Customer Reviews

Coleman Montana 12-Foot by 7-Foot Five-Person Tent

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After camping for 30 years I feel that I am some what of an expert when it comes to camping. I recently sold my RV and had to purchase a new tent to do some light campground camping. I have owned 4 tents over the years, all that have been great and have withstood the needs to my family. I do most of my shopping online and found this tent from Coleman on Amazon. The tent itself is made very well. It rained and we had no leaks. I was impressed with all the pockets and the quality of the zippers. What I was disappointed in was the poles. We camped for 5 days. After the 2nd day the rear window poles broke. They split at the ends. On the 3rd day the front window/door pole broke in the same way. After looking at it further you can clearly see that the poles are about an inch too long and the pressure from the bending cause it to split. Some duct tape helps and kept us dry. When we went to take it down we also noticed that one of the large main tent poles were also split. My brother has a Coleman tent that I gave him 10 years ago that it still holding up great. The tent is over 30 years old. After this experience I am not sure if I will continue with Coleman. I guess it all depends on if they are going to replace the poles and at who's expense it will be.

For this price, this tent is a BUY. Reasons I like it: This tent has a large footprint, a big rectangle that you can fit a lot into. The walls are more vertical compared to my coleman Sundome tent. Ventilation is great. It was the first time my family went camping where we didn't have all that condensation from our breathing building up in the tent. I found the zippers to be fine and durable. The rainfly is awesome, and covers the tent very well. We hadn't sealed the seams on the tent when we went camping (eager to use it) and it rained. Everything was bone dry in this tent, and I'm sure it was because of a great rainfly. We'll still seal seams at some point for any real typhoon weather, and I would definitly recommend doing so because of the holes caused by stitching (as with any tent). We loved the various pockets and storage, including the net loft on the top of the tent. The attached mud mat is really a nice touch. The stitching and material used in this tent is of quality. The sunroof top is of a soft plastic material that seems durable and pliable enough to me, as I haven't had any problems with it breaking or anything like that. The biggest reason I purchased this tent, besides the price, was I needed a large tent that would be compact. This tent fits the bill. It folds up surprisingly small and light. There is enough room in the carry bag to store a tarp or footprint. The tent stakes have an interesting shape to them that really holds them into the ground securely. The reasons why I didn't rate this a full five stars is because: Although the tent stakes hold everything secure, I question how long they last because of the quality. My husband, the engineer, says they could be welded better for durablily. I also question the durabilty of the poles. They are only 9.5 mm, alot thinner than the poles of my old sundome. Although this helps lend to the compactness and lightness of this tent, I feel if you want them to last, you have to follow the manufacturers suggestions exactly, by closing and opening the poles the center, and inserting them carefully into the pockets, and by EASING them into their ring and pin holders. My old tent with larger poles could take more abuse than these poles. To properly support the poles when installing them, I recommend that 2 people set the tent up. Once the tent is erected, there is no indication that the tent may fall or not withstand wind, rain etc.. Everything is very secure. It is extremely easy to take down and can be done so by 1 person.

Good construction and easy to set up, but does require two people simply to avoid breaking poles. The bottom is made of a light tarp material vs. standard tent material, making it more durable. I still recommend using another tarp underneath to prevent punctures.
Also, the main poles are slighly smaller than a Sharpie permanent marker, but the rain fly poles are right at or thinner than a pencil and require a pretty hefty bend to fit.

First time out with perfect conditions, one of the rain fly poles started to crack at male/female connection point. I called Coleman and they immediately sent me out new poles.

This is a great tent for the price. Fairly easy to set up, however, for some reason, once we got our gear inside, the door wouldn't zip. We unhooked part of the rainfly and that seemed to do the trick. Don't buy this tent if you are planning on sleeping 5 plus gear. There were two of us and a queen size air mattress plus gear and there was plenty of room. Make sure to bring sturdy stakes because the ones that come with are flimsy. If the ground is hard, they will bend in half with the first strike of the mallet. All-in-all, it is a great tent-very easy to take down and fits right back into the bag, along with a large tarp. Enjoy!
UPDATE: Both poles for the rain fly broke after the 2nd use. Coleman did replace them (they said they might have them in stock-luckily they did.) Also, when the rainfly is on, it is difficult to zip the door and the seams look like they are ready to tear. Might want to think twice about this one.....

I have used this tent, and I think it's a very good tent. Solid. It's pretty easy to set-up, and the instructions on Amazon are pretty accurate. It's just so large. For the price--there is no tent with this size footprint on the market.

I have read the other reviews, and am a bit surprised. I didn't have any problems with zippers, rain fly, etc... Everything worked perfectly well, and to be honest I expect to have this tent for years to come.

In sum, this is a great family tent. Sturdy, great size, easy to set up, and Coleman. One of the most trusted brands in family camping. And for this price, it's an absurd deal. I got this for 50% less than any other place.

I was very pleased with the product and recommend it to those who are interested in summer camping.

Ideal for family camping. The transparent ceiling makes watching stars so delightful. Very spacious.

I bought this tent and used it right away. It was easy to set up alone, and was plenty big. Might be alittle crowded for 5 people though. During a wind gust one rainfly pole broke, but Coleman sent me a new one immediately, and free of charge. Coleman was a good choice for a camping tent.

For the cost, this tent represented a good value. We just used it for several nights, it went up easily and stayed in place in some moderate winds and rain. It has a "poly" floor which I don't like; there are already several holes in it from the sharp gravel that constitute National Park tent pads. For the price though the floor is what was expected. Overall a good tent for my intended use.

Highly recommended, functional and practical and cost effective nonetheless. Only exception, storage bag was flimsy (strap was unable to handle the weight of the tent).