9 Person Instant Cabin Tent

I have the one without a full fly and I’m bitter that the fly for this one doesn’t work for mine. I like it! It’s up in a few minutes but if you accidentally bend one of the legs the wrong way you are in for a terrible time unless there are other people to help you. I love the interior, the amount of windows, and that I can stand up inside it. I don’t think it’s as sturdy as some of the competitors and I’ll be upgrading to something higher quality in the next year or so.

Just bought this for our annual camping trip later this week. Put it up in the backyard a few weeks go. Super easy set up and take down. No poles to deal with (except for over the door). Everything is great quality. I’ll come back here after the trip and let you know how it holds up in the rain since some is in the forecast

We never ended up with much rain. Little showers here and there, but the tent stayed dry!

We go camping with kids each year. Just got back from a camping trip in the Northwoods with 6 kids under 10! My daughter is 4 and this was her 5th trip. (Sorry for the long post!!) Definitely 1 big tent or 2 smaller tents with 1 adult in each. Kids tend to wake up throughout the night. We just got a Core 9 person tent and it worked out well for us this year. We use a little potty chair in the tent in case of emergencies. Lots of clothes and all types of weather options because who knows what they might need. Lots of socks because they are somehow always wet. If you are going somewhere with bugs- just go for bug spray with deet straight away. Being covered in deet is better than the kids being covered in swollen mosquito bites (even though it’s inevitable). Bring lots of outdoor activities to keep them busy. Glowsticks, coloring supplies, bug catchers, books, etc. We colored walking sticks and “went fishing” with a rod that had a practice lure (no hook) on it. We always suggest to be flexible and not worry about naps and bed time. The kids will sleep when they are tired and it’s better than fighting with them to take a nap when it’s night in the tent. For safety- don’t let them walk near the fire and make sure to bring a first aid kit with ice packs. For the food cooler- we use frozen ice packs and don’t put ice straight into the cooler. It makes the food less waterlogged and seems to keep things cold for much longer. And the most obvious suggestion- bring lots of snacks 😆

Bought this exact tent in May and put a coat of Scotchguard on the rain fly. Went on a three week trip with zero problems. Rained about a third of the days with 3 or 4 severe storms, no leaks or wind problems. Would buy it again.

I was in the same boat - I was looking at RTTs but went against it because we didn’t want to have to break it down if we wanted to take the truck out to explore away from the site. Realized I only wanted one since it was easy to set up. So, found the easiest ground tent on the market to set up. Went with the CORE 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent. Just got it in the mail, excited to try it

I currently have a Gazelle T4 Overland, and I’m really happy with it. Packed up it’s bizarrely huge, but I love how easy it is to set up; it goes up in only a couple of minutes. I’d like to go larger however, and I’m looking at the Gazelle T8. My priorities are interior space and ease of setup. The T4 has been great in wind. I live in the southwest, so rain and snow aren’t a huge issue, especially since if the weather is bad I’ll just stay home. So what’s everyone’s favorite large tent that falls into this category? I’m ok spending about $3-600. If there’s a better option than the T8 I’m all ears. Edit: I’m also looking into the Gazelle T4 Plus which has the same footprint as the T8 but with a screened in room that is sealable for the same price. Edit 2: thanks so much for everyone’s input! This has been a really fun discussion and I love this group. I’ve decided to go with the Gazelle T4 Plus. It arrives on Tuesday, just before my trip to the Grand Canyon with my kid! Edit 3: tries the T4 Plus. It was amazing when set up, and rock solid. The problem is that it’s so heavy and cumbersome, you run the risk of damage the material just moving it around and trying to pack it up, which is really an ordeal. I wound up going with the Core 9. Not as solid as the Gazelle, but much lighter and easier to set up, take down and move around for one person.