Thought this was worth sharing as it's half price.
Does anyone have experience with this model and is it worth paying more for better quality options (canvas etc).
Coleman Instant Up Darkroom 6P Tent $349 (Was $699.99) + Delivery ($0 C&C/ in-Store) @ Anaconda (Free Club Membership Required)
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goingDHfast on 22/01/2024 - 14:03 anacondastores.com (3405 clicks)
Last edited 22/01/2024 - 14:40 by 1 other user
Last edited 22/01/2024 - 14:40 by 1 other user
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I had this tent, it was absolutely fantastic.
I replaced it with the silver one, didn't realize I bought the wrong one online. Still good, but the extra $50 is well worth it. Much larger vestibule.
Darkroom 6P Tent shows as 21.2KG on Anaconda VS gold series at 20KG? what am I missing. Been looking at the instant up darkroom for a while so very interested in your experience etc
Sorry looks like have misread the weights. It is only a 1KG difference. However I do still stand by the Gold model with the better ventilation, better materials all round for increased waterproofing and durability.
Coleman's Instant Ups in general, set up is a breeze first time might take you 10 minutes but for us at this point takes 2 minutes and you're good to go with pack down being just as easy. Can't recommend these enough for the recreational camper and you'll see tonnes of these tents around at any popular campsite for good reason.
Thanks for the quick reply. This would be for myself, wife, 3 year old and a 6 month old - size wise you think I'm on the right track?
Is this link that Selka posted the same with the heatsheild included? https://www.snowys.com.au/instant-up-6p-gold-series-evo-tent?
@donniedarko3000: Its just me and my partner in ours and there is plenty of room, not a parent myself so can't say I know how much space kids take up, but we could fit 3 adults in here comfortably and 4 would be a bit cramped but still doable.
Yup that snowys link is the one we have. Don't have that extra awning/heatshield ourselves as we just use a gazebo. Just a note, the Gold Series isn't 'Darkroom' and you would have to go up to the Northstar range to get that feature
@chobani4lyf: thanks, so just for clarity the Instant Up 6P Lighted Northstar Darkroom Tent - doesnt have the benefits of the GOLD - waterproofing, more durable flooring, finer mesh?
@donniedarko3000: No it does it has all the benefits + dark room + integrated LEDs at of course a higher price
@donniedarko3000: With kids it is nice to have a 2 rooms tent. One for sleeping and one for all the crap 😅
Both seem to be the same weight. Gold is 20 vs op's 21.2kg
Hey what do you think about their lighted northstar series? I've been eyeing this for a while (to upgrade from our silver 6p), I like how the front has more room than these models. $500 though hmm.
https://www.snowys.com.au/instant-up-6p-lighted-northstar-da…
That's misleading, because you're talking a non-darkroom version of Instant Up 6P Gold.
Is shouldn't be compared as "$50 more" to the one in this deal. The non-darkened Silver 6P is $299 atm and weighs 4+ kgs less than the non-darkened Gold you're linking to.
Lamenting buying this now that I know about the gold 😞
I had always thought the gold series wasn’t darkroom? I don’t have the gold (I have the 4 man version of this and my mate has this exact one) we’re both very happy with them
Yeah, it seems that @chobani4lyf in their original, highly upvoted message confuses a couple of things.
It's not just $50 difference.
I can't be sure, but Snowys indicate that this model:
$499 Coleman Instant Up 6P Lighted Northstar Darkroom Tent
might be the "gold" equivalent to the one in this post, because it replaced
Coleman Instant Up Gold 6PV Dark Room Tent
and they look similar, however the first doesn't have "gold" in the name, but has "lighted".Anaconda doesn't have either.
@pizzaguy: Gotcha. That makes sense. I used this particular one and was very happy with it - it withstood quite a windy and rainy night and the darkroom aspect was flawless.
i picked up this tent last year for a camping trip. It was fine for literal first time campers (2 adults, 2 kids), did a trial run at home setting it up and was pretty easy to put up. The days we went camping, it bucketed down and it held up (the front awning thing could be better).
