Coleman is an outdoor adventure equipment brand that helps people make memories with their camping gear. The first product that Coleman created was a portable gas-powered lantern in 1900, this product proudly lit up the first Mississippi evening football game in 1905.
During WWII, Coleman provided soldiers with camping stoves that allowed them to cook hearty meals and gave them a little reminder of home. Slowly but surely they added more and more camping gear to their collection and the rest is history.
It wasn’t until 1960 that they launched their first tents, sleeping bags, and camping chairs. Although they weren’t the first brand to launch camping furniture, they definitely made a great name for themselves with high-quality tents that can withstand harsh weather conditions.
Fun Fact: Coleman developed the 2002 Olympic torch design.
Fast forward 120 years and today you can find Coleman equipment anywhere that there is an outdoor activity, whether it be at music festivals, a school wilderness trip to the countryside, or on the lake near your house.
If you are keen on social media and like to flick through camping images, you may have noticed in many social platforms Coleman’s slogan hashtag #theoutsideiscalling. Coleman has over 64,600 followers on their Instagram account and there are currently 770 pictures with their slogan hashtag.
Coleman sells tents of all sizes, from explorer tents to 10 person tents and even spare tent parts. In this article, you will find an in-depth review of the Coleman Montana 8 person tent which should help you decide whether it is the right tent for your next expedition.
Table of Contents
A Deep Dive into Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent
Coleman has a few 8 person tents on the market. Coleman tents have 3 different pitch setup options and some take longer to assemble than others. The Montana tent has the conventional pitch setup, it will take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to set up depending on the conditions of the ground of the tent area as well as the weather.
The other pitch options are Fast Pitch and Instant Setup. The Coleman Montana tent does not come with these pitch options. Fast Pitch takes 50% less time than other tents to set up because all of the pieces are color-coded and easy to identify. The Instant Setup tents have only 3 steps to set up the tent; unfold, extend, and secure.
The Montana 8 person tent is in the shape of a modified dome that has advanced weatherproof features. Because of its unique shape, you can keep the windows open in the rain and keep enjoying the smell of wet grass and fresh air.
Who’s It For?
The Montana 8 person tent is the tent to have if you have children, or if you like camping with close friends. It is reasonably priced for a tent that houses so many people, and surprisingly you have a lot of privacy in the tent.
People with minor mobility issues will be comfortable in this tent because of the hinged door feature. Climbing in and out of tents can be challenging and puts a lot of people off if they aren’t in tip-top physical condition. The tent is 6 ft 2 inches high, so the tall folk can stand in the tent comfortably without having to bend over hand strain their backs.
t is worth mentioning that the Montana tent does not have a sun-block darkroom feature available in this particular model. This could be an issue for anyone that struggles to get a good night’s sleep with excessive light shining through the tent.
During the day, people in the tent might be shaded, but not protected from UV light. Again, this is something worth thinking about when camping with children, especially if they are younger than 5 years old.
What We Like About Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent
We absolutely love the storage pockets that are dotted around the tent. Maintaining a clean and tidy area is crucial for a holiday ambiance, with so many people in a tent, a fun camping trip can turn somewhat chaotic.
Having a waterproof tent floor is also a must, especially when the tent takes a while to set up. This feature greatly reduces the tents setup time because you don’t need to think of ways of keeping the floor dry on rainy days.
The tent stays quite cool even during heat waves, you could always bring in some battery-powered mini fans to keep the air circulating around the tent if you tend to overheat on camping trips. We would give the cross-ventilation in this tent a 4 out of 5 stars.
Having the ability to stand up fully really adds to creating a positive camping experience. This also makes the tent feel more spacious when it is crammed full of guests.
Now, the tent doesn’t come with any electricity connections, but it does have a port near the door for campers that want to use an extension cord. For camping trips that are only one or two nights long this feature won’t be too important, but for campers that want to be out in the wilderness for a week or so, this feature will come in handy.
The quality of the material is very high. It’s pretty obvious that it will last more than a handful of camping trips which is very important for a tent of that size and price. Using high-quality material for tents makes them far more kiddie-friendly and therefore appealing to families. Coleman’s Montana tent is definitely one in this category.
The setup instructions that come with the Montana 8 person tent are really easy to follow and turn a dreaded task into something fun for the whole family to get involved with. If more than one person is setting up the tent, it can be done much quicker than advertised by Coleman.
What We Don’t Like About Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent
Is it possible to find a tent that is completely rainproof? Probably not, however, we are frustrated about how much the tent leaks in rainy conditions. Using water repellent sprays is one way of solving the problem, though not everyone wants to fuss with additional maintenance tasks like that.
The raised door ‘still’ is very high, great for keeping rain out, not so great for getting in and out of the tent. If you are rushing about or distracted by screaming toddlers, tripping over the raised still is almost inevitable and very, very, dangerous.
Strong winds push and pull the tent around a lot. We believe this is due to the stakes not being sturdy enough. They are easy to replace, so if you love the tent and are put off by this feature, there is no need to be.
‘Yes! The tent has a storage bag! You may ask, “wait a minute, how do I get the tent back in there?” We assure you that you will say this to one another on your camping trip. It is so fiddly getting the tent back into the storage bag, that the easiest thing to do is to throw it away and to buy a new one.
We loved the beautiful LED lighting inside the tent, it’s just a shame that the wiring is so bulky. The LED wiring gets in the way of setting up and taking down the tent, so you are better off removing it and rewiring only when you need to.
For inexperienced campers, Montana can be a frustratingly fiddly tent to put together. A lot of customer reviews online stated how almost impossible the tent is to put together if they haven’t got any background knowledge in what to do.
