I Tested the Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent (Review)
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.
Rating and Summary
The Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent is one of the best instant tents I’ve used so far. The set up is extremely fast and user-friendly, and even the pack up is easy. The quality, design and features in this tent are also phenomenal, from the 3 pole hubs and extended eaves, to a whopping 3 doors and even a full-length, full-privacy divider.
The biggest catch is portability though, because instant tents have a much bigger packed size than traditional tents of the same size. But in my opinion, I’d gladly take the bigger packed size if that means a much easier set up.
If you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel right here:
Check out the Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent:
RELATED: The 7 Best Instant Tents, the 6 Best 10-Person Tents
Product Details
Hereโs what weโll discuss here:
- Unboxing
- In the Box
- Specifications
Unboxing
I bought this Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent from Amazon, and here’s what the outer cardboard packaging looked like:
Also, here’s a picture of my brother and I removing the tent from the packaging:
In the Box
Inside the package, I got the tent body, the rainfly, and 15 steel stakes.
The steel poles of the tent are all pre-attached, so are all the pole clips, and the 6 guylines.
Specifications
Hereโs all the data (including my personal measurements) that I gathered on this Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent:
- Peak height: 77.5 inches
- Lowest height: 61 inches
- Longest Length: 13 feet 7 inches
- Longest Width: 10 feet
- Base Area: 135.8 square feet
- Floor material: Polyethylene
- Bathtub Flooring: 5 inches
- Tent body material: 68D Polyester (800mm)
- Rainfly material: 68D Polyester (800mm)
- Poles material: Steel (Pre-attached)
- Mesh: No-see-um
- Packed size: 50 by 17 by 12 inches
- Weight: 32.8 pounds
- Number of guylines: 6
- Number of stakes: 15
- Number of windows: 3
- Number of doors: 3
- Number of vents: 1
- Number of pockets: 2
- Number of gear lofts: None
- Number of lantern loops: 4
- Room divider: Yes (1), Pre-attached
- E-port: Yes (1)
- Black-out: No
I also did some testing on my own, and came up with this data:
- Set up timing (2 people): 6 minutes
- Set up timing (1 person): 12 minutes
- Take down timing (2 people): 4.25 minutes
- Take down timing (1 person): 8.5 minutes
- Number of single sleeping pads: 10
- Number of queen-sized mattresses: 4
I go through all the above specifications in the sections below, in more detail, if youโre interested.
Testing and Performance
I put the Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent through these 7 tests:
- Ease of Use
- Spaciousness
- Comfort & Features
- Ventilation
- Rain Protection
- Quality
- Portability
Hereโs how the Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent performed.
Ease of Use
For ease of use, I looked at how easily I could set up, as well as take down and pack up, this Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent. I did this on my own, so 1 person, and also, I tested this with 2 people as well.
How to Set Up
To set up this Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Tent, first unfold the tent body until it lays flat on the ground. The tent should be mostly flat on the ground, except for the black middle or center hub.
After that, pull the tent upward using the 3 center hubs, where multiple poles are connected together. Each hub will look something like this (this is the hub on the left side):
After pulling on the hubs, pull outward on the 6 elbow joints with the red-colored extended tips (which are also the extended eaves):
After pulling on both the hubs and elbow joints, your tent should look like this.
Next, extend all the 6 telescoping wall poles by pulling them apart until you hear the button clicking into place.
When you hear the click, the button should also pop out, and thatโs when you know the pole is fully extended.
After that, drape the rainfly over the tent.
Tip: Iโve found it a bit confusing to put up, so I recommend laying it on the ground first, to make sure you’ve got the right position before putting it up. Take note of the 2 logos on the rainfly (one should go on the extreme left of the front of the tent, while the other should go on the extreme left of the side of the tent).
Once youโve got the right rainfly position, secure the 6 hooks of the rainfly to the 6 loops on the base of the tent.
Also, clip the 6 pole clips of the rainfly to the 6 steel wall poles, and secure each eave in place with the Velcro attachment.
Finally, stake out the tent. Use 3 stakes for the front, 2 stakes for the ground vent, 1 stake for the side, 3 stakes for the back, and 6 stakes for the 6 pre-attached guylines.
