Coleman Instant Tent V.S. Coleman Pop Up Tent (I Tested Both!)
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I have both the Coleman 4-Person Instant Tent and the 4-Person Pop Up Tent, and in this blog post, I’ll go through all the differences between these tents.
While the Coleman Instant Tent takes double the time to set up and pack away as compared to the Coleman Pop Up Tent, it has more pros. It fits 1 more single pad, it has a much higher peak height, more ventilation, more storage options, more rain protection, and slightly higher quality materials.
| Characteristics | Coleman Instant Tent (4P) | Coleman Pop Up Tent (4P) |
|---|---|---|
| Set Up Timing | 4.5 minutes | 1.5 minutes |
| Pack Away Timing | 5 minutes | 2 minutes |
| Pre-attached Poles? | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-attached Rainfly? | No | Yes |
| Peak Height | 61 inches | 39 inches |
| Tent Shape | Cabin | Dome |
| Base Area | ~55 square feet | ~55 square feet |
| Single Pads | 4 | 3 |
| Queen Beds | 1 | 1 |
| Windows | 4 | 1 (excludes ceiling mesh) |
| Doors | 1 | 1 |
| Pockets | 2 | 1 |
| Lantern Loops | 1 | 0 |
| Heavy Rain Test | ~10 minutes | ~10 minutes |
| Tub Floors | 4 inches | None |
| Tent Body Material | 150D Polyester | 68D Polyester |
| Poles Material | Alloy Steel | Fiberglass |
| Weight | 20lbs | 8.2lbs |
| Packed Size | 40 x 11 x 8 inches | 36 by 36 by 3 inches |
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Check out the Coleman Instant and Pop Up Tents:
Set Up Timing
Setting up a 4-Person Coleman Pop Up Tent takes just 1.5 minutes, while a 4-Person Coleman Instant Tent takes 4.5 minutes, or about 3 times as long.
Why exactly does the Coleman Instant Tent take so much longer than the Pop-Up Tent? 2 main reasons – the poles and the rainfly.
Poles
First reason, the poles.
Coleman Pop Up Tent
For the Coleman Pop Up Tent, the moment you slide the tent out of the carry bag and remove the black strap across the tent, all the tension in the poles will cause the tent to just pop open.
Coleman Instant Tent
On the other hand, for the Coleman Instant Tent, the poles don’t have the same popping mechanism. Instead, you’ve got to pull on the elbow joints to prop the poles up first, until your tent looks like this:
After that, you’ve still got to extend all the telescoping wall poles upward, and your tent will be almost set up, except for the rainfly.
Rainfly
The second reason is the rainfly.
Coleman Pop Up Tent
The Pop Up Tent has a pre-attached rainfly, so you don’t have to attach it yourself after popping it up.
Coleman Instant Tent
In contrast, the Coleman Instant Tent doesn’t come with the rainfly pre-attached.
So, you’ve got to drape the rainfly over the tent, find the correct rainfly position, clip the 4 extended tips of the rainfly just below the instant tent sticker, tighten the strap, and then secure the Velcro underneath the rainfly to the poles.
One tip I have for you here is that you can leave the rainfly on when you’re packing up. So, the next time you set up this Instant Tent, it’ll take only 3 minutes to set up the tent, instead of 4.5 minutes, saving you about 1.5 minutes.
In the Box
And one more difference between both these tents is that the Coleman Instant Tent doesn’t come with the rainfly. Instead, you have to buy the rainfly separately, and it comes like this, with 4 extra stakes.
Take Down
Taking down and packing up the 4-Person Pop Up Tent takes just 2 minutes, while the 4-Person Instant Tent takes 5 minutes, which is more than double the time.
Coleman Pop Up Tent
That’s because for the Pop Up Tent, all I had to do was just fold it until it looks like a taco, then fold the taco, then push all the poles together.
It then folds back into this perfect circle, which fits perfectly into the carry bag without any fumbling at all.
Coleman Instant Tent
On the other hand, for the Coleman Instant Tent, I had to first remove the rainfly, fold the rainfly, and then press on this silver lock button on the telescoping poles.
After that, I had to push down all the poles, push the elbow joints in, fold the tent up, and squeeze all the air out, before it would fit back into the carry bag.
If I left the rainfly on though, packing it up will take just 3.5 minutes.
Peak Height
Coleman Instant Tent
The peak height of the 4-Person Coleman Instant Tent is 61 inches. This is slightly shorter than my height, and I’m about 5’3″ or 160cm tall, so my head presses against the roof when I try to stand upright.
But it’s tall enough that I can fit in thick air mattresses without worrying about the mattress eating into my livable space.
Coleman Pop Up Tent
On the other hand, the peak height of the 4-Person Pop Up Tent is much lower, at just 39 inches, and I would recommend no more than 6 inches in height if you’re planning to use an air mattress in this tent.
When I sat down on a 6-inch thick mattress (pictured above), my head touches the mesh at the top of the tent when I sit upright.
Livable Space
Not only does my Instant Tent have a much higher peak height than my Pop Up Tent, it also has these almost vertical side walls, which gives it a nice cabin shape.
So, there’s plenty of livable space inside the tent, so I can freely stretch my arms out.
Base Area
Coleman Pop Up Tent
The base area of both these 4-Person Tents is about the same, coming in at about 55 square feet each, but the problem with the 4-Person Pop Up Tent is that the base area isn’t rectangular, it’s oval in shape. So, the maximum number of single sleeping pads I could fit into the tent was only 3, with some leftover space.
Coleman Instant Tent
In contrast, the 4-Person Instant Tent can fit 4 sleeping pads, with no leftover space at all.
I could also fit 1 queen bed into each of these tents, with quite a bit of space leftover.
