ColemanMontana Camping Tent, 6/8 Person Family Tent with Included Rainfly, Carry Bag, and Spacious Interior, Fits Multiple Queen Airbeds and Sets Up in 15 Minutes

This is the first family tent that I've bought other than a backyard pop-up.Size: it fits four people well with air mattresses at either end. I can see fitting 6 people in a row lengthwise, but it's hard to see how 8 people could fit unless no one used air mattresses and you were side by side like sardines.Interior space: The center has a good amount of head space, if you put the sleeping bags at either end, it makes a comfortable space. There is a side pocket on either end to store things and a light hook at each end and in the center.The zip opening for an electric cord is handing, although it would be nice to have one on the other side as you either have to orient the tent towards the outlet or have a long extension cord. I really like the structure to the door.Set up and take down: it's easy to put up once you know where everything goes. There were a couple of steps on the instructions that were a little confusing, basically everything connects to the silver rings. Once you understand that, it's easy.The take down only takes about 5 minutes. The hard part is folding it to get back in the case. The first time we used it, I was able to get the tent back into the case, but there is no way the rain fly was going back in. The second time, I couldn't even get the tent in and zipped. There must be a trick to getting all the air out and it flat enough, but I haven't figured it out yet.Weathering the elements: We've used this twice. The first time, it stood up under very windy conditions. The tents of people around us were collapsing, but this little tent held up to the winds. We haven't used it in rain yet.Edited May 2018: We took this out on a trip in some Houston rains and I didn't notice any leaking at all. Packing up, I asked another camper the trick to getting a tent rolled up tight enough to get it back in the case.The trick is the tent poles.Lay down your tent pole bag at the end of the tent and fold the tent in thirds so that the folded tent is no wider than the tent pole bag.Then place your pole bag at the end of the tent and begin to slowly roll up the tent, allowing the weight of the poles to push the air out of the tent. The experienced camper told me it was important to go slow and not force the air out or it could damage the tent.Since the tent is a rectangular dome, there will be more tent in the center, so you have to be sure to keep folding in the extra as you roll up to it.The trick is when you come to the other end. Since it has a tub bottom, all the air will be pushed ballooning up that waterproof (and airproof) area. There will be no place for the air to escape.To get the last bit of air out, roll back the end you've been rolling over the stakes until you come to the end wall window. Next roll up the end you've been trying to reach, which is ballooned up.So the pole end is just unrolled to the window and the opposite end is rolling TO the window, pushing out all the trapped air. Unroll the end with the poles to the opposite end again. If there is still too much air, repeat until the whole thing will roll flat. I had to do this three times, but in the end everything fit.I was able to fit everything back into the case completely with room to spare.

As an adult who has just recently returned to the world of camping (I am a leader in my son's cub scout pack), I looked at LOTS of tent options before choosing the Coleman Montana 8 person tent. I checked out reviews on Amazon and CampMor, and talked to as many camping enthusiast friends as I could. My first year in scouting, I borrowed a Eureka 2-person tent from our local boy scout troop, which came up to (maybe) my waist, and just barely fit my full-sized air mattress. After struggling to change clothing while lying down (I could barely kneel, let alone stand), and suffering through a fairly sleepless/stuffy night in the Eureka tent, I decided that the following features were necessary for comfortable camping:1. The ability to stand up fully. This meant that any tent I chose had to have a center height of at least 72", preferably more (my husband is 6 feet tall, and if I ever want him to join us camping, the tent needs to work for him too. The Montana 8 has a center height of 84" (7 feet).2. Room for gear and at least two full/queen sized air mattresses. Although the Montana 8 states that there's room for 8 people, the diagram shows these 8 people sleeping in mummy bags very close together. From a comfort perspective, this tent will hold 4-5 people (and their gear) at a maximum, without feeling overly crowded. For the three of us, this fits the bill nicely.3. Intuitive and easy to set up and take down. While I like camping, I am not an avid camper. Finding a tent that can be set up (and taken down) with only help from a 9 year old was key, and this fits the bill nicely.4. Good cross-ventilation. After sleeping in a stuffy tent once, I didn't want to repeat the experience. Three windows (the two side windows and the door window) can be rolled down to allow for good air flow and ventilation. We rolled the windows down 1/3 of the way, which provided a very comfortable cross-breeze while sleeping.5. Waterproof with a bathtub floor. Many of the reviewers stated that they had no problems with leaks along the seams without using any waterproofing sealant. After talking with others and reading some recommendations, I used the Kiwi Camp Dry Heavy Duty Water Repellent to spray the seams prior to our first use, as added protection. We had some light rain during the evening, and much heavier rain the next morning, and the inside of the tent stayed bone dry.6. Quality. I wanted a tent that would stand up to occasional car camping trips, without having to be replaced on a regular basis. Coleman is a recognized brand, and after talking with folks who own Coleman tents and reading the reviews, I was convinced that this tent would be a good one for our family. So far, I'm pleased!6. Price. Given that we don't do a lot of camping, I didn't want to spend hundreds on a tent. I purchased the Montana 8 in Blue (not the Elite) from Amazon in mid-May 2015, and paid $136.48; a surprisingly low price for this particular tent model/size.Some nice features that this tent offers (that weren't on my list of must-haves):1. A port for electrical/extension cords. While this tent does not have electricity, it does include a port near the door that allows campers to run an extension cord into the tent (for use with lanterns, fans, etc.)2. A covered entry area. I looked at tents that had screened in areas, but opted for this one instead, choosing to have the extra room inside the tent rather than in a screened area. I had two camp chairs outside - in the evening, when it started to rain, I placed the camp chairs under the front rain fly "awning", on either side of the door. Despite the rain, the chairs stayed mostly dry, with only a few drops of water on them.3. A "D door". This door has a pole that threads around the D curve, and another one at the hinge axis, which means that the door can function as a real door in terms of opening/closing, rather than a door that must be zipped open and closed. While there are Velcro closures around the D curve, we found that to keep insects from getting in we still had to zip it shut. However, we liked the easy entry!All in all, my family and I are very pleased with our new tent, and look forward to many years of use!

I've used lots of tents over the years, going all the way back to the old canvas ones. This tent has held up really well through two severe weather trips so far and that's enough to get a good review from me.We camped 5 nights, 4th of July weekend, and it rained most of the time. By week's end, we were praising this tent. We stayed damp or wet all week, but not because of the tent. It held up really well, against not only torrential rain, but Georgia tornado weather. The wind was probably gusting around 50-60+ mph at one point...bad enough to yank our 10x10 canopy up and twist the frame like a pretzel, but the modified dome shape of this tent held up without any problems; just shook a lot. I agree with the comment about the door zipper though...it does tend to get hard to zip at about the half-way point and I worry about that ripping one day.My wife and I had plenty of room and decent headroom too. I wouldn't expect to put 6 people in there unless you line them up like sardines maybe...more like decent room for 2 adults and 2 kids.My favorite part of the tent is the fly/vestibule area. It give an additional barrier zone from the rain and is a pretty good place for shoes, when it's not raining sideways.Overall, it's a great tent; especially for the price.Small warning: it's not hard to set up if you know what you're doing, but don't make the mistake of learning that in the rain. It's not easy like a dome tent. You will need the instructions...but they won't tell you that one of the black poles is shorter than the other two. It is for the fly and if you're in a hurry to set up, that can really slow you down.