Set Up Timing
Itโll take about 6 minutes for 2 people to set up this Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Tent. If you set the tent up on your own, itโll take about 12 minutes. (I had trouble draping the rainfly over the tent because I’m only 5’3″ though.)
How to Take Down
The take down process is the exact reverse of the set up. Just note that to retract the 6 telescoping wall poles, you’d have to press the yellow button (pictured earlier), and push the pole downwards.
Also, to pack up, fold the tent body up towards the last standing center hub:
After that, stuff it back into the carry bag, with the last standing center hub down the length of the carry bag (while pushing air out):
Take Down Timing
Taking down the Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent and then packing it up takes about 4.25 minutes for 2 people, and about 8.5 minutes on my own.
If you want more detailed or visual instructions on how to set up, take down, and pack up this Outdoor Products Tent, you can check out this YouTube video that I uploaded:
Spaciousness
For spaciousness, I looked at the peak height, slope of the walls, and base area of the tent.
Peak Height
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent has a peak height of 77.5 inches, and I can reach the top of the tent by stretching my arm out.
Lowest Height
The lowest height in the tent, which is at the four corners, is about 61 inches.
Iโm about 5’3″ (so 63 inches) tall, so I could stand up almost everywhere inside this Outdoor Products Tent, except for the 4 corners.
Dimensions
The length of the Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent is about 13 feet and 7 inches, while the width is about 10 feet, so slightly smaller than the marketed dimensions in terms of length (which is supposed to be 14 by 10 feet).
Also, thereโs no vestibule, so if you leave your shoes out, it will get wet if it rains.
Mattress Sizing
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent can accommodate 10 single sleeping pads or sleeping bags, and hereโs what having 10 pads in this 10-person tent looks like:
To accommodate 10 people in this tent, itโs almost shoulder-to-shoulder sleeping, although thereโs some space down the middle width for just a tiny bit of camping gear.
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent can also fit 4 queen-sized camping mattresses, and hereโs what the tent looks like with these 4 mattresses:
The mattresses that I used in this tent are slightly smaller than queen size, but almost queen-sized (give or take a few inches).
These 4 mattresses take up almost the entire tent, though thereโs a tiny space down the middle of the length if I push all the mattresses to the side as much as I can.
Comfort and Features
For comfort and features, I looked at the windows, doors, bug nets, and more.
Windows
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent has 3 windows on the right side of the tent, excluding the 3 doors on the left side of the tent:
Each of these windows measures about 42 inches in length by 20 inches in width. This is the longest length and the longest width of each window.
Each window has 2 zippers, which are pretty much snag-free.
If thereโs no rain, you can unzip the windows for more ventilation, and thereโs a bug net to prevent bugs from getting in.
This is no-see-um-mesh, so you donโt have to worry about any bugs getting in at all.
Doors
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent has 3 doors. One is this huge double door, or T-door, which measures about 72 by 51 inches in dimensions.
The T-door is about 58 inches from the floor to the top of the door, so almost full-sized, but I do need to duck a little when entering.
Hereโs what this T-door looks like in comparison to my size. It’s almost 3 times as big as me:
To the left and right of this T-door, we have the other 2 smaller side doors.
Both side doors are exactly the same, both measuring about 55 by 47 inches in dimensions, so about double my size:
Both side doors are also about 58 inches from the floor to the top of the door. This is the same as the T-door, and I do also need to duck a little when entering.
All 3 doors have no-see-um bug nets, spanning about half the length of each door, and I really enjoyed having tons of bug-free ventilation.
If there are no bugs though, I like to unzip all the doors and leave them open.
For the double door, or T-door, just roll back the 2 sides of the door, and clip both to the sides, 1 clip on each side, like this.
For the 2 smaller side doors, also roll up the door and clip it to the top with these 2 clips or latches.
The double T-door has 3 zippers for the door, while the smaller side doors have 2 zippers each for the door.
Both doors can be zipped up from the outside and the inside.
I found that the smaller side doors tend to snag because of the rain cover on the outside. Also, after it rains, and you open the side doors, the door will droop back into the tent and drip water at the entrance.
