care! It also had space for more stuff in the tent! What's "normal" anyway? Just have a great time camping!!

I would stick with Coleman or Ozark Trail. I think they are in your budget range. Ozark Trail probably is best for your size/budget requirements. A Coleman that size is going to be a bit more. I have an 8 person Coleman that probably would get the job done, but with that many people, a 10-12 person might be better for you. An Ozark Trail model would run about $200, a similar Coleman would be at least $150 more.

I have used my Coleman 4 person for solo trips for about 3 years now and have had no issues at all. This includes a storm with 50 mph gusts. Besides the money, I think Ozark Trail offers more variety in design than Coleman, so that may fit your needs better. I cannot speak to it's durability as I haven't had any personal experience, but everyone I know who has one is a fan.

I have a large 8 person Coleman. Hard to put up alone but doable. Even tiny hands are a help putting it up though. I put a queen size cot and two single cots inside comfortably.