Intuitive to set up, the Mineral King 3 has a full mesh body that clips into a hubbed set of poles. An adaptable fly provides protection during rain; you can roll it up and secure it at half-dome or completely remove it in fair weather for epic nights of stargazing. Two vestibules—that’s the camping word for “mudroom”—each add 18.75 extra square feet of livable space, which is handy when you want to store muddy boots or brew coffee from the comfort of your tent in the rain.
The main structure isn’t the worst, with the entire tent made of 150D polyester and all seams sealed. However, the zippers and the mesh netting are poorly made, and the bag will not last more than a season before it rips or springs a leak. The poles are made from aluminum, but many moving plastic pieces hold them coleman bbq together. The Cabin has three large windows, easy access vents in the ceiling (these are accessible from inside the tent thanks to zippers in the ceiling), and two storage pockets. The only ding on the windows is that they have no ties or way to secure them once opened, so they are left to simply dangle.
We researched new models and redesigns, and we assembled a new batch of small tents for testing in March 2022, this time on Oahu. During this period, winds rose up to 35 to 40 knots, and we experienced passing showers as well as direct sunlight and 80-degree temperatures. To mimic heavier rain and to test the tent’s ability to withstand soggy ground conditions, we also soaked our tents with a garden hose. A few weeks later, we brought the front-runners to a platform in an area that had higher elevation, near the Waianae Mountain Range, and camped out overnight in intermittent but consistent rainfall. Whether you’re thinking of hitting the road or staying close to home for your next car-camping adventure, you and your loved ones will need a comfortable place to sleep.
Cabin tents are offered in a variety of capacities from smaller four-person tents that are good for small family camping, to larger 11-person cabins that are best for large groups or large families. For example, the six-person coleman tents has a smaller footprint than the nine-person Core Instant Cabin Tent. We didn’t set out to almost exclusively review instant tents. But when we started our search to find the best family camping tent, we knew that ease and speed of setup were the most important features to look for. No one wants to deal with a complicated camp setup when you have kids to watch after.
Once the tent is setup, the rainfly will also be there so you don’t have to spend additional time pulling another rainfly over to cover the tent. It has an included rainfly, and the 7 mesh windows can be zipped up to prevent rain from entering. But there are actually quite a few different 8 person tents, all with their own features, and which one will be best for you depends a lot on what you’ll use it for. You should also be aware that tents with integrated rain flies can often be problematic. As far as ventilation is concerned, the only tent we recommend that has an integrated rain fly is the Coleman Instant Tent. The Night Cat came close to getting our endorsement, but cheap components prevented it from being an editor’s choice.
Coleman doesn’t make the flashiest, most sophisticated, or highest performance tents on the market, but few (if any) brands can beat their combination of value, quality, and customer support at this price point. Tent manufacturers make lofty claims about how quickly a tent can be set up. You’ll see a lot of “60 second” tents out there, but most folks find any tent takes about 5-10 minutes to set up properly. The Skydome won’t be everyone’s first pick though, which is why we’ve also listed the best models out there for every sort of camper in the outdoors from large family gatherings to solo backpackers. Overall, the mesh design of this affordable tent provides proper ventilation in the summer to keep you cool. The 10-Person version of this tent also comes with Dark Room technology which makes it even better for handling the summer heat.