Coleman tents · Vs review

Coleman WeatherMaster Tent V.S. Montana Tent (I Bought BOTH!)

My biggest Coleman tent against my 8-person one: 14 side-by-side tests.

This page contains affiliate links, and that means that I may earn a commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you. You can find my full disclosure policy here.

My overall pick
The author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent

Coleman WeatherMaster 10Steel poles

7.7/ 10
  • Set up19 min
  • Peak80.5 in
  • Base area143.6 sq ft
  • Weight30.6 lbs
AmazonDick’sColeman
The budget pick — and it has a porch
The author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent

Coleman Montana 8Half the price, has a porch

6.8/ 10
  • Set up22 min
  • Peak74 in
  • Base area103.5 sq ft
  • Weight23.4 lbs
AmazonDick’sColeman

The short answer

The WeatherMaster is the better tent. The Montana is the better bargain.

The WeatherMaster pitches faster despite being bigger, has steel poles instead of fiberglass, the highest peak height of all 14 of my Coleman tents at 80.5 inches, 40% more floor, a second door, a room divider, twice the pockets and more than twice the ventilation. It also weighs 30% more, packs 40% bigger, and costs at least $100 more. If the budget is tight, the Montana is still a lot of tent for the money, and it has the porch.

Side by side

Where they actually differ

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
My score7.7 / 106.8 / 10
Set up (1 person)19 minutesThe bigger tent, and still faster22 minutes
Take down16 minutesSimply more stuff to repack14.5 minutes
PolesSteelSturdier, thicker, easier to propFiberglassNarrow and wobbly to raise alone
Peak height80.5 inchesThe highest of my 14 Coleman tents74 inchesSame as my Sundome 6
Headroom away from the peakStand almost anywhere61 inches, 3 steps out
Longest length x width16 ft 8 in x 9 ft 1 in15 ft 4 in x 6 ft 9 in
Total base area143.6 square feet40% bigger103.5 square feet
Sleeping pads10With space left over8Nothing spare
Queen beds3Plus room for gear3Nothing spare
Front porchNoYes103 x 32 inches
Doors21 hinged, 1 regular1Hinged
Room divider1Gappy at the edges0
Pockets42
E-ports / lantern loops1 / 11 / 1
Hot day ventilation5,500 square inches6 windows + roof mesh2,200 square inches3 small windows
Rainy day ventilation2,100 square inches2 angled windows stay openNoneNo window opens in rain
Rain testAbout 15 minutesAbout 15 minutes
Fabric68 / 75D polyester68 / 75D polyester
Packed size31 by 18 by 12 inchesAbout 40% bigger26 by 15 by 12 inches
Weight30.6 lbsAbout 30% heavier23.4 lbs
What I paidClose to $300About half that

✓ = the better result, from my own testing of both tents. Both leak at about 15 minutes through the bathtub flooring seam; seal it and either should manage a couple of hours of heavy rain.

Which applies to you?

Get this one if…

Get the WeatherMaster if…

  • You want to stand up: 80.5 inches, and almost anywhere in the tent.
  • You want the space: 143.6 square feet, 10 pads with room over.
  • You want steel poles. Mine have survived 3 to 4 years unbroken.
  • You want ventilation that works in rain: 2 angled windows that stay open.

Get the Montana if…

  • You're on a tight budget. It's about half the price.
  • You want the front porch; the WeatherMaster has none.
  • You're carrying it: 23.4 lbs against 30.6.
  • You want the smaller pack: 40% less bulk.
The author with her Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent and her Coleman Montana 8 Tent.
My WeatherMaster 10 and my Montana 8.
Video: Coleman WeatherMaster vs Montana

If you prefer watching to reading, check out my video here instead.

