Instant Cabin Tent

6 person at least. Room for sleeping setups, and some gear. You don’t want to be right up against the tent wall. Also look at the center standing height, for the tents you look at they will tell you. Ex: I have ozark trail 6 person instant up dark rest tent. For me alone, it’s great. I can sleep myself and wife if needed. I would still want bigger. Coleman instant cabin tent, 6 person, a bit more room than OT, and taller in center. I personally like OT more for the features, but just one example of size being different among brands for 6 person. But ya it’ll depend on your sleeping setups. If you are trying to do a single queen size mattress, 2 cots / pads, etc. When you aren’t worried about weight and size as much, you can be more comfortable. 4 person will get it done, 6 person probably sweet spot, anything more and you’d be just looking for more room. It can be good to have a lot of room when rainy / buggy / something keeping you in tent for some reason.

I put it up in the garage and sprayed some waterproofing on it and put some seam “goo” on the seams. It’s easy to set up other than the rainfly.

I have a variety of tents based in the situation I am camping in. Backpacking -REI half dome 2SL Car camping short trip - Ozark trail 6 person instant tent (used to have a core instant tent that was better quality. Started leaking on a trip after around 100 nights of use and did a quick replace at Walmart due to continued rain in the forecast. This is also the one I lend out to friends when needed.) Car camping longer trip - Coleman 8person skydome Car camping but walk in site of 1 mile or less Core 6 person dome tent with vestibule.

If you are car camping, go big on the tent. The space is great. I use a 6-8 person tent for myself and two dogs. I can fit a queen sized cot, side table, and double camp chair in the tent with plenty of space left over. Really nice when there is bad weather. Plus being able to stand up and move around in a tent is great. The exped megamat is one of the most comfortable sleeping pads you can get. I recommend putting it on a cot to get yourself further off the ground. I don’t bother with an electric cooler and just have a good Rotomolded cooler from Ozark trail. Can hold ice for a 5 day trip when packed correctly. For cooking I bring a Coleman stove and a tripod so I can good over the fire or on the stove depending on what I’m making. Between that and a cast iron pan and a pot I can make just about anything. I just bring my pillow from home. I’m by my car so space isn’t an issue. Especially since I switched to a minivan this year. Even with two large dogs along I have a ton of space to pack. I used to have a small sedan and packing was a bit more interesting in that. A roof bag came in handy. For water I bring a 7 gallon igloo container that I put under the table. I have a USB powered faucet and a hose runs down to the container. Works out great and so much easier to use. I get a lot of heat on sale, second hand, and from Sierra. My tents are Coleman and Ozark trail. The Ozark trail one is a 6 person instant tent that I bring if it’s a quicker trip and good weather. The Coleman is an 8 person but not instant. Has better weather resistance though so if rain is in the forecast I bring that one.

I have an OT instant tent. Went through a few rain storms and held up well. It’s my goto for short car camping trips. I can have the tent setup and all the gear in and setup in under 15 minutes. Usually enough time for the dogs to sniff all around the campsite and want to head out for a hike.

I’m in Wisconsin and primarily car camping as well. To start I would check out Marketplace for used gear or pick up a Coleman or Ozark Trail tent at Walmart. If you have a Costco membership they often have good deals on Core tents as well. Personally; I would recommend larger than a 2 person tent. That is really just room for two people laying shoulder to shoulder and basically no space for gear or anything else. Since you are near your car go with a larger tent for more space. I like at least 6 person tents since they tend to be tall enough for me to stand up in. The ability to stand in your tent is a huge benefit, especially in crappy weather. Until you know you want to continue camping, just use what you already have for other gear. If you have an air mattress, bring that (as long as it is warm weather) and put a fleece blanket over it to help with heat retention. Use blankets and sheets and pillows from home. Same with other gear; if you have cast iron pans they work great over the fire. But if there is other gear you need, Walmart camping section is surprisingly good and well priced for the beginning camper. Don’t put too much money in it until you know it is something you want to do a lot.

If you want a good but cheap option that checks all those boxes just get a Ozark trail 6 person instant cabin tent. They sell them at Walmart for like $150.

I have a 6 person pop up tent from Ozark that I set up easily by myself and its very spacious!

We use the Ozark instant up cabin tent, not the popup. We have used it through many rainstorms and many, many scouts putting it up and down. They aren't gentle handling jt. And it has lasted so far through the years. I am 5'2" as well and can put them up easily by myself. We have almost all of the size options of the tent. Pretty easy to pack up as well.

I had a 6 person Ozark that withstood 60 mph straight line winds one year and a freaking tornado another. (We headed to town for the actual tornado. Got back to camp & there were tents down and lawn chairs in trees, but our chairs were under the picnic table where I had stashed them & our tent was fine, even dry inside.) Always use all the stakes, lol. Had great luck with that Ozark. I recently downsized to a 3 person Coleman Hooligan. I love it.