PROS
- Easy to dismantle
- Very roomy
- ‘Tub’ style bottom keeps water out
- Very tall
CONS
- The fly is hard to put up
- The raised door ‘still’ is dangerous
What’s Included?
The tent comes with a storage bag (but, like we mentioned, if you don’t have a lot of patience to shove a big tent into a little bag, we suggest getting a different one) it also has a small doormat. We rather liked that the tent comes with these small touches.
There may not be any electricity inside the tent, but the cable port is a lovely touch and a feature that sure will come in handy over time. Some of you might appreciate the LED cables in the tent, however, most people find it easier to use portable battery-powered camping lamps as they can be taken outside.
Overview Of Features
Earlier we touched upon some of the features that are included in the Montana 8 person tent. Below is a thorough list of the tent’s features and why each feature is important for you.
- Protected Seams
The seams in the Montana tent are inverted. This increases weather resistance by hiding needle holes that were made during the manufacturing process.
- Wind-Strong Frame
Happy campers go outside, come rain or shine, and that really is the case if you have the Montana tent. The tent frame has been redesigned to be even more wind resistant. Elements such as their wind-responsive frame and guy-out triangles have been modified to withstand windy conditions.
- Zipper Protection
Leakages always happen through tent zippers, it is some sort of unwritten rule, not all tents are innovative enough to seal the zippers to prevent this nuisance from happening. Montana has rain repelling zipper cuffs that let rain glide over and prevent leakages.
- Waterproof Floors
Gone are the days when you had to put a number of synthetic fiber beach mats under your tent to stop yourself from getting a soggy bottom. The Montana tent has a waterproof floor that is welding-inspired with eliminated needle holes.
- Modified Dome Shape
This unique tent shape lets you keep your tent windows open even if it is pouring with rain outside. This is very important for campers as part of the whole experience is to enjoy the great outdoors.
- Conventional Pitch Setup
Unfortunately, this feature is one that lets the tent down. No one wants to have to spend a long time putting their tent together, and although Coleman claim setting up the tent will only take 10 to 20 minutes, the first time always takes much longer.
On the plus side, once you have put the tent together a couple of times it becomes far easier. The instructions are easy to follow and there are plenty of YouTube videos available online for you to watch if you get stuck.
- Hinged Doors
Hinged doors are super easy to open and close, you won’t need to be fiddling with floppy doors every time you enter and exit the tent. For a tent that houses so many people, this is a feature that will come in handy, especially if you are camping with small children
- Storage Pockets
Storage pockets are a fantastic way of keeping the tent clean and tidy. When there are more than two people in a tent, it can get cluttered and messy very quickly. Now, instead of throwing your car keys into the closest corner, you can store them safely in the storage pockets.
- Made from Polyester
This is an extremely waterproof synthetic material that is commonly used in tent manufacturing.
- Carry Bag
As much as you would love to be camping every weekend, we are sure you don’t have the time for it. One of the most important features that a high-quality tent could have is a good carry bag.
The Montana tent comes with a carry bag that lets you store it away safely between camping trips so that you don’t misplace any parts. The bag is also great for traveling as it keeps the tent stored away compactly and won’t take up a lot of room in your car.
- Spacious Interior
Inside the Montana tent, it measures 16 x 7 ft. You can fit 3 queen-sized air-beds and a couple of single blow-up mattresses.
Review Summary
After reading our review, what do you think about the Coleman Montana 8 person tent? In our opinion, it is a wonderful family tent that can be taken on trips in the rain and sunshine.
If anything, it is probably more of a winter tent due to its lack of sun-blocking features, however, it does stay well ventilated in warm weathers nonetheless. It can be hard to go camping with young children and Coleman has tried to make camping easier for families which is nice.
At the end of the day, the decision is yours to make. To clear up any remaining questions we have added a Montana frequently asked questions section for you to read. Let us know what you think about the tent and feel free to add your personal experiences camping with this tent in our comments section.
Coleman Montana 8 Person Tent FAQ’s
Q: Can you use this tent in Ohio, or is it specifically designed for camping in Montana?
A: Yes, this tent can be taken to Ohio, in fact, Coleman doesn’t specify whether this tent was designed specifically for Montana weather. By looking at the tent’s features, it advertises a very broad range of sun and rain weather features, so you can confidently camp wherever you like.
Q: Is there any way of preparing the rain-fly to keep the tent dry inside?
A: The rain-fly on the Montana 8 person tent is flat, in order to help the rain flow off the material before it seeps through by treating it with water repellent spray.
Q: What is the difference between the ‘Elite’ and ‘Regular’ Coleman tents?
A: The only difference is the floor vents for ventilation, auto-roll windows, and led lighting. Both tents are 6 ft 2 inches tall.
Q: Does the Montana tent come with stakes?
A: Yes, the tent comes with stakes, although they are not very strong and won’t keep the tent as still as you would like. Stronger stakes only cost roughly $15 and would work better for such a large tent.
Q: How big is the tent when it’s packaged?
A: It packs away to a small 27” x 8” x 8”.
Q: If I was to lay a trap under the tent to stop any sneaky animals poking through, how big of a trap should I lay?
A: The ideal sized trap would be 15’ x 6’ so that the trap is not visible. This isn’t for aesthetic reasons and more to do with keeping the bottom of the tent dry. If the trap is poking out of the bottom of the tent then rainwater will collect and pool under the tent causing the floor to get very wet.
Q: How good is the ventilation? Are two small windows enough to ventilate the tent?
A: The two side windows are large enough to provide sufficient ventilation. There is rather a lot of roof ventilation which isn’t obvious in marketing pictures of the tent.
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Passionate about the outdoors. He has accrued a wealth of experience and knowledge in naturalism, outside adventures, ski instruction, and writing. In addition to exploring the outdoors, he enjoys backpacking and camping.