Core Equipment - 10-Person Lighted Instant Cabin Tent

I camped with it (or a similar model) for about 4 weeks last summer on a long road trip with my family of 5. I was easily able to set up solo, but of course it’s faster with a helper, especially for the rain fly. 

I camped with it a lot with my family of 5 last summer. When it’s staked properly, it felt fine to me. The only problem we had was the floor of the tent felt thing and actually got a small tear that we discovered during a rain storm. Being Costco, we just returned and exchanged and took a little extra care with the flooring after. 

I’ll second this one. Had it for 4 years now. Love it.

Mine did break a joint in a bad overnight storm, but no water got inside. I emailed core and they sent me a replacement joint in the mail for free.

Just wanted to share my quick thoughts on the Core 10-person lighted instant tent from Costco after a recent trip. Pros: Super easy to set up and take down. That’s about the only thing I loved. Cons: The tent feels flimsy overall. The elbow joints in the frame can bend the wrong way, and fixing them is a pain. The zippers… oh man, the zippers. The small door has 2 zippers that only fully close when they meet at the bottom right corner. The large door has 3 zippers and closes when all three come together dead center at the bottom. Sounds fine? It is—unless you have dogs. My husky figured out the zipper system in one night and silently escaped the tent twice. Basically, the tent might be fine for people, but if you’re camping with escape artists, prepare for some midnight search parties. So now I’m now looking for a new tent that can fit a family of four and a dog, preferably under $500.

I did, but its still can be opens wide enough for this weasel to escape, I ended up tying zipper pulls together. This worked but its seems to me like safety hazard https://preview.redd.it/rcc24f1im06f1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b2b5a955a531b87e1fbad5257b8787592e6c610

I did, it’s still can be opened wide enough for this weasel to escape. I ended up tying zipper pulls together but it seems like a safety hazard 

I think the tent will be okay for a short time, but durability is a concern. I’ve only set it up twice, and the elbows were already badly twisted. To fix them, I had to bend them even more, which isn’t a good sign. I can’t see the frame lasting more than a couple of seasons. This never happened on my old cheap Costco Coleman instant tent even after 100 trips

I’ve had the 6 person just for my 2 large dogs and myself. Definitely go with the 10 person.

Check out CORE tents. They have some with a standard screen room and others with a an area that can be used for sleeping or as a [screen room](https://www.coreequipment.com/products/10-person-lighted-instant-cabin-tent-1).

They are good tents. I did well over 100 nights with one before it started leaking at all. Plus the instant ones are ridiculously easy to setup and take down. And if you have a Costco membership they usually have some core tents there.

I’ve had Core instant tents and never had an issue. Easily over 100 nights before any leaking, and I wasn’t taking the best care of it so likely could have lasted longer.

Coleman or core. I’ve used both regularly and in some bad weather without problems. I like core instant tents for the quick setup and breakdown. Coleman Skydome are also great for a mix of dome and cabin style. Will likely want a 8 person or more for the space and headroom.

Costco has the [Core 10 person lighted tent ](https://www.coreequipment.com/collections/10-person-larger-tents/products/10-person-lighted-instant-cabin-tent)for $250 (its $350 on Core's site). Its an instant tent, the fabric is attached to the poles already so you just lay it out and pull the legs into place and its up. Maybe 3 minutes tops to get the tent up with 2 people. Tradeoff to that design is that it is fairly bulky even when packed away, but all these large tents will be bulky. There are tons of windows that zip down and the top is mesh if you dont put the rainfly on. Also has a floor vent on the non-door side.

Core 10p lighted tent... fucking amazing. That is all.

I have the same one, it is easy to set up solo, takes maybe 3 minutes. The hard part is getting the rainfly over it solo which is much trickier but possible. FWIW I haven't observed any of the cons OP is reporting. Once its up it is solid and the joints aren't going to move.