Was a bit of a pain to pack up, but got there eventually
How was it size wise? Would you buy bigger?
was fine for us. Managed to fit 2 of those camping beds (the ones that are raised off the ground, look like a massage table without the holes) and 2 single sized air mattresses. We could put our bags and stuff under the beds
I save a video from snowies where they pack it away as reference each time. First time took my way too long to work out.
Agree about the awning, just fills up with a big pocket of water in heavy rain (previous model but looks the same). Had to keep draining it. It's because there's a dip where it joins the door so it's a natural collection point - might be better if the front poles were adjustable and set low or angled steeply but we're tall.
Also minimal lateral protection, you need to allow for having your bags inside.
Probably designed to be shut up in the wet but it's hot here
Otherwise great tent, good waterproofing, quickly and easy to put up and take down, fit in my little Barina.
I would consider the next size up for family with any bigger kids, we used this for 2 people and a dog and our bagsI ended up getting a gazebo as well which I put over the awning on one edge and then it was perfect
I think this is normal pricing.
Any opinions on this vs oztrail lumos fast frame?Normal pricing is $450-$500, so this is a good deal.
I just looked up the oztrail lumos you mentioned - looks almost identical to Coleman's lighted northstar series. I wonder what the differences are, for much less at $350 vs $500. If similar I'm thinking the oztrail is much better value
I got one of the oztrail fast frame ones over Christmas when they were 50% off.
I did end up returning it cause stupid me didn't realise it wouldn't fit across the back of the car. Huge problem with the fast frame/easy up tents is the packed size.The only other issue was the weight. Line 32kg I think.
Apart from that they looked great.
We have the 10p Oztrail and it fit in our Skoda Octavia sedan boot and the stuff for 2 young kids and bikes, but yeah it is a big tent !
If you don't need the darkroom feature the gold version is $50 more at snowys but includes a free awning valued $139
https://www.snowys.com.au/instant-up-6p-gold-series-evo-tent
Also available in 4p for $350 with free awning
What's a dark room feature? What are the pro's/cons of a dark room feature? No light coming through?
Yep, that's about it. Benefits families with young children who may need to nap during the day. It potentially retains less heat than the non-darkroom versions
How do you fit 6 people into a tent this size?. It's not going to be 6 full grown sized adults.
6p tent is more like a 4p tent imo. If you want a true 6p tent go for a 8 or 10p tent
Think of those tent ratings more as storing 6 bodies instead of 6 living humans, they'd fit but it wouldn't be comfortable. I usually halve the number for the true rating, especially if you're storing gear in it.
fit /= comfortable
Please just keep the political sh*t out of atleast OzBargain, Twitter these days is the best place for this.
Except people don't tend to pay too much attention to crazy people, also the idiotic term "zionist imperialism" is the very definition of politiical sh*t
Crazy how many anti Semitic people have crawled out of the woodwork lately.
OP is political, and so are you, no need for either.
Viva le Bargain
Thank you, did not know this. Will steer well clear.
Where would you recommend we shop for tents instead?
Yeah but you're a Zionist if you support a 2-state solution.
So it's either you're a Zionist or genocidal.
Israel could flatten Gaza in under an hour (West Bank under 45m), how long are ya'll going to be waiting for that genocide? 😅
Sweet, Anaconda just scored extra points. thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks. I didnt know they were involved. Dont want to support businesses that contribute to killing of children.
Good to know that, I would rather buy an Aldi tent then.
Dunno why are ppl rattled for hearing a fact 😂
Snowflakes eh
They are rattled because the TV told them to feel that way. If the TV went the other way, they would also go the other way.
I'm looking for an 8P family tent and was looking at the Coleman, or the Outdoor Connections Bedarra. Anyone compared the two?
I've had another version of Coleman instant up 6man(Colman Excursion), which was alright as it never collapsed. But had a HUGE design flaw that the water would drip directly on the inner window seam, and leak through. Also after less than 2 years, the bottom seam connected to the tough flooring also started to leak.