See the 13 tests
  1. Set Up
  2. Take Down
  3. Peak Height & Livable Space
  4. Base Area
  5. Front Porch
  6. Doors
  7. Room Divider
  8. Storage
  9. Hot Day Ventilation
  10. Rainy Day Ventilation
  11. Heavy Rain Test
  12. Weight & Packed Size
  13. Price

Set Up

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Set up (1 person)19 minutes22 minutes
PolesSteel, thick and sturdyFiberglass, narrow and wobbly
Pole structure3 curved poles in sleeves + 6 side poles2 long poles propped one at a time

The bigger tent is the quicker one, which surprised me too. Two reasons. First the poles: the WeatherMaster's steel poles are thicker and sturdier, which makes propping the tent up much easier, while the Montana's narrow fiberglass poles are wobbly and, at 5'3", a genuine struggle on my own.

Second the structure. The WeatherMaster's three curved poles go into sleeves across the width, six more attach at the sides, and then you prop the middle pole and the two beside it and the tent is essentially standing.

The installed pole structure of the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
Three curved poles plus six at the sides.
The author propping up the long black fiberglass poles of her Coleman Montana 8 Tent.
The Montana's two long poles, one at a time.

Take Down

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Take down16 minutesMore stuff to fit back in14.5 minutes
Expandable carry bagYesYes

Both bags have the bottom strip you can rip out to expand them, and I ripped both. The WeatherMaster still takes longer. There's simply more of it, and even expanded the bag is a tight fit.

The author packing up her Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
Still a tight fit, bag expanded.
The author ripping out the strip at the bottom of a Coleman tent carry bag to expand it.
Rip this strip out on both.

Peak Height & Livable Space

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Peak height80.5 inchesHighest of my 14 Coleman tents74 inches
Reaching the ceilingTiptoes and a stretched armStanding comfortably
Headroom 3 steps from the peakStand almost anywhere61 inches, head in the mesh

The Montana's 74 inches is fine. I stand upright under it, but it's nothing special; my 6-person Sundomes have exactly the same peak. And it's only at the centre: three steps toward the sides and my head is in the ceiling mesh, which droops to about 61 inches.

The WeatherMaster doesn't do that. Its three-pole structure holds the height out across the tent, so I can stand almost everywhere except a small triangular space at the sides.

The author on tiptoes stretching to reach the top of her Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
Tiptoes and a stretch at 80.5 inches.
The author's head touching the ceiling mesh three steps from the peak of her Coleman Montana 8 Tent.
Three steps out in the Montana.
The small triangular space at the side of the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent where she cannot stand.
The only bit of the WeatherMaster I can't stand in.

Base Area

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Longest length16 feet 8 inches15 feet 4 inches
Longest width9 feet 1 inch6 feet 9 inches
Total base area143.6 square feet40% bigger103.5 square feet
Sleeping pads10A little space left over8No leftover space
Queen beds3Plus room for gear3No leftover space

Forty percent more floor. The WeatherMaster took ten pads with space to spare; the Montana took eight with none. Both cap out at three queen beds. The WeatherMaster's base isn't a neat rectangle so a fourth won't fit, but the WeatherMaster still has gear space left after those three.

Ten regular sleeping pads inside the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
Ten pads, still room over.
Eight sleeping pads side by side inside the author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent.
Eight pads fill the Montana exactly.

Front Porch

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Front porchNoYes103 inches long, 32 inches wide

Montana only. It shades a useful area for gear, it kept my flip flops cool rather than superheating them, and it's the one thing I miss on the WeatherMaster.

The front porch of the author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent.
The Montana's porch, 103 by 32 inches.

Doors

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Doors2One at each length1
Hinged doorYesThe front oneYes
Second doorRegular, zips and 2 latchesNone

Both have the same hinged D-door at the front, and it needs two extra fiberglass poles in the door sleeves either way. The WeatherMaster adds a second, regular door at the back: zips and two latches rather than a hinge. I find it odd that a tent as big as the Montana has only one door.

The author tying open the regular back door of her Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
The WeatherMaster's second door.
The hinged door of the author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent.
The Montana's only door.

Room Divider

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Room divider10
Each room fits5 pads, or 1 queen + a pad—
Divider qualityGaps at both sides, top and bottom—

The WeatherMaster splits into two rooms, each with its own door. One gets the hinged front, the other the back. Each room takes five pads, or a queen plus a pad. The divider itself could be better made though: there are sizeable gaps at both sides, along the top and along the bottom.

