Bushnell Instant Pop-Up 8-Person Tent

The Bushnell Instant Pop-Up 8-Person Tent is a very tall and pleasant 2-room cabin style freestanding tent with numerous mesh windows and with excellent ventilation.

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Key features & benefits

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What this is about

This Bushnell Instant Pop-Up 8-Person Tent is the largest from their Preserve Series. On the site of the brand, this tent is under the name Preserve Series 8 Person Instant Cabin Tent, just to know to avoid confusion. The name in the title is used by various sellers.

The tent is very tall, the peak height is 78 inches (198 cm), so this is a stand-up height for most of users. The walls on the longer sides expand outside, so with all this you have plenty of volume inside, more than you would expect from its actual floor size. See how the tent looks without the fly.

The structure is symmetric, with two large and almost completely vertical doors on the two narrow sides, one is visible above. There is a dividing wall inside with a large inner door:

Below you can see how it looks when the inner door is rolled up and when both external doors are open and fixed to the sides. 

The external doors are double layer with mesh and with panels, so you can close them fully for privacy and when it rains or when you feel cold. This means that each of them has two mesh windows.

But there are 8 separate windows on those side panels, all with mesh and zippered panels. The picture below shows how these windows look from inside when they are with zipped panels.

There are small awnings above the doors, and they are supported with extra poles. So they only partly protect the doors. Pity they did not make them larger, two poles are added extra for almost nothing.

Note that the fly is a partial coverage type, it protects the ceiling only, and it attaches with buckles to the tent’s base.

The tent as a whole is fully freestanding, you can move it and rotate even when the fly is on. But you have stakes and guylines included, so do not miss securing it to the ground. 

Semi-instant design

The title includes the word Instant, this is a part of the tent’s official name. This means that most of the frame is pre-attached to the tent. This includes 6 panels with sewn-in X-crossed poles. The structure is similar to what you have seen in Gazelle tents.

So when you unfold the tent, you simply pull those orange loops out, and the corresponding panel will pop out. You repeat this with all four of them on the side walls and two on the ceiling.

But there are several extra poles that must be added. These include poles for the two doors, and also awning poles. So in my view, it is best to describe it as semi-instant because you still have plenty of work to do after you expand those 6 hubs.

Other details

• The tent comes with two removable gear lofts, one per room, to keep you stuff off ground. They are visible in the pictures above.
• You also have a cable port for external power to use if available in the camp.
• There are two storage sets on the inner wall, and this is for each of the rooms.

Materials

The poles: You have a combination of fiberglass in those side and ceiling hubs and steel in legs poles. 

The fabric: The tent body and fly are a strong 210D 100% polyester with a 2000 mm water resistance. The floor is even stronger 300D polyester with the same rating. All these elements are flame-resistant. The seams are fully taped.

Note that the floor is not removable, so this is different from the mentioned Gazelle tents.

Ventilation

The ceiling of this tent is all mesh, you have seen this in the picture without the fly. You also have those numerous windows everywhere around.

But they have added 4 separate floor vents, and the fly is also raised by stiffeners that create some sort of roof vents, see them below.

This means that you can always have vertical air circulation and vapor can easily escape in various ways. So if you want a tent with perfect ventilation, this is it. 

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Who is it for

Regarding the area, the tent is officially for 8 people and it offers 110 ft² (10.2 m²) of the floored space. The dimensions are such that it is possible to put 8 sleeping pads on the floor, but this is not realistic for true camping.

So the tent is not particularly big for 8 people, and it is best to downgrade the number of users to 6 maximum. Note that there are no vestibules for storage. See how it looks in the camp.

Regarding seasons & climate, they describe it as a 3-season tent and this is indeed so. Note that such a design with hubs on the ceiling cannot support much of extra weight. So in the case of pressure from above it may collapse. This is good to know to avoid places with possible snow accumulation on the roof.

The shape is very boxy so it is not best suited for windy conditions, bear this also in mind. But for warm weather camping where you need plenty of ventilation, it is simply excellent.

Regarding the weight, this tent is quite heavy with its 47 lb (21.3 kg). Surprisingly, this is exactly the same weight as the mentioned Gazelle T8 tent. They also have the same floor area, most likely come from the same factory.

Perhaps more important is its packed size because it is very long when packed, see below how it looks in its carry bag. So you will need lots of space to transport this tent.

Regarding the price, the tent is quite expensive. But the same holds for its closest competitor from Gazelle. These are not ordinary tents. 

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Specifications

• Weight: 47 lb (21.3 kg).
• Official capacity: 8 people.
• Dimensions: 168 x 94 in (427 x 239 cm).
• Inner area: 110 ft² (10.2 m²).
• Inner area per person: 13.7 ft² (1.27 m²).
• Peak height: 78 in (198 cm).
• Packed size: 63 x 11 x 11 in (160 x 28 x 28 cm).

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Final thoughts, rating, pros & cons

Below you can see how this tent stands against my standard rating criteria that I apply consistently to all of them here in the site so that you can easily compare:

 

BEST PLACEs TO BUY:

Bass Pro Shops

Amazon

Cabela’s
Bushnell

For more tents of this shape please check in the category Cabin Tents. Check also its smallest 6-person cousin. But if you want something different, see this Cedar Ridge Ironwood Two Room Tent which is also for 8 people.

Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below. Bookmark this site and come again, this will keep you informed, as you realize I add texts here on a regular basis. Thank you for reading.