This tent isnt as flimsy as OP is describing. When put up properly like you would expect for wind, it is very solid. If you just put up the tent portion and dont stake it and dont put the rainfly on it then it will be flimsy. The rainfly puts quite a bit of downward pressure on the joints which is what helps holds them in place. Its significantly stronger than my 6p tent that I replaced with it.

Own this as well. While the elbows moved, we recently made it though the night just fine with 55-60mph gusts with a couple extra guy lines on the wind side of the tent, in case the door ended up being broad side to the wind.

We have the 10 person Core Lighted Instant tent from Costco and I love it. It's super easy to set up and take down and I love the interior lights. We are able to fit a queen size air mattress, and then have space for living/changing, etc.

Can vouch that 1 person can set it up. I take our 2 kids camping without my husband sometimes and can get the tent up in 5-10 minutes max, by myself.

I’ve gone through three of these tents from Costco, each had their own independent issues. **First tent:** Grommets on the awning were defective and the poles poked through and ripped them. **Second tent:** QA issue. Ink/dyes from guy lines bled and got onto the exterior walls, it looked like one of the panels was covered in mold fresh out of the box. **Third tent:** Rainfly and exterior walls had a significant waterproofing failure on our first night. I’m happy that others have had good experiences with their Core tents, guess I’m having the bad experiences on behalf of everyone else…

We like the space the 10 person tent provides. My kids are wild sleepers, even in sleeping bags. Plus having space for our bags and room to move around and not step on everything is nice. We had a rainy trip one year and having the extra room to hang out in the tent playing board games made the kids happy.

I use the 10 person for my wife and I and three dogs.

Core is my go-to brand. I have that exact one, and it's been through a lot. We added the 6, 9, and 10 person instant tents. We got slammed by big big storms with high straightwinds while at festivals, and afterward, the core tents are always still standing in the tent graveyards.

Go 10 - you’ll be much happier and will never second guess if you should of gone bigger.

Get a core 10 person instant up- it’s huge and pops up in seconds. Battery operated lights, def a glamping tent that’s cheaper than this and easier to deal with.

I had the Core 6 person for several years. It's a great starter tent for my two little kids and I, but for four people, especially two that are still growing, go for the 10 person. I guess you can get all four into the six person, but there won't be room for much else and you'll be tripping over each other if someone needs to go pee in the middle of the night or whatever. If the 10 person has a room divider, that's especially nice since they can have their own little area.

The 10 person core will be amazing for you. I've used it for years before moving most of my camping to my pop-up. But I still use mine for the occasional trip.

I’m really happy with my core brand 10-person cabin tent that I got at Costco.

If you have Costco, check in your warehouse to see if they have core 10p remaining. They're a good buy for your money and of course, Costco has the best return policy. They also have awesome camping friendly stuff out at the moment - lanterns and flashlights, cook tops, chairs, I think they even had a few cots out.

To be honest the 3 brands you mentioned are pretty solid for budget friendly tents. I have a Core 10 person, my friend has the Gazelle T4 and both are solid and easy to set up.

I have the core 10 person that Costco had this year. Literally 5 minute setup, super roomy, and it has lights. I think it was about $299.

We have a 10 person core tent, from Costco. We are a family of three and it is perfect! We also use it as the adults tent when camping with family. I would say it is a tad bit small for four adults and all out crap but I would absolutely recommend getting the 10 person over a 6. You’ll be thankful later.

For what it’s worth I have had a core 10 person (with intent) to grow into it) for me and my family of 4. We’ve used almost monthly from May-Sept the last 3 years and it has kept up great for just car camping. I picked up a tarp at Harbor freight for a footprint. As you grow more and need different tents if you get into backpacking or more specialized gear you can go from there.

I have a Core 10-person tent for our family. Super spacious, super easy to set up and take down. The one downfall I would say is the rigidity of the tent poles. Was setting up the tent on a windy day and the wind caught the tent just perfectly so that it bent one of the poles. Luckily the tent still worked but the bent pole was eventually going to snap so I had to get a new tent. With our 2nd tent we did do a camping trip when it was super windy and the tent held up no problem. So I'd say just be careful when setting up if it's windy – it's fine once you get it set up and staked down.