A queen bed and an additional sleeping pad in one room of the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent, divided.
One room: a queen plus a pad.

Storage

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Pockets42 each side2
E-ports11
Lantern loops1Dead centre, at the top1Dead centre, at the top

Same e-port and lantern loop on both. The WeatherMaster doubles the pockets.

Two of the four pockets inside the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
Two of the WeatherMaster's four.
One of the two pockets inside the author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent.
One of the Montana's two.

Hot Day Ventilation

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Window ventilation5,500 square inches2,200 square inchesLess than half
Windows6All round the tent3Not very big
Roof meshLotsA decent amount

I measured every single window. The WeatherMaster comes out at about 5,500 square inches against the Montana's 2,200, less than half. I still don't know why Coleman left the Montana's last wall without a window.

The six windows around the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
Six windows plus roof mesh.
The blank wall of the author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent with no window.
The Montana's wall with nothing in it.

Rainy Day Ventilation

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Rainy day ventilation2,100 square inchesNone
Windows open in heavy rain2Angled; zip shut from inside if windy0Not angled, they drench

This is the widest gap on the page. The WeatherMaster's two big angled windows stayed open through light, moderate and heavy rain, and I can zip them shut from inside if the wind gets up. The Montana's side windows aren't angled at all. The whole window got drenched in my heavy rain test, so nothing can be left open and ventilation is effectively nil.

One of the two big angled windows of the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent, open in the rain.
Angled, and still open in heavy rain.
A drenched window on the author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent during a rain test.
The Montana's, drenched.

Heavy Rain Test

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Time to first leakAbout 15 minutesAbout 15 minutes
Where it leakedThe front, very short rainflyThe widths, no rainfly cover at all

A tie. Both look like they have decently long rainflies until you check the edges: the Montana's widths aren't covered at all, and that's where it leaked; the WeatherMaster's fly extends at the sides but is very short at the front, and that's where it leaked. Seam-seal the bathtub flooring seam on either and you should get a couple of hours.

The short rainfly at the front of the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
The WeatherMaster's short front fly.
The author's Coleman Montana 8 Tent under heavy rain with its widths uncovered by the rainfly.
The Montana's uncovered widths.

Weight & Packed Size

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
Weight30.6 lbsAbout 30% heavier23.4 lbs
Packed size31 by 18 by 12 inchesAbout 40% bigger26 by 15 by 12 inches

All those extra features and materials cost about 30% in weight and 40% in packed bulk. This is the WeatherMaster's first real con.

The packed size of the author's Coleman WeatherMaster 10 Tent.
31 by 18 by 12 inches of tent.

Price

MeasuredWeatherMaster 10Montana 8
What I paidClose to $300About half thatSlightly over $100

And the second con: the WeatherMaster costs at least $100 more.

My recommendation

I'm a huge fan of my WeatherMaster over the Montana: a lot of pros and relatively few cons. It doesn't take long to set up, and once I'd broken it in I could pitch it alone with no trouble. Its steel poles have gone 3 to 4 years without a single break. It has the highest peak height of all 14 of my Coleman tents, much better livable space, a significantly bigger base area, an extra door, a room divider, more storage, and hot- and rainy-day ventilation that blows the Montana out of the water.

Its two real downsides are the packed size and weight (all those features and materials add up) and the price, which is at least $100 more. Overall the WeatherMaster is the better tent and I'd recommend it for sure.

That said, if you're on a tight budget the Montana is still a great pick. It's a decent-quality family camping tent for slightly over $100. You'd be hard pressed to beat that. And it has the nice little porch the WeatherMaster doesn't. Full reviews: the WeatherMaster 10 and the Montana 8.

Bonus: To see how the WeatherMaster and Montana compare against my 12 other Coleman tents, read the post where I bought and tested the best Coleman tents.

See all my Coleman tents

Every figure on this page comes from my own measurements of the tents I bought and tested.

Similar Posts