Like you, I had a Coleman pop-up for 12 years with no issues. I am also worried about the quality now. I got the Blackberry Skylodge and the poles snapped. It was an awesome tent tho, the bug doors were so nice. I didn't like the T4 for the reasons I mentioned. I now do not have a tent and no clue what to do.
Honestly, I considering getting the same tent. I am just worried about reports that it is not the same quality because it is more money.
It was a main pole. I was folding it, like I have done a 1000 times and it snapped.
The 6 man instant tent is very easy/quick to set up and it's a hearty tent. I have a buddy who uses his "love hotel" when car camping and it makes all the other tents look like very smol boi.
Just for ideas, If I had to work out of a tent, and I had my power and internet figured out (Anker 535 and 100watts of panels $580 and Starlink kit $450) I would use a tent like the Coleman 6-Person Instant Cabin. Big enough to stand in and not feel cramped/folded up. A 4' Lifetime adjustable height table. You can put the legs at different lengths to deal with a slope and get pretty close to level almost anywhere. The Chair is the hard part for me. I don't want poky legs making holes in the bottom of the tent. I don't want a camp fire chair that would not be a good possession for working on a laptop. I think I would use a harbor freight folding aluminum sports chair but I might need an out door plastic rug or pucks for the feet. A rug would be nicer. 8x8 ft, Plastic Reversible Rug. And I expect if I was using this everyday the tent, chair and rug would probably need to be replaced at least yearly. The lifetime tables are tanks and might never need to be replaced.
Chair 6.6lbs $35
Table 24.1 lbs $45
Tent 24.1 lbs $200-300
Rug 6.7 lbs $70
Totals "Office" 60-70lbs $450
Starlink and power and bits-n-bobs 15lbs? $1030
My computer work isn't super computer intensive and I could get away with a $400 laptop and a the mouse I like is $30 (5lbs?)
Plus $165/mo for service
So if everything burnt down and I had to start working in a literal field:
$2k and $165/mo and maybe pushing 90lbs of gear.
It's easy to make this much lighter or much cheaper or much more rugged. But this is a good balance for me and I know all this gear and trust that this would work.
Let us know what you choose. I have the 6 person instant up Coleman cabin and love it. I can have it pitched in under 60 seconds (yes, I timed it). I’ve started wondering what would replace it, other than another of the same.
I looked up the Gazelle. Looks like a nice tent.
Like you I have become very accustomed to the 6-person instant up Coleman cabin tent. The Gazelle has a smaller footprint at 7.8 feet square while the Coleman 6-person is 10x9 feet. That would be rough for me to give up the extra space, as I sleep on a cot with a fold up night table and a chair inside the tent.
My 6-person Coleman instant cabin tent is easily deployed by one person in one minute.
I like the extra room. I have a cot, fold up night table, and a chair. It doesn’t feel huge but there’s room for the amenities.
I used to have a larger tent but I dumped the wet bar, hot tub, and fax machine.
I have the Coleman. My only complaint is the rain fly which is too small. The Core looks similar.
Does the Core have the tub bottom? Hard to tell from the pictures. This feature has done a good job keeping water out of the Coleman.
Big tents are great in theory. However, you don’t always have the right space to put them in a campsite. Keep that in mind because the large footprints limits locations to some campsite I would like to go to.
I have an instant cabin tent that solved my space issue. It’s a 6 person Coleman. Not too expensive and has held up
I've got a similar issue. I've got 2-3 tents that I've narrowed down to but haven't pulled the trigger. For size, it really depends on if you want lounging space inside. A 3-4 person tent is good for two adults with gear inside. If you want to set up chairs inside then a 6 person would be better. With a 4yr old you might even be able to get away with a 4 person but a 6 person would allow for growth. Coleman and Kelty have a lot of nice tents that would be fine for what you want. A Skydome with the screen room has the vestibule for a reasonable price. Not to mention being a darkroom tent so you're not having to wake up at first light. Something like the Coleman Skylodge would allow you to walk around inside. If you want to use cots then bigger might be better. I went solo camping with a 4per dome and my cot took up most of the space. There's no chance to fit a second one in there for sure.
spider3407