Also, if you donโt want to keep having to zip the T-door up, it also comes with a Velcro closure for easier access.
Room Divider
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent comes with a pre-attached room divider, so you can split the tent into 2 rooms.
Each โroomโ can fit either 5 sleeping pads or sleeping bags, or 2 queen-sized beds.
One of the rooms will have 3 windows, while the other room will have 3 doors. (The picture above shows the room with 3 doors. I was taking the picture through the T-door.)
The divider has a zip in the middle so that you can access either room, and you can also pull back the sides of the divider if you donโt want to use it.
You can also fit just 1 or 2 queen-sized beds in one โroomโ, and use the other as a living room, or something like that.
What I really like about this pre-attached divider is that it provides quite a bit of privacy.
The divider is completely full length, so there are no gaps, not even at the bottom like some of my other tents.
Itโs also not very see-through, which is really nice, although itโs not completely opaque, especially if youโre right up close to the divider.
Storage
There are 2 pockets in the entire tent, both measuring about 47 by 7 inches, so not the smallest that Iโve seen, but I still expected more pockets for such a large tent.
There are 4 lantern loops in the tent, with 2 lantern loops in each room, if you use the divider.
1 lantern loop in each room is in the middle of the room (see the previous picture), and the other 1 loop is near the divider (see the below picture).
Other Features
Also, thereโs 1 e-port at the middle of the tent with a Velcro closure.
Ventilation
For ventilation, I looked at the ceiling mesh, window and door mesh panels, vents, and rainy day options.
Ceiling Mesh
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent has a lot of mesh on the roof of the tent.
The rainfly is removable from the outside, and you can stargaze when itโs not raining. I really enjoy lying down in the tent and watching it turn dark during sunset.
Window + Door Mesh
Apart from the roof, the mesh on the 3 doors are extra-large, so thereโs quite a bit of ventilation through the 3 doors even if they arenโt open fully. The other 3 windows are not very big though.
Vents
Thereโs 1 ground vent in this Outdoor Products Tent, which is extra-large and measures about 59 inches in length and 11 inches in width.
Rainy Day Options
I really like the 6 extended eaves of this Outdoor Products 10-person tent, which hold the rainfly away from the tent body.
So, when itโs raining, the water avoids most of the window mesh, and you can probably crack them open a bit. This is the benefit of the extended eaves:
However, notice that because the rainfly is quite small (its main purpose is to protect the ceiling mesh from rain), it provides only partial protection for the tent.
As such, in heavy rain and especially when thereโs wind (which can blow the water into your mesh panels), itโs best to keep them fully closed because the rain will hit the mesh and drip into your tent if you leave them open.
Thankfully, because of the ground vent, thereโs at least some ventilation while itโs raining, even if all the windows are closed. This is because air can flow in through the ground vent and be pushed out through the ceiling mesh. Not a lot of ventilation, but better than nothing, I guess.
Weather Protection
For weather resistance, I looked at rain and wind protection.
Rain Test
It did not rain while I was filming this Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent, so I had to make do with this water hose:
I think this can be considered to be somewhat moderate (maybe even heavy) rainfall. I did this for an hour, and concentrated the rainfall on the front of the tent.
After about 15 minutes of rainfall, I noticed that there was leaking through this seam:
This seam connects the yellow fabric of the tent body to the bathtub flooring, because it hasnโt been seam taped or sealed. This is an inverted seam, but in my experience, inverted seams never worked to prevent leaking.
I also noticed a little bit of leaking through the side door in the front of the tent that I put through the moderate/heavy rainfall. It was leaking a little bit through the zip.
There was no leaking through the T-door at the side of the tent, and it had extra fabric here to catch water in case it leaks in.
After an hour of rainfall, apart from the seam leaking, none of the tent body or bathtub flooring was wet. (Note: Although the lighter green fabric at the bottom of the tent here was also still dry, but it felt almost wet. I think 1 hour might be the limit for heavy rainfall.)
When I put this Outdoor Products Tent through 1 hour of light rain, not even the un-taped seam was leaking.
