New tent

[DC1107]

We are looking for a new tent, and have narrowed it down to either the Columbia Cougar Flats 2 or the new Coleman Instant tent. Pros/cons on either tent?

[RebeccaG]

We just bought the Coleman instant tent and so far so good. It did set up quickly as advertised within 1 minute with two adults. Taking it down took about 5 minutes.

[renodesertfox]

DC & RG welcome to the best camping forum on the planet! As your camping experiences grow with each campout you go on the ability to set-up and take down tents increase to where it becomes easier and easier to do tasks that before hand seemed impossible. As with instructions that are packaged with tent and other camping gear they are merely guidelines to set-up and take-down until you have mastered your own way of doing things. In other words every campout is just practice for the next campout! DC, it seems that the Coleman insta-tent seems fairly practical for a first tent. RebeccaG seems very confident with her purchase. We are happy that you have chosen this forum to exclaim your new victory: going camping! We all hope that your stay with us will be a long and happy journey in camping and that you'll continue to share the positive as well as the negative aspects of camping with us! Welcome!

[Smokey Mtn. Camper]

I cant speak about that particular Coleman tent but I have had wonderful experiences with Coleman tents. I just purchased a Big Agnes BH6 but it had nothing to do with Coleman more than it did what the Big Agnes offered. I have a Coleman Red Canyon that has survived several of those southern "gully washers" and a couple a "frog stranglers" without as much of a drop of rain in the tent. Last summer, I developed a leak in my rain fly and contacted Coleman and after over 25 camping trips, they just sent me a new one, at no charge. They are a really stand up company. She has seen better days but after 40+ camping trips, she was a great buy.

You will find horror stories about Coleman tents on the net. Personally, I think you cant go wrong with Coleman and expect it to perform for its value. Let us know how it works out and good luck...Enjoy!

[Hanified]

I love my Instant Tent

We are looking for a new tent, and have narrowed it down to either the Columbia Cougar Flats 2 or the new Coleman Instant tent. Pros/cons on either tent?

(((same review - different thread - good luck - I love mines)))

Got my tent for Mother's Day and used it as the adult tent for camping
with our Cadette Girl Scouts. We camped in Anaheim Hills at an RV park.

We had great weather. Daytime highs were low 70s. Overnight lows were
low 50s with wind gusts up to 35 mph.

SCREEN ROOM: This was like a breeze-way during the windy nights. The
screen room windows do not zip across at the top so it was very cold.
It got so windy that we ended up bunking in the back room, with the
divider curtain down, where the windows zipped all around. Coleman needs
to design a rainfly solely for the screen room to keep out the cold air.
Each wind gust moved the divider curtain dramatically.

SPACE: We bunked three full sized cots side by side in the backroom.
Four cots also fit alongside the walls with an ample aisle down the middle.
Plenty of headroom. I'm 5'2 but I hate crawling in/out of tents. There's
no gear loft which I use for my overhead light but I imagine that adding
weight to the roof would collaspe the thing.

SETUP: I set it up by myself in 15 mins. I practiced at home of course.
Take down with one person is about 10 mins. *TIP: if you lash the poles
together in the center, it makes it much easier to pack the tent up.
The tent corners must be pulled out like a wonton and then just start
rolling the tent over and over. The tent bag is HUGE! No matter how
poorly you pack it, the tent will fit back in the bag. Plus it has compressor
straps. It's kinda heavy so unload close to your campsite.

EASY IN / EASY OUT: The D door was never used. The tent is so taunt
that the D door required you to push up on the area above it to relieve
enough tension to unzip it. The D door has two separate zippers which
frustrated enough people that we ended up using the screen room as the
front door. My other Coleman D doors zip all the way around so it was
a bit confusing.

The screen room has inverted T doors which is great. I was a little
concerned that leaves and debris would be kicked in because the doors
are flush with the ground but there were no problems. There are also
three separate zippers for the T door which allows you to control airflow
and insect/people traffic.

REGARDING OTHER REVIEWS: I haven't experiened any of the problems
the other campers have. Even in our windy conditions, I didn't set out
the guylines. The stakes included are kinda dinky, use Coleman's 10in
orange stakes instead. Despite the wind, the tent was quiet. My other
Coleman tent (Tioga 5 person) is noisy with the rainfly whipping around.
Hmm... maybe that's why it's quiet?!! Haha. First time campers and
no-fuss campers like myself will definitely enjoy this tent.

