The tent body simply clips onto a set of aluminum poles that dock into grommets at four corners of the tent. These now-common clip-style setups are generally intuitive and can be accomplished in minutes—certainly this was true of the Mineral King 3, as under good conditions one person pitched the tent in under five minutes. In high winds, it took us a maximum of 10 minutes to pitch and fully secure the tent fly with extra lines and stakes.
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 sleeping bags 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.
The advertised setup time is a blistering 60 seconds, and we found that this was not an exaggeration—even if you start the clock with the tent still inside its travel bag. The tent is freestanding, so any additional pegging can be accomplished at your leisure (unless wind is a factor). You’ll also want to set aside some extra time to strap on the secondary rainfly should you opt to purchase this along with the tent, but we’ll talk more about that later on.
After setup, we assessed the size of each tent by inflating two camping pads that, when pushed together, create a queen-sized mattress. Most car campers want comfort, so if we couldn’t fit a queen-size mattress in the tent, it lost a point. If it wasn’t able to fit four sleeping bags side-by-side, it was docked further. While there are lots of excellent family tents on the market, instant camping tents have been gaining popularity, so we decided to focus our testing exclusively on tents that claimed to be set up in 5 minutes or less. These family-style instant tents will transform your family campouts.
This is big enough to comfortably sleep 6 adults on sleeping pads or to fit 1 queen-sized air mattress. You would also be able to store your gear on the screened porch to protect it from the elements. The pre-attached, foldable poles break down easily and ensure you are never scrambling to figure out which pole goes where. High-quality features like a full mesh upper area, storage pockets, a storage loft, and battery-operated interior lighting make this a well-priced, well-structured tent loaded with bells and whistles. With exceptional ratings, plenty of reviews and a center height of 6′ and 140 square feet of space for sleeping, this tent is like your very own modest residence.
There is a vent at the bottom to allow airflow and prevent condensation. Coleman Hampton 6 Person Family Camping Cabin Tent is for families who don’t mind the hassle of setting up their tents. If you want more space, convenient entry/exit and the feeling of a hotel room in the outdoors, this would be a better choice than the 6 Person Instant Tent.
But if you only plan to use the tent one or twice a year, that’s probably not something you’ll have to worry about. The Ozark Trail is the smallest tent, making it easier to fit in a small car. The CORE is the lightest tent among the 4, making it easier to carry around to the campground. It’s the smallest size out of the 4 tents in this comparison.