Are CORE Tents better than Coleman Tents?
Table of Contents
In this article, we will explore the differences between CORE tents and Coleman tents to show you what you need to look for when selecting your next CORE or Coleman tent. Both tent manufacturers have their own unique features that are useful so I outline which ones I think are the best and what features I think you may want to look at having on your next tent. So when comparing the two tent manufacturers Core tents vs Coleman tents which are better?
What are CORE Tents known for?
CORE Tents are designed to be a well-engineered tent from the factory. They are made with higher quality materials than normal tents and are designed to be easy to set up by just about anyone.
CORE Tent Engineering
CORE tents are going to be priced a bit higher than Coleman tents but are usually designed with a few more features than a comparable Coleman tent and are designed to be waterproof. CORE tents are known for their high build quality and are designed for camping enthusiasts. CORE tents should be better able to handle extreme conditions than Coleman tents.
CORE Tent Features
CORE features some tents with H20 water block technology that is designed to help keep water from getting inside of the tent. They do this by heat sealing the seams of the tent to keep water from getting in through the seams of the tent. They also use water-resistant fabric for the majority of their tents to help keep water from seeping through the walls of the tent.
Some CORE tents feature Instant poles that are attached to the walls of the tent so that it makes it quicker and easier to set up your tent at your campsite. With CORE Instant poles that make the setup of your tent a much easier process. You don’t have to mess around with aligning all of your tent poles and then working to set up your tent which makes it a lot quicker to get your tent set up and get on with your day.
CORE tents are also designed with roofs to consist more of mesh than tent material. This would be nice in the summertime but may be an issue if you are planning on camping in the winter months with your tent.
If you plan on camping just mainly in the warmer months of the year the extra mesh would be preferred over Colemans style.
If you are interested in checking out which a CORE 4-Person tent I recommend here is a link to Amazon.
CORE tents also feature a ground venting system that makes it easier to vent your tent in the hot summer months or if you are trying to dry out the inside. The CORE ground venting system is designed to pull cool air from the ground through the interior of the tent to then be pushed out of the mesh ceiling of the tent.
Depending on which CORE model of tent you choose in larger models they feature room dividers to help divide the internals of your tent if you want privacy or are sharing the tent with another family.
Some CORE tents also come with vestibules which is basically a front porch for your tent. With a vestibule you can store items that you don’t want sitting outside in your vestibule, they still may get wet though so keep that in mind.
Another nice thing about a tent with a vestibule is that it allows you to take off your shoes before you get into your tent, this helps because you are less likely to track in mud and dirt that way.
If you are looking for a larger camping tent that is also from CORE I would recommend the CORE 9 person instant cabin tent. It is an instant cabin tent so it will allow you to easily set up the tent in about a minute.
It also is a cabin-style tent with a high ceiling which means that you will be able to easily move around inside of it. If you are interested in checking out the current prices of the CORE 9 person instant cabin tent on Amazon click here. I’ve also written a more in-depth review below.
CORE Tent Zippers
One thing I have been seeing consistently in the reviews of CORE tents is the number of people complaining about the zippers not being designed the best and getting stuck on the outer fabric of the tent. Some people have even reported the outer fabric ripping from the zipper.
What Are Coleman Tents Known For?
Coleman tents are designed to be nice tents they are just going to be a bit more basic when comparing it to a CORE tent. Coleman tents are very affordable because of this and make some of the most affordable tents on the market.
Coleman Tent Engineering
Coleman tents overall are just engineered to be basic and last a long time which isn’t a bad thing just don’t expect cutting edge features. Coleman tents are also not going to be as well engineered as CORE tents and are going to be more marketed to more casual campers that may not be using their tent as often or in extreme conditions to need a higher quality tent.
Coleman Tent Design
Coleman tents do have some models that are designed to be instant setup tents like with CORE but the majority of their dome tents are going to be designed with poles that are going to need to be connected by hand and then slipped through the frame of the tent to form the dome shape.
Coleman has more tent models that are a dome shape tent than with CORE which has some pros and cons. With dome-style tents, they are designed to be better able to withstand rain and wind. With a dome style, tent wind and rain will be more likely to flow off or around the tent than with a tent that has more vertical walls.
With a more upright shape or cabin style tent the tent will be more likely to blow over in a storm because of the more vertical walls of the tent. It will also be more likely for water to soak through the walls of the tent during a storm with a more upright tent.
Coleman Tent Features
Coleman also features their own technology to try to keep water from getting inside the tent called WeatherTec. With WeatherTec technology the tent is designed with corner welds and is designed with a tub like a floor.
What is nice about the floor of these types of tent is the material is the same material that tarps are made with so it should resist water getting through. This material also runs up the bottom walls of the tent to create a “tub” floor of the material which should aid with keeping water near the bottom of the tent from getting in.
Some Coleman tents like the one on the right come with darkroom technology that was designed to block out most of the sunlight that you would normally get through the tent walls of a normal tent. This would come in handy if you prefer to sleep in the pitch black or like to sleep in on your camping trips.
If you are interested in checking out this Coleman 4-Person Dome Tent on Amazon click this link.
If you were wanting to get a larger Coleman tent that could fit 8 or 10 people on Amazon you can check out these two popular Coleman tents: Coleman 8-Person Tent and Coleman 10-Person Tent.
Certain Coleman models are also offered with a vestibule. I would recommend getting a tent with a vestibule just because of the extra storage space it affords.
With a vestibule, it also makes cleaning the interior of your tent easier in the long run because you can take off your shoes in the vestibule and not have to worry about tracking things inside.
Vestibules also offer another layer of protection between you and bugs at your campsite. If you are interested in checking out an article I wrote specifically about vestibules or screen rooms click here.
Core Tents Vs Coleman Tents – Which are better?
When comparing Core tents vs Coleman tents it really comes down to how much money you are willing to spend and what features you want. Core tents will usually have more features than Coleman tents while Coleman tents offer a better bang for the buck in regards to differences in pricing.
CORE Tents Vs Coleman Tents – Reviews
CORE 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent
The CORE 9 person instant cabin tent comes with CORE’s instant technology which CORE says allows the tent to be set up in about a minute. This CORE 9 person instant cabin tent features internal dimensions of 14’ x 9’ and comes with a removable rain fly that partially covers the walls of the tent.
Because this CORE tent is a cabin-style tent the walls of the tent are nearly vertical which allows you more room to walk inside of the tent. That combined with the 6-foot 5-inch center height means that this tent is tall person friendly. CORE says that you should be able to sleep up to 9 people in this tent with no storage or fewer people with some space reserved for camping gear. You should be able to fit two queen size inflatable beds inside of this tent no problem.
One of the best features of the CORE 9 person instant cabin tent is the instant setup technology. CORE designed this tent with telescoping poles that attach to the sides of the tent that just need to be extended to complete the setup of the tent. This significantly reduces the complexity and time associated with setting up a tent at a campsite.
While having telescoping tent poles aids with ease of setup it usually means that the size of the tent when it’s packed down will be larger so keep that in mind if you are limited in storage space for your camping equipment.
Other features of the CORE 9 person instant cabin tent include a room divider that allows you to split the inside of the tent in half if you need privacy. It also includes multiple vents that can be used to vent the tent if heat or water buildup becomes a problem. It features a mesh ceiling that also aids in venting the tent and ensures that heat is able to escape the tent.
This CORE 9 person instant cabin tent also comes with CORE’s H20 block technology which is designed to help keep wind and water from entering the tent. CORE does this by heat sealing the seams of the tent to keep water from being able to seep through the seams of the tent. The rainfly of this tent also has heat-sealed seams to help keep water out.
One thing to note is that cabin style tents typically will not hold up as well in extreme winds because the walls of the tent are nearly vertical. If you are planning on camping in extreme weather you would be better off going with a dome style tent because they will be better equipped to handle extreme wind and rain.
However, cabin tents are much easier to move around in than a dome style tent so there are definitely trade-offs with each style. If you are going to be mainly camping when it is nice outside and no rain is expected then I would go with a cabin style tent because it will give you more room within the tent and allow you to move around inside of the tent easier.
If you are interested in checking out the prices of this CORE 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent on Amazon click here.
Coleman Carlsbad 6 Person Tent with Screen Room
With this Coleman Carlsbad 6 person tent with screen room you get a dome tent that comes with Coleman’s Dark Room technology. The interior dimensions of this tent are 10’ x 9’ and it has a center height of 5-foot 8-inches which means it’s not as tall person friendly.
Since this is a dome tent and the center height is less than 6-feet you will likely have to bend over to move about in the tent if you are of normal adult height.
One nice feature that this tent has is a vestibule otherwise called a screen room. The nice thing about having a screen room or a vestibule on the front side of your tent is that you have an area that provides protection from the elements before you enter your tent. This ensures that rain and water will not enter your tent if it’s raining outside and you need to enter or exit your tent.
The included screened-in room also is nice because it allows you a space to take off your shoes before entering your tent. This helps keep dirt and mud from being tracked into your tent.
With the attached screen room you get essentially an extra room that can be used to store your extra camping gear or as a space to sit in to escape mosquito bites. The dimensions of the screen room are 10’ x 5’ so that’s plenty of room to store your camping stuff or sit in a camping chair comfortably.
Another nice feature of this Coleman Carlsbad 6 person tent is the built-in Dark Room technology. Coleman says that the Dark Room technology integrated into this tent blocks 90% of the sunlight from entering the tent.
This means the tent should stay nice and dark inside regardless of how bright it currently is outside. This will also help reduce the amount of heat that will build up inside the tent. It also looks pretty cool with the black walls and green rain fly.
This tent comes with Coleman’s Weathertec technology which means it’s designed to stay dry during rainstorms. The rain fly on this tent covers the majority of the surface of this tent but does leave the screen room somewhat exposed. Having WeatherTec also means that that floor of the tent extends a few inches around the walls of the tent to help keep water out.
There are also internal storage pockets that you can use to store your small camping items like a lantern or portable fan. Coleman says that this tent can be set up in about 7 minutes, which is about the average time it takes to set up a tent with poles that need to be connected and strung through the holes of the tent walls to prop them up.
