Coleman Montana 6 Person Tent Review (Incredibly Affordable)

This Coleman Montana 6 Person Tent review is about an incredibly popular and affordable single-room extended dome tent for 2-season camping, with 3 windows and one door.

Key features & benefits

What this is about

This Montana 6 tent has been on the market for several years already, incredibly popular from the moment when it appeared. When you see its price you realize why. They also have an 8-person version which has slightly different features.

This is an extended dome construction with the central part under the X-shaped poles plus two poles on the sides. These side poles add lots of volume inside. The picture below shows the tent without the fly so you get some idea about the structure.

This is a single room structure and non-freestanding, it must be staked properly so that the extensions become functional. Note that due to the extensions, you have two side windows, they are angled outwards and partly protected by the fly. Yet another window is on the only door shown above. All the windows are double-layer structures with mesh and zippered panels for rain protection and privacy.

There is an awning which protects the door and its window. The two windbreakers on the sides also protect the door, and they give some protection when you cook in front of the tent.

There are no openings on the back as you can see from the picture below. The fly is a partial coverage type but the walls are with the same waterproofness as the fly.

The tent is with a peak height of 68 inches (173 cm), so it is not a standing height for most people but this is not so bad for a dome tent.

Who is it for

Capacity: So the declared capacity is 6 people, but the area is around 84 ft² (7.8 m²). This means 14 ft² (1.3 m²) per person if used by 6 campers. The dimensions are such that you can put 6 pads on the floor, but to have comfort you should downgrade this number to 3-4 users.

Seasons & climate: The ceiling in this tent is all mesh as you realize from the picture without the fly above. So I would not use it in a cool climate.

On the other hand the fly is not full-coverage and the waterproof rating is not particularly impressive. This all would make it best suited for up to 2-season camping without much rain and wind. Though they claim it is tested to withstand 35+ MPH winds.

Weight: With its 17.05 lb (7.73 kg) this is a reasonably light tent. You will see below how it stands when compared with some of its competitors. But this is not a tent to carry long distances. If you need something of that type for 6 people, please check our list with 6-person backpacking tents.

The packed size 26.3 x 8.6 x 8.4 inches (67 x 22 x 21 cm) is not particularly impressive, but again, this is a car camping tent so this is not a big issue.

Materials

The poles

There are 7 poles here and this is shock-corded fiberglass, not particularly durable but you would not expect something else with such a budget tent. Note that even far more expensive tents come with such poles.

The fabric

The fly and the walls are a 450 mm polyester with what they call WeatherTec system and Polyguard fabric. This included inverted seams which they use in many of their tents, see the picture below. These are fire retardant materials.

The floor is a rugged 1000D polyethylene bathtub style and with welded seams in the corners, see the picture. Such plastic materials are fully waterproof, so you should be fully protected from the groundwater.

Ventilation

I miss seeing some floor vents here, pity they did not add any. This is necessary if you have to keep all the windows closed during long rain intervals.

Other features

• Zippered electrical access port is available, see the picture below.
• Patented pin and ring pole attachment system.
• External guy points.
• Insta-Clip system with clips and continuous pole sleeves for a quick easy set up every time.
• Instructions sewn to carry bag.
• All carry sacks and stakes included.
• Includes flashlight loop on the ceiling.
• 2 Storage pockets to keep your small items organized, one shown below. This is far from enough of course.
• 15 Minutes setup time.
• 1-Year limited warranty.

Specifications

• Declared capacity: 6 people.
• Weight: 17.05 lb (7.73 kg).
• Dimensions: 12 x 7 ft (366 x 213 cm).
• Area: 84 ft² (7.8 m²).
• Area per person: 14 ft² (1.3 m²).
• Packed size: 26.3 x 8.6 x 8.4 in (67 x 22 x 21 cm).
• Peak height: 68 in (173 cm).

Coleman Montana 6 tent vs Mobihome 6 & Core Dome 6 tents

This Montana 6 person tent is similar to the popular Mobihome 6 tent, so I have decided to show them side by side. I add also Core Dome 6 tent which is even more affordable than Montana 6, who would say. It has more floor area but this is just a simple dome with far less volume inside. Please follow the links to read more.

Final thoughts, rating, pros & cons

There are reasons (apart from the price) why this tent is so popular. As of the moment of writing this text there are hundreds of reports by Amazon customers and the rating is very high. Please see how I rate this tent against my standard set of criteria which I use consistently for all the tents here in the site. This allows you to compare them easily.

Coleman Montana 6-Person Tent

7.9

Area per person

7.6/10

Weight

8.0/10

Packed size

7.4/10

Protection

7.8/10

Ease of use

8.4/10

Features

8.0/10

Pros

• Great price.
• It looks cool.
• Simple setup.
• E-cable port.

Cons

• Only one door.
• No floor vents.
• Fiberglass poles.
• Too small for 6 users.

You might want to compare this tent with their another great design, the Coleman Waterfall 5 Deluxe Tent. If you want something in a different style but with the same declared capacity, check this cabin-style GigaTent Six Person Family Tent.

Note that this is not a sponsored text, and I am not paid by the brand. Please use the comment box below in case of questions or comments. Have a nice day.