I was browsing through the Costco® coupon booklet, this weekend, when I stumbled across this little jewel on the last page. $100 for a 16-foot by 7-foot tent sounds almost too good to be true, but the Coleman® Montana™ is a useable family tent, if price is a major consideration.
Like most cheap tents, the rain fly on the Montana is more for looks than it is for rain protection. Luckily, this is easy to fix with a big tarp, if weather should threaten your family camping trip. The best feature of the Montana is all that room! You can pack all of your gear on one side and still have plenty of room for sleeping bags on the other. The center section is just over 6-feet tall, which is great for entry, exit and getting dressed.
The Montana is still a low-end tent, though. The 11mm fiberglass poles are a lot thinner than you will find on a more expensive tent, of this size. The tent stakes (pins, really) should be replaced by something a bit more substantial, like Coleman’s heavier duty blade-type stakes. You will also want some kind of protection for the bottom of the tent, since it does not come with a footprint. Even with an extra $25 for tent stakes and a tarp, though, the Montana is still a pretty good value for family campers.
See also…
This may be a trick to use when manning outside of working hours.
This includes more ornate figures that are carved at
the top and sides of the clock, as well as a moon dial, a large
pendulum and sides. Of course the USA was very sad to hear that this feature would actually be stripped from the American versions of the Galaxy Tab, and for
many it was a definite factor for not purchasing such device.
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I have a Coleman that’s very similar to this. The room is pretty incredible, although it’s a pain to find a large enough level spot to pitch the thing. And I do have to agree on the door, that’s one killer feature. Swings open like the real thing.
I have been browsing online for tents recently, I saw a few good Coleman tents and sunshades on Overstock.com ranging in price from $39.65 to $179.99.
Roy – your comment about a heater made me wonder if the “doggie door” is for a tent fan.
I noticed they sell those now.
Some of the newer tents also have a “port” to bring cables/wires through.
At some point, it might be time to just move up to a camper; either popup or hardsided.
All this talk about tents prompts me to ask a question.
Something I’ve noticed in the “newer” tents (in the last 5-8 years) is what I’ll call a “doggie” door. It’s a little zippered, screened door on the bottom of one side of the tent and seems to be in many different tents; not just in say a Coleman tent.
What is it for?
A full sized person couldn’t fit through it.
Marti – we were just camping with some friends in Oregon and their (Coleman) tent had one of these “doggie doors”. They even called it a doggie door, but I think it is really for the hose from a tent heater. It seems kind of big for that, though, so maybe it is for dogs?
Nice looking tent. I agree about the fly though – strictly for looks only. Def reinforce with a tarp.
You know what they say about “if it’s too good to be true,” right? I just can’t imagine a tent of this size for $100 being anything more than a waste of $100 (though Sara seems to like hers). I’m just now getting back into camping after a long hiatus – that long hiatus a direct result of the cheap, crappy gear I had in the camping days of my youth. I’m trying to turn things around by investing in decent gear.
I just ordered an REI Kingdom 6 for family car camping, on sale this week for $270 ($100 off the normal price), though I’d love to see (and feel) these two tents side-by-side to see what I’m getting for my extra $170 (if anything). Is it presumptuous to assume in a good windstorm the $100 Colemans would be the first to go down?
Unfortunately there are no user reviews on Costco’s website.
A timely comment, Chris – I just did a writeup on the Kingdom in the newsletter! I’m pretty sure you’re going to love that tent. The Coleman’s shortcomings are the 11mm poles and the rain fly, but the materials are better than most other cheap tents. Let us know how that Kingdom works out!
Roy, I signed up to get the latest newsletter, but the Kingdom tent was not in it. How do I get a copy of the newsletter with your Kingdom writeup?
I have this EXACT tent. I bought it 3 years ago and we take at least 3 trips a year. It has held up VERY well through all kinds of weather. We like cold weather camping and I got this one b/c it has the least amount of mesh walls. You can unzip all windows for a great breeze in the summer too!
Oh and I love the door on this tent! It swings open just like a real door! Such a cool feature…no more unzipping!!
That is great to hear, Sara! I think what makes the Coleman Montana tent different from other inexpensive ones is the better materials – particularly the polyethylene floor, which seems a lot tougher than the coated taffeta used in others.
Nice tent
Great value.. I was looking fo one like this…
Thank you
Glad to help, Jason.
I have used Coleman tents since I got back into camping 8 years ago. I have a 17X10 Red Canyon and it has held up well through many storms and use by kids. I put a tarp under it and I carry a extra tarp for just in case but so far so good. You have to make sure and seal seams well with them. I have had no trouble with the poles.
That’s good advice on the seam sealing, Frank. I can’t remember the last time we used our second tarp, but we always take an extra one, just in case.
I’ve been telling my family we need a bigger tent for our trips for awhile now. My wife mentioned that Costco had this tent for a crazy price. My first thought was that it would be good in great weather, and bad in anything else. I think of all the areas I’ll scrimp on money, the tent is not one of them. I’m actually thinking of renting a few from REI for the first couple of outings this year. I figure its an inexpensive way of seeing what we really need size-wise, while also checking out the quality of some different brands.
That’s a great idea to try a few out first, Marc.
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