I've had a couple of the instant set-up cabin tents throughout the years, I will keep buying this type until I make the jump to travel trailer. However, I cannot recommend the 10p Core with the built in screened porch. The porch is basically useless in the rain, it doesn't detach & holds the front part of the rainfly. If you decide to keep the screen open it just collects bugs that quickly make it into the tent when you unzip the doors to get in. This is my first Core & probably my last, will probably go back to the Coleman in the same size for my very last tent. Choose Wisely.

If you are just sleeping in it, you can fit in the six. But, if you ever use it to hang during off sleeping hours, get the ten. Inclement weather or pre bed time can wear on you in a cramped tent!

I agree with the 10. My husband and I are only two people, but have a 10 person tent. He finally got me that mansion, I always joke to him. But, as mentioned it had come in handy for rain or cold when you want to move a little table in to play cards.

I did the same. Bought a 10-12 person Costco behemoth for 2 people (usually). It was embarassingly large, we only used a small bit of the space, and I ended up getting a 4 person that is still very spacious but reasonably sized.

If you've got plenty of space in your vehicle(s) to pack the 10 person, do that. We have their easy up style one (poles are already in it, you just pull the joints into place and extend the side poles). I can't remember if it's 10 or 12 people, but we went big for our future family. Right now, it's just me, my husband, our toddler, and our 20lb dog. We comfortably put a queen sized, 18" tall air mattress and pack and play on one side , my husband's large cot on the other with his box fan and our blanket tote. Plenty of room for activities in the middle and down the road we can lay our toddler and his future sibling in the middle and still have space to move around. My husband and I both are 5'10.

Any of the Core instant tents are GREAT. Our family of 5 (plus dog!) finally switched to an instant tent and it’s a game changer because it opens up like an umbrella, so one person can set the tent by themselves in minutes. Get a 6-person tent to fit three people, including an air mattress and playard.

I have the Core instant up tent. All poles are attached. I put it up and take it down myself.

My core instant tent went through damn near hurricane storms and not even a drip. My son had a Coleman that went through an unbelievable storm on the beach and stay dry and a bone and standing. All the other tents were mangled. You don't need to spend the big bucks - unless you genuinely want to. There are many folks raving about Ozark Trails quality - they love them.

Core instant tent is my recommendation but if that is the one you have get out there and enjoy!,,

We just picked up the core instatent and love it. Takes about 90 secs to set up, plenty of room. It’s not a backpacking tent but we’re really happy with it!

https://preview.redd.it/a9me8t9y7gee1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0294785910567290d6e8cf18d7a18a8e22a48b45 Here’s a view of the inside. Plenty big for 2 cots. We went with 6 person for the extra room when our kids go with us.

Family of 5 here - we did the Core instant pop tent, it was a game changer, makes camping with the r family so much easier. They are bigger to pack than the standard pole tents.

Love the Core Instant Cabin. Goes up super fast and is cheap at Costco

Get an instant cabin tent for the adults (5 minute setup) and possibly smaller tents for the kids. Your mom will likely also need a cot or tall air mattress, getting up off the floor or even sleeping on a hard floor can be too much as you get older. Core, Coleman, and Walmart all make inexpensive instant tents. Our core tent has lasted for 3 years of monthly camping trips. It's not great at heavy rain, but the newer models are supposed to be better.

Look at Core Cabin tents. I think Costco sells them. Easy to set up for first timers and you can stand in them. Get a 6 or 8 person. Keep in mind that the number is the number of average sized sleeping bags it will hold crammed next to each other.

I have a core cabin tent and I adore it. It’s my home in the woods. My partner and I bought it five years ago and we use it at least 6 times a year going camping with my parents. We only had one issue with one pole snapping (after a toddler got hold of it) and it was easily repaired with a kit we got at Walmart.