So basically, this Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent is great in light rain, with no leaks at all, but in moderate to heavy rainfall, youโd need to seal this inverted seam.
For more info on the rain protection of this Outdoor Products Tent, you can check out this video that I uploaded here:
Wind Protection
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent was able to stand up to light winds when staked down, but I donโt think itโll do very well against strong wind, because this is a cabin tent with almost vertical sidewalls:
Without the stakes, even light breeze or wind can pick up this cabin tent and blow it away.
If youโre expecting stronger winds, you might need to change out the stakes as well.
Quality
For quality, I looked at the flooring, the main tent, stitching, and more.
Flooring
The flooring of this Outdoor Products Tent is made of polyethylene.
The bathtub feature extends up to about 5 inches, which I find very useful especially during heavy rains and light flooding.
Tent and Rainfly
The main tent body and rainfly are made of 68D polyester with 800mm of water resistance, which was enough to keep the tent fabric dry from the inside after an hour of moderate to heavy rain.
Stitching
I found the stitching to be pretty good quality and consistent, with no obvious holes or light coming through any of the stitching.
The stitching at the top of one of the doors was not that great, but itโs not a major thing (at least to me).
Zippers
The zippers worked fine for the windows, but snagged on the side doors because of the rain cover. The T-door was fine though, without any snagging.
Mesh
The mesh is no-see-um mesh, itโs great quality and feels really smooth and silky. If Iโm not wrong, the storage pockets also feel equally soft and silky so I think theyโre no-see-um mesh too.
Poles
The poles of this Outdoor Products Instant Tent are all pre-attached and made of steel. So, putting it up and taking it down was very easy, and because theyโre made of steel, they felt pretty sturdy.
Stakes
The 15 steel stakes that came with the tent are just your standard tent stakes.
Guylines
I had no issues with the guylines, and they seem to be reflective at night.
Carry Bag
Iโm not sure what material the carry bag is made of, but it feels good quality, and it was actually pretty easy getting the entire tent, poles and all, back into the bag.
Portability
This Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent has a packed size of 50 by 17 by 12 inches. For a size comparison, hereโs what it looks like beside a Coleman 2-Person Sundome Tent, as well as a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle:
Oh, and it weighs about 32.8 pounds for everything.
Pros and Cons
Pros
For pros, this Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent has an extremely easy and fast set up. (I did have a little trouble getting the rainfly up because Iโm not tall at 5’3″, but if youโre slightly taller it should be a breeze.)
Even packing the tent up was easy, and air didnโt get trapped inside when stuffing it back into the bag.
The next pro is that the instant tent mechanism is high quality, with 3 center hubs for more livable space, and even these extended eaves that hold the rainfly away from the tent body, so you can crack the windows open a little when itโs raining.
Speaking of rain, I also tested this Outdoor Products Tent through 1 hour of light rain, and there were no leaks at all.
On top of that, this Outdoor Products Tent has awesome features, like a whopping 3 doors, 1 of which is this huge T-door, and even this full-length room divider for privacy.
The quality is also superb, from its consistent stitching to silky no-see-um mesh.
Cons
As for cons, I think the biggest one has got to be portability. Instant tents have a much bigger packed size than regular traditional tents.
Hereโs what the Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Tent looks (~50 inches long) like compared to regular 10-person tents (~30 inches long). Quite a bit bigger, huh?
Itโs so long that it even comes with 2 additional buckles on the carry bag to secure the tent together.
Also, some smaller cons are that the zippers do snag on the side doors because of the rain cover, and also all 3 doors are on the same side of the divider.
Recommendation
Overall, I felt that the pros greatly outweighed the cons, and I would gladly take the bigger packed size if that means a much easier set up.
If youโre looking for a 10-person tent, and your priority is an easy set up and pack up, this Outdoor Products 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent is definitely the best tent for you.
Bonus: Must Read!
How do I know that this Outdoor Products Tent is the best instant 10-person tent? Well, Iโve already done the comparison for you, in this blog post right here, where I bought, tested and compared 6 of the best 10-person tents.
Or this other blog post where I bought 7 instant tents and tested them all against each other.
Or, check out the Outdoor Products 10-Person Tent: