Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First things first, this is a Coleman tent, ok? In case you don’t understand what that means, let me explain it for you by telling you what it is NOT. This is not Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, North Face or any big name, high performance brand. It’s Coleman. You buy these at Walmart or Target, not REI. So understand that you make certain sacrifices in quality right off the bat with this tent and to complain about it is like buying a Chevy and getting upset that it doesn’t have the features, craftsmanship, or design of a BMW. That being said, let’s talk about this tent. Here’s what I like: It sets up quickly, tears down just as fast, and you can still get everything back in the carrying bag it came with without giving yourself a hernia from overexerting. With the rainfly off, you get decent (although not great) ventilation for those hot summer nights. It’s roomy. I love the screen porch as an entry to kick shoes off in that greatly minimizes the amount of sand and dirt that ends up inside the tent itself and therefore inside my sleeping bag. The price. For $130, you can’t go wrong. Here’s what doesn’t thrill me: As other reviews mention, the rainfly does jack squat to protect anything in the screened porch from moisture in the event of rain. It will get wet. And the floor will get wet too and will probably pool up water. Which you will likely step in unknowingly in an early morning pre-dawn, coffeeless haze and slip and fall and completely soak yourself when all you were trying to do was to drain your middle aged bladder that can’t make it through one complete night in the flipping woods without waking you up. I mean, maybe you won’t. But someone could. Or did. But definitely not me. But hypothetically, I bet that would suck. Also, the back panel is a completely open screen. With the rainfly on, it provides no additional ventilation and seems pointless. With the fly off, it allows for ventilation but cannot be closed so there is no option for privacy. Then again, you’re in an 8-person tent. You gave up on the concept of privacy the moment you zippered yourself inside this nylon castle with a gaggle of other campers. Oh, and about the 8-person thing: that’s relative. Sure, 8 people if you’re cramming them in. Then again, why stop there? I bet the whole Thai soccer team could fit in this thing. But for us normal, slightly overweight Americans, 8-people is pushing it. I’d say 6 at best, and even then you’ll have to get creative. But I easily fit two queen-sized air mattresses for my four kids and had plenty of room for myself and all of our gear. There would’ve been room for their mother to join us too if she hadn’t run off with her bass player. But I digress... “8-person” is a bit generous. So there you have it. All things considered, this is a pretty good tent. If it got too close to the fire and completely melted, or if a tree fell on it and rendered it useless, I’d buy it again. Probably.