Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

Love to Camp? I’d Rather GLAMP.

By

There is absolutely NOTHING about camping that appeals to me.

(I’ll pause while fellow Canadians draw a sharp intake of breath. Yes, it’s scandalous, I know. So while I’m at it, I also dislike beavers, toques and totem poles.)

A few years ago, before little boys and toys were even a thought, a couple of friends asked my husband and I to go camping with them.

“Camping? Lena?” he snorted. “Her idea of roughing it is a 3-star hotel.”

He was telling the truth, of course. I’m just not an “outdoorsy” person – if I’m going to have breakfast somewhere other than the breakfast table, it’d better be in a big, comfy bed and delivered by room service.

I just don’t see the charm! Bugs, bears and bathroomless quarters are just the tip of the iceberg. The beauty of the outdoors? Bah. I’m a firm believer that nature should be observed from the inside of an air conditioned car or within the safe confines of an Art Gallery.

And so I am particularly fond of this new trend called “glamping”. It’s like camping – for prissy sellouts – like me!

To Glamp, you simply require a selection of luxury camping goods (think Coleman portable ovens, coffee makers and deluxe air beds), a safe, non-threatening landscape (preferably your backyard) and the ability to retreat to more favourable conditions at the first sign of a spider.

Plus, if someone says, “Do you own a tent?” – you can say “Of course!” They just don’t need to know that you hitched it in grandma’s backyard. In under 60 seconds. And connected wirelessly to check your e-mail while the kids jumped around in it.

Hence, when Coleman asked me to check out their latest designer camping gear – all very glamping-friendly – I agreed that the boys would love their Instant Tent 8 – the world’s easiest Large-Capacity Cabin Tent – which sets up in 1 minute or less!

So here’s the deal – the boys had a weekend visit with grandma, and we happened to bring along the tent. I figured her outdoorsy-like backyard would be the perfect place to test out the new tent.

Now even though I had seen videos like this – which clearly shows the tent being erected in under 60 seconds or so – I had my doubts that my husband and I (two directionally challenged, non-handy people with zero mechanical abilities) could possibly transform a tiny little carry bag into an 8-person tent. I mean, out of the bag alone, it was one scary mess.

Turns out: I should have had that camera rolling after all, because it took us just over 1 minute (the very first time and with no instructions!!) to have our amazing Instant Tent 8 up. Honestly, it was a piece of cake!

The tent sleeps 8 with 2 rooms (sectioned off with a removable lining). The spacious interior has front AND back doors, and is actually large enough to fit two queen airbeds! We loved that the vertical walls made it easier to stand and move, and with the no-fuss assembly, there were no parts or poles to lose.

Love peek-a-boo windows? So do we! SEVEN