The Moon Lence 8 Person Tent is large, incredibly affordable and easy to use, with 3 rooms and 2 large doors, suitable for 3 season camping.
Key features & benefits
- Extended dome tent.
- 3 Rooms.
- 2 Doors.
- Incredible price.
What this MOON LENCE 8 Person Tent is about
This tent belongs to the group of extended dome tents, or you can describe it as a dome-tunnel hybrid construction. The meaning is that you have a central dome supported by two X-crossed poles, plus extensions on two sides supported by one extra loop each.
The tent is with three separate rooms, see the picture above. You have one inner tent in each of the mentioned extensions, and a central area that serves as a living room.
Note that the inner tents are with fully sewn-in and sealed floors, but the central area is with a removable floor. This is useful if you use your camping furniture like chairs or camping tables that could damage the floor, or if you cook inside. So the living room is not for sleeping because you do not have full protection from crawling insects.
So the tent is a hybrid single/double layer type. The sleeping areas with inner tents are the double-layer zones and the living room is under the shell/fly. In other words, you can describe it also as a full-coverage fly tent. It is not freestanding but no worry, you have a set of 32 pegs plus 10 guyropes to secure the tent properly.
There are two huge doors in the central living room. The picture below shows how one of the doors looks when fully closed. The tent is tall for such a type, the external peak height is 78.7 inches (200 cm).
Ventilation
The inner tents have mesh sections on the upper parts of their doors, you can see this in the top picture above. The fly/shell goes all the way to the ground, but you still have enough air floor from the ground.
Note that they have added high vents on the rear sides behind the inner tents. So this all should work fine even when you have to keep the tent fully closed in the intervals with rain.
Materials & other features
The poles: This is a budget tent so the poles are fiberglass. This material is commonly used even in much more expensive family camping tents, it is not particularly durable and it needs careful handling. Note that the poles are attached from outside, and you have long sleeves on the canopy.
The good side of this design (that is usually called dry setup) is that you set up the shell first so the inner remains protected.
The fabric: You shell a have that is a 190T polyester, and the floor fabric is 150D. They claim that its waterproof rating is 2000 mm due to a PU coating. In view of its price, it is best to check the seams in the garden and do some sealing if necessary, but they claim that the seams are factory sealed.
There are several wall pockets for storage in each of the inner tents. The pictures here in the text show the tent in two colors that are available.
Who is this tent for
Regarding the capacity, the tent is officially for 8 people. The two sleeping rooms offer 56.8 + 56.8 ft² (5.28 + 5.28 m²), so this means 14 ft² (1.3 m²) per person which is not much. Their dimensions are such that it is possible to put 4 sleeping pads on the floor, but this is still not realistic for camping.
The living room offers around 48 ft² (4.5 m²) of protected area. In view of this, you have around 161 ft² (15 m²) of the total protected space. So indeed, the tent is large, see some numbers below, but I see it best suited for up to 6 people, and ideal for two couples.
Regarding seasons & climate, they describe it as a 3-season tent and I would agree with this. The inner rooms are well protected under the full fly so this is good during cooler nights, and the tent is ventilated enough for warm weather and for summer camping in general.
The long sleeves may be annoying for some users but they spread wind pressure on poles, and such a design is generally good in windy places. It is best to orient the tent with its narrow side facing the wind because it is so tall and large.
Regarding the weight, the tent looks heavy with its 26.45 lb (12 kg), but bear in mind its huge dimensions, so the weight is justified.
On the other hand, its packed size is excellent, it measures 16.9 x 12.8 x 9.8 inches (43 x 33 x 25 cm) when packed in its carry bag.
Regarding the price, this tent is incredibly affordable, and it is hard to find a match.
Specifications
- Official capacity: 8 person.
- Weight: 26.45 lb (12 kg).
- Dimensions: 236 x 98.4 in (600 x 250 cm).
- Sleeping rooms dimensions: 94.5 x 86.6 in (240 x 220 cm) each.
- Sleeping rooms area: 56.8 + 56.8 ft² (5.28 + 5.28 m²).
- Inner sleeping area per person: 14 ft² (1.3 m²).
- Living room: 48 ft² (4.5 m²).
- Total covered area: 161 ft² (15 m²).
- External peak height: 78.7 in (200 cm).
- Packed size: 16.9 x 12.8 x 9.8 in (43 x 33 x 25 cm).
- Poles: fiberglass.
Final thoughts, rating, pros & cons
So this Moon Lence 8 Person Tent is very large and with nice inner organization of space that offers optimal privacy if it is used by two couples or by parents with kids. The tent packs very small for its overall size, and its price per square meter is simply incredible. All in all, if you do not want to break the bank and still to have a good tent for occasional outdoor adventures, this is the one to consider.
Below you can see how this tent stands against my standard set of rating criteria. I use the same criteria for all the tents so you can easily compare.
Moon Lence 8 Person Tent
Pros
- Very compact.
- 3 Rooms.
- Tall tent.
- Great price.
Cons
- Fiberglass poles.
BEST PLACE TO BUY:
For more options in this capacity range please check in the category Tents for 7/8 People, and for tents of this shape check among Dome Tents. See in particular this simple and lightweight Beesky Tent 8 Person, and also this Coleman 8-Person Carlsbad Dark Room Dome Camping Tent with Screen Room that blocks 90% of the sunlight.
Bookmark this site and visit it when you find time, this will keep you informed because I regularly add new tents here. Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below. Thank you for reading.
Any idea of the length on the poles used? I’m just curious because the design is to my liking but I would see a need for better poles to strengthen the structure.
Hi Jonathan, I do not have the tent at hand now and cannot say. If you plan to replace them, you can do this when you order the tent and measure the poles.