I give this tent a full 5 stars. I'm hoping Coleman listens to feedback and
designs a rainfly for the screen room. Until then, this tent is strictly a
ONE SEASON summer tent. :cool:

[tplife]

Hopefully you kept the receipt and can take it back! Cots in a tent? No wonder you were so cold! Cots are for use in heated enclosures, not unheated tents. Cots have air space underneath that acts as a heat sink, sucking warmth away from you and your sleeping bag. As you found out, D-doors are outdated and troublesome. Continuous zippers in oval openings eliminate that. Had you been in truly windy conditions, you would have found out why you should ALWAYS use the guy-lines and the big stakes you got (right on!). Once those tripod-type poles get a nice coating of dust on them the tiny scratches will make them loads of fun extending and collapsing, don't ask me how I know. I do wish you luck and good camping! :D

Rule #1: Never buy a tent from a company whose photo ads show people using air mattresses for camping - they don't have a clue. And there's no excuse for this coming from Coleman, a trusted name for lanterns, coolers and stoves for over a century.

[Hanified]

Anyway - we camped again last night. I rigged up a makeshift rainfly for
the screenroom and I woke up sweating, it was so warm. So it's definitely
a design flaw with the Instant Tent. Those screen windows should zip.

Never bothered with the guylines. Maybe the next trip. The stakes that
came with the tent are dinky and I drove several so deep into the ground
I couldn't find them again. The orange ones work best.

Still love this tent. No plans to return it. We do a lot of beach camping and
I already know this one is not a candidate for the sand. The square cabin
design won't mesh with the ocean's breeze and we'll be fighting it all weekend.
Also with beach camping comes the dusty, squeaky poles. That's why you get
home and clean the tent out, rub down the poles and pack it "better."

What kind of tent do you use TP and where are you camping?

[tplife]

Anyway - we camped again last night. I rigged up a makeshift rainfly for
the screenroom and I woke up sweating, it was so warm. So it's definitely
a design flaw with the Instant Tent. Those screen windows should zip.

Never bothered with the guylines. Maybe the next trip. The stakes that
came with the tent are dinky and I drove several so deep into the ground
I couldn't find them again. The orange ones work best.

Still love this tent. No plans to return it. We do a lot of beach camping and
I already know this one is not a candidate for the sand. The square cabin
design won't mesh with the ocean's breeze and we'll be fighting it all weekend.
Also with beach camping comes the dusty, squeaky poles. That's why you get
home and clean the tent out, rub down the poles and pack it "better."

What kind of tent do you use TP and where are you camping?

Thanks, I have three Sierra Designs tents currently and one Eureka!. My Base Camp (circa 1987) is a 4-pole Fiberglas 4-man design that has had one small 1/4 round joint replaced (fiberglas) and the screens replaced due to disintegration (1987 was a long time ago) about 10 seasons ago. My new Bedouin 6 is a 4-pole DAC aluminum 2007 model and it really has a ton of features compared to my '87 Base Camp. I also have a 3-pole DAC aluminum 2-man Electron I use for motorcycle rally camping (I ride a 101 hp Harley-Davidson Road King and I could fit 3 in one saddlebag!) and a 3-man Eureka! 3-pole Fiberglas Tetragon 8 that mostly does "guest house" duty in-camp. We typically camp in central to southern California from 8000' in the Sierras to the Mojave and Anza Borrego desert floor, and enjoy the valleys and foothills for their great tubing and hiking areas adjacent to USFS and Indian-owned campgrounds. Every couple of years we visit relatives back east and usually camp anywhere from Itchetucknee Springs south to Daytona and the Florida Keys. Most of my early (1961-1977) camping years were done in the Northeast, I have 150+ miles hiking the Appalacian Trail. Thanks for asking and good camping!

[renodesertfox]

Here's Mine!

This will never fit into a saddle-bag of any bike! This is a very nice tent, and after we had almost spend 30+ years camping in three season tents we finally purchased this tent three years ago for $850.00. The price has come down and it is still a wonderful tent. The poles are steel and combine all the poles that weigh 52 lbs added to the 51 lbs that the tent itself weighs you do need something sturdy to haul it around in and we have that too! The tent is design for 6 but for two it's our home sweet home when we're away from home! Check it out.
The screen-shot is from http://www.resellers.com

I can pitch it myself...takes a wee bit more time! But I can do it alone, I proved it to my self last campout!

[Hanified]

Okay TP - you got me. I'm impressed. :D

[Bigdog57]

Awning and screen room - hey, a built-in motorcycle garage! :D