Windows
Coleman Instant Tent
The Coleman 4-Person Instant Tent has 4 windows in total, 1 big window on the left wall of the tent, 2 small windows together at the front of the tent, another big window on the right wall of the tent, and no windows on the back wall of the tent.
Coleman Pop Up Tent
On the other hand, the 4-Person Pop Up Tent has only 1 window that’s part of the door, plus some ceiling mesh at the top of the tent, so overall less ventilation on a hot day.
While I could zip open and shut all of the Instant Tent’s windows from the inside of the tent, I couldn’t do the same with the Pop Up Tent.
To get ventilation from the ceiling mesh, I had to unhook the rainfly and take it off from the outside. And also, to open the window, you first have to unzip the window, unzip the door, tie up the door fabric, and zip the window up, which is kind of annoying.
Storage
Pockets
For storage, the 4-Person Instant Tent has 2 pockets inside the tent, while the 4-Person Pop Up Tent has only 1 pocket, which is split into 2.
Lantern Loops
And while the Instant Tent has 1 lantern loop inside the tent, the Pop Up Tent doesn’t have any lantern loop, and I had to use the window/door latch attachment to hang a lantern up.
Rain Test
Coleman Instant Tent
When I tested my Coleman Instant Tent through heavy rain using a water hose, it stayed dry for 10 minutes before the first drop of water got into the tent.
And after 15 minutes, I found quite a bit of leaking from the seam connecting the bathtub flooring to the black tent fabric, which was not seam taped and instead inverted, and from the pocket as well.
This black fabric near the bottom of the tent was damp as well, and even the rainfly was slightly damp too.
This is definitely not as good as some of my other Coleman tents, and that’s because the Instant Tent has a really small rainfly that covers only the top of the tent, and extends at most 10 inches down.
Coleman Pop Up Tent
And if you thought the rainfly couldn’t get any smaller, guess what? My Coleman Pop Up Tent has an even smaller rainfly, that covers only the ceiling mesh!
When I rain tested my 2-Person Pop Up Tent the same way, the entire tent was even more soaked. Not only did the door leak tons of water into the tent, the taped seam between the flooring and the tent body was also leaking, and all the fabric in the tent had been soaked through.
Even the underside of the rainfly was wet, and was dripping water from the ceiling mesh down into the tent.
Rainy Day Ventilation
Both these tents don’t have any ventilation on rainy days, as all the windows have to be completely soaked.
Tub Floors
Another difference is that the Instant Tent has a tub floor extending up to about 4 inches, which is useful if there’s light flooding, while the Coleman Pop Up Tent doesn’t have a tub floor.
Materials
Coleman Pop Up Tent
The materials used in the Coleman Pop Up Tent is mainly polyester, including the flooring, and I think it’s 68D polyester all around, and the tent poles are made of fiberglass.
Coleman Instant Tent
In contrast, the Coleman instant tent is made of 150D polyester taffeta, which is what Coleman calls “double-thick fabric”, the flooring is polyethylene, and the poles are made of alloy steel, which is significantly thicker, so overall higher quality materials.
Portability
Weight
Because of the difference in materials, the 4-Person Instant Tent is much heavier, coming in at around 20 pounds if you include the rainfly and all the stakes. The 4-Person Pop Up Tent is much lighter, weighing 8.2 pounds.
Packed Size
Both tents are actually equally bulky, but the 4-Person Instant Tent comes in this long packed size (pictured above), so it’s easier to store, while the 4-Person Pop Up Tent comes in this huge circle shape (pictured below), making it a little more difficult to store.
The Coleman Instant Tent 4 has packed dimensions of 40 x 11 x 8 inches, while the Coleman Pop Up Tent 4 has packed dimensions of 36 by 36 by 3 inches.
Pricing
I paid less than $100 bucks for the 4-Person Pop Up Tent, while I paid more than $100 bucks for the 4-Person Instant Tent, which was about 20 to 30% more expensive, and that’s without the rainfly. I also bought the rainfly separately for another $30 bucks.
Recommendation
Pros and Cons of the Coleman Pop Up Tent
If you’re here looking for a tent that sets up easily, the Coleman Pop Up Tent is, by far, the easiest Coleman tent to set up and pack away.
However, just bear in mind that it does take some practice to get used to the pack up. My first time packing up the Coleman Pop Up Tent, it took me more than 5 tries to get it right. In fact, if you don’t grip it well, it will pop open again.
The Pop Up Tent also has a much lower peak height, fewer storage options, less ventilation, thin fiberglass poles, and does worse in the heavy rain.
It is much less expensive though, so I’d recommend the Coleman Pop Up Tent only if you’re on a budget, and if you’re backyard camping or camping only in fair weather.
Pros and Cons of the Coleman Instant Tent
While the Coleman Instant Tent has some of the same flaws, like not so good rain protection, it could still be salvaged if you’re willing to add seam sealant and use some waterproofing spray.
But unlike the Pop Up Tents, the Instant Tents have a decent peak height and base area, and I also like the cabin shape, the better ventilation, the much thicker steel poles and the double thick tent fabric.
Actually, one more difference is that the Pop Up Tents only come in a 2-person and 4-person size, while the Instant Tent goes all the way up to a 10-Person size.
In fact, I’d recommend the 10-Person Instant Tent for hot summer days instead, because it seriously has tons of hot day ventilation, with windows on every single wall, ceiling mesh, plus blackout fabric to keep you cool in the summer heat.
I could also stand up everywhere inside the tent, and I didn’t have to pay for a separate rainfly, because the rainfly was included in my purchase.
Bonus: Must Read!
To find out how the Pop Up and Instant tents compare against more than 10 other Coleman tents, I highly recommend that you read this blog post: I Tested the 14 BEST Coleman Tents!
