Coleman Elite Montana 8-Person Tent for Family
Photo Credit: mamabearpnw83
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As your family grows larger or when you have a bigger group of friends camping together, it is time to upgrade your 4 person tent to a 8 person tent, a Coleman Elite Montana 8-Person Tent. While it seems enormous, you will appreciate the comfort and convenience it gives with more space to move around.
Table of Contents
Features and Benefits
Area
This tent has an area measuring 16 ft X 7 ft which is spacious enough to fit up to 8 persons. The center height measures at 6 ft 2 in, giving ample headroom to stand up fully. You will not need to struggle to change your clothing while lying or kneeling down.
Coleman Elite Montana 8-Person Tent is a dome type of tent with extended space. What this means is, the central section of the tent is made up of 2 main poles which cross cross over the center of the tent, creating a X-shape structure. And another 2 poles are provided to extend the tent to the other side.
Target Group
Officially it can fit 8 sleeping pads side by side, but there will be no room left for any gear. It is a single room tent, but it can accommodate up to 3 queen size airbeds.
So if you are looking for comfort, then this tent is comfortable for 4 to 5 persons with ample space for gear.
Breathability
As it is a 3 season tent, it was designed to be breathable, while still giving you protection from the wind and rain. Its 3 windows contributes to good ventilation within the tent. There are 2 windows at the two far ends of the sides that provide cross-breeze while sleeping. These windows can be closed if the temperature drops at night. The third window is at the door.
It even has a 68D polyester mesh at the top allowing constant air flow throughout your tent. You will love the auto-roll windows that neatly roll down when you unzip them. There are 2 hanging storage pockets to hold your water bottles.
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Rainfly
If you remove the rainfly, you can watch the stars while you sleep. There is extended awning in front of the tent, sufficient for you to keep your door and shoes dry. Along with it, is an attached feet wiping mat, which is a nice added touch to keep the dirt outside.
Bringing electricity into the tent
If you bring a generator or stay at a site with electricity, there is a special zippered E-port built to bring in electrical power inside the tent for your tent heater, so that you can camp with luxury. The power port comes with an energy pack that can power virtually anything with a USB slot to charge your phones or kindles. There is a venting window at the lower back of the tent to keep you cool especially on hot summer nights, or for you to set up your tent air conditioner.
Ease of Pitching
The tent is not freestanding, so you need to stalk it to the ground. As it is not an instant tent and is rather huge, it will be easier having the help of another person to assemble the tent or take down. Its conveniently color coded poles makes it easy to set up. Just match up the colors according to the instructions and have it up within 20 to 30 minutes.
Tent Pack Down
The tent packs down into a carry bag, measuring only 27.5 x 9.25 x 9 inches. It is important to observe how the tent was packaged when you are unpacking it. This is so that you will know how to pack it back in a way that will fit snugly back into the carry bag. This portable size makes it easier to transport around , even on a bike.
Weather Resistance
The tent is designed with its patented Coleman WeatherTec System, which comes with weather resistant features. Its wind responsive frame made of 11mm fibreglass poles performs exceptionally well under high winds. The tents are anchored strongly to the ground due to its redesigned poles and guy-out triangles. Its inverted leak free seams and protected zippers blocks sideway rainwater from seeping in, giving any camper a piece of mind.
You will be amazed that its weather resistant fabric is able to handle moderate rain with no problem. The rainfly is made of 75D polyester taffeta, which provides adequate coverage over the rooftop mesh. To make sure it is working effectively, just make sure you stake it down, pull the lines tight and pitch it away from the tent body.
The floor is a bathtub style where its waterproof polyethylene material wraps up 4 to 5 inches above ground. This creates a seamless bottom to prevent water from seeping in below. Even then you should place an extra tarp on the ground. The tarp should be slightly larger than the tent and you need to wrap it towards the ground. This is so that when the water runs off the tent, it will roll around the tarp and directly to the ground.
Highlights
Hinged Door
One of the highlights of this tent is its innovative hinged door, which works like a regular house door. It is super useful when you are going out to use the bathroom at night. It uses 2 added poles which you slot into the door sleeves, and you can make the hinge work. There is a Velcro frame attachment that makes it easy to access the tent. It reduces the wear and tear on the zipper. But if you want to keep out the insects from getting in, then you can just zip it shut. But having multiple doors may be easier for access if you have many people staying in the tent.
LED Lighting System
Another handy feature that many other tents do not have, is its built in LED lighting system that comes with six built-in CPX LED. The lighting is wired in a way that is integrated into the tent. This allows you to move around comfortable at night without shining your torch around. You can control the brightness using the high (100 lumens), low (42 lumens) or nightlight (5 lumens) modes.
You can power it with four D batteries or CPX 6 rechargeable power cartridge (which you have to get separately). With batteries it should last you 1 to 3 days depending on your usage. You can put the kids down leaving a night light on, and they will fall asleep easily.
Comparing Coleman Tents to Other Competitors in terms of Quality
Alternatives
If you need only the basic features, then you can consider the Coleman Montana 8-Person Tent instead. The difference is this tent has self rolling windows and a built in LED lights.
Summary
Pros
- Roomy and enough headroom to stand up
- Built in LED lighting
- Hinged door
- Patented Coleman WeatherTec System
- Auto-roll windows
Cons
- need to replace the stakes with better stakes
- narrow at 7 feet wide, better with 8 feet
- no dividers available to split into smaller rooms
- would be better with more windows and doors
What Others Say
- Survived a major thunderstorm and stayed perfectly dry!
- A great family car camping tent, and the door is awesome.
- Bought it because friends we’re happy with the same tent 4(?) years strong
- Great tent, reasonably easy to put up quickly, very spacious and lives up to the weatherproof claims.
- Great tent, crappy tent poles
- Excellent tent, just make the carrying bag bigger
- Great tent, questionable door
- Make the door larger. Inflated air mattress does not fit
Conclusion
Overall Coleman Elite Montana 8-Person Tent is a solid tent which can put up with high winds and rain, yet stay bone dry. It is huge, very roomy with plenty of room to move around standing up, dress and play board games with family all in the tent. You may find better tents out there, but not many at this price. Happy camping!
What's Next
If you are looking for more comforts in camping, you can check out the best reclining camp chairs.