If you are interested in checking out the Coleman Carlsbad 6 person tent on Amazon click here.
Coleman 8 Person Instant Cabin Tent
The next tent we will be taking a look at is the Coleman 8 person instant cabin tent. This tent has interior dimensions of 14’ x 10’ and Coleman says that you should be able to fit 4 queen-size inflatable beds.
I’ve not tested this myself, but if that is the case it should be able to sleep 8 people comfortably but that would not leave you much room if any for your other camping gear.
This Coleman 8 person instant cabin tent has a center height of 6-feet 7-inches which means it is a tall person friendly tent. With the tall center height and this being a cabin tent there will be plenty of space for you to move around inside.
Coleman calls their instant tent technology fast pitch which means it’s easy to set up the tent and should take you under a minute because of pre-attached telescoping poles. This Coleman 8 person instant cabin tent also comes with internal storage pockets to help store your small items when they are not in use.
One big downside that I’m seeing from user reviews on Amazon is that this tent does not hold up in that well in the rain. While Coleman says that this tent features WeatherTec technology that should help keep the elements out reviews of this tent are saying otherwise.
This may not be that big of a deal if you are going to be camping in nice weather but, if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain you may want to go with another tent. This comes down to the fact that the rain fly is integrated into the ceiling of the tent. This allows rainwater to hit the sides of the tent as the rain fly doesn’t adequately protect the walls of the tent from rain.
One solution to make this tent more waterproof would be to buy another rain fly that would cover a larger surface of the tent or buy a tarp that could be used to cover the tent. The more coverage you could provide against the rain the less water will be able to get into the tent.
Coleman says that the floors of this tent are waterproof but the real issue is going to be the walls and keeping rainwater off of them. To check out the current prices of this Coleman 8 person instant cabin tent on Amazon click here.
Related Questions
What does instant tent mean? When a tent is referred to as an instant tent the manufacturer is talking about the time it should take you to set up the tent. Traditional tents are made up of poles that have to be strung together to create the frame of the tent. The poles then need to be snaked through the outer shell of the tent to create the dome shape.
With instant tents the poles are already connected together, they would just need to be extended. Typically with instant tents, the poles are already connected to the outer shell of the tent when you go to set them up. This also makes setting up the tent a quicker process.
How long does it take to set up an instant tent? CORE says that on most of their instant tents the setup of the tent can be completed from start to finish in about two minutes. Coleman says that on their instant tents setup can be completed in about a minute. I would suspect that both a Coleman and a CORE instant tent can be set up in about the same time.
A friend recently bought a CORE instant tent and said that the setup is quick and simple. She said that she was able to get her CORE instant cabin tent set up from start to finish in just a few minutes. It should be quicker to set up the tent with the more help you have.
What are the negatives of instant tents? I’ve been talking about all the positives of instant tents so what are some negatives of instant tents? For one because of the ease of setup instant tents typically will not compact down as much as a standard tent. This means if you are limited in storage space for your camping you may want to look at purchasing a standard or smaller instant tent.
Another downside of instant tents is the price. Because instant tents are a somewhat newer technology that makes the setup more convenient manufacturers will typically charge more for them. However, if you don’t like wasting time setting up a tent when you arrive at your campsite then I would go with an instant tent.
Are CORE tents any good? CORE is a somewhat new company to making tents and decided to market their tents to camping enthusiasts. CORE tents are typically designed to be waterproof. CORE tents are priced a bit higher than a comparable Coleman tent but offer more features and are designed to offer the best tent camping experience. If you are willing to pay a bit more to have a bit nicer tent I would go with a CORE tent.
Cabin tents vs dome tents which are better? The main difference between cabin and dome tents are the shape of the tent. Typically cabin tents will be easier to set up while dome tents will provide better protection against the outside elements. Dome tents are shaped like a dome and are able to dissipate rainwater and wind off the sides of the tent better than cabin style tents.
If you are going to be tent camping when it’s nice outside it would make more sense to go with a cabin tent for its ease of setup. If you are going to be out braving the elements when you go camping then I would go with a dome tent.
Fastpitch tent vs instant tent what is the difference? In regards to fastpitch vs instant tents, they are basically the same thing. Fastpitch looks to be a marketing term that Coleman came up with for some of their instant tent models. Both terms refer to how quickly the tent can be set up. When it comes to instant tents CORE tents vs Coleman tents they really use the same sort of technology.
Conclusion
CORE tents may be better engineered than Coleman tents but Coleman tents offer a better value than a CORE tent. With that said I don’t know that CORE tents necessarily warrant that increase in price. I think that it really comes down to the features that you want in your tent and how much you are willing to pay to get those features.
Coleman tents also have some features that CORE tents do not have. If you are looking to get the best of the best CORE tents are going to be designed for camping enthusiasts. Are you also in the market for a sleeping bag? Really the debate about CORE tents vs Coleman tents comes down to how much you have to spend.
If so you may want to check out my other article about the best backpacking sleeping bags under $100. If you are going to be going cold weather camping a lot you may want to check out my other article on how to pick the best cold weather tent.