Mate returned the 6man dark room version(this one OP posted) for collapsing in the medium wind(long time camper fyi). Other than collapsing in the medium winds he loved it.
I personally returned my Coleman Instant up Darkroom 8 man tent 2 weeks after I purchased it for a full refund.
Fly zipper only went down 1/2 way as the fly screen was to close to fly screen, and would tear it if I forced it further.
The thick tent bottom had a ever so small hole in it( this was prior to set up)
And most annoyingly critically -
It collapsed multiple times in the wind, and the pole clips that extended at the top of the tent; 3 of 4 of The little clip notches that are supposed to keep the poles extended in place. Literally sheared off(The clips where made out of cheap cast aluminum.) all the poles also done a 180 in the opposite direction so when I went to pack it up it wouldn't collapse fully.EDIT: I don't personally have the need for a 10man, but during a camp a year ago, the Black Wolf Tuff Tent 10 next to me, was the only one not to collapse in the gall force winds - https://blackwolf.com.au/collections/tuff-tent/products/phoe…
Little more expensive, but Australian designed and owned, and 3 year warranty.ive got an instant up 8p. it fits myself and the wife and 4 young kids. little bit of space around the edges for nick nacks. the kids were all on a queen inflatable and wife and i had a double.
so the 8p would easily fit 2 queen size inflatables and as many people you want to sleep on them.I was going with 8p spinifex tent and I am very happy with it. It holds well during the last windy storm.
I’ve got the gold 4p
Wish I went the dark mode, sun cooks you in qld in the gold, dark mode I read was the same as gold but keeps sun out better overall keeping tent cooler.Quick read on snowys show “dark room series feature the same instant up frame and same 75D/185T fabric in gold series”.
This (or Gold version) or the Brampton 3R?
FWIW these Coleman tents use custom poles and if you break one and cant get a replacement then the tent is pretty much useless. Coleman is bad at keeping spares and this could be frustrating if you have an expensive tent that is only a few years old…
… yes it happened to me. Real shame throwing out an otherwise perfectly fine tent over a broken $20 part.
Also happened to me. I know the part number, but in 12 months it hasn't been available (it's a current model tent), used twice)
Bugger! Is the tent still a current model??
This or oztent RV-5 for a 4 weeks road trip?
If you can afford (and fit) it, Oztent every day of the week.
260L x 260W cm sleeping area and 31kg.
So significantly less room inside and also significantly heavier. 30kg is bordering on too heavy for one small person to carry to and from a campsite/car boot IMO.
Take the pegs and poles out of the main bag and it's a bit lighter, and they're actually not too bad to carry on your shoulder.
If you're touring the 2.6x2m awning is useful too especially with the wall kit, it gives you a whole extra covered area instead of the small flap on the Instant-Up tents
So many conflicting reviews - people rave about it then on the other hand its specularly fails at being a tent in moderate wind. What to do.
Stay home and invest in bargains instead
I regularly went to a camping place directly next door to a wind farm - which was obviously very windy.
Any tent that is cheap (think $99 version of 3x3 marquee) were destroyed in a day or two - bent and unable to be folded up.
I had an instant-up 6 (cant remember what version) and managed 8+ weeklong camps at that place, and the tent is still going strong. Also had a Coleman event-14 shelter and that lasted fine too. I have no issue buying that brand. It's lasted in heavy rain, 40+ heat, strong wind - the lot.
Get the Aldi version for $160
Part of the Spotlight Foundation
Thanks for shining some light on that
If you need a larger tent, this is going for $449:
https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/coleman-instant-up-10-…Or if you need the darkroom feature, for $599:
https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/coleman-northstar-inst…
If you're looking at Coleman's Instant Up, pay an extra $50 for their gold series. https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/coleman-instant-up-6p-…
With the gold, you're getting a whole lot more waterproofing, more durable flooring, finer mesh on the windows (keeps the tiny bugs out), bunch of other little benefits and a huge 7KG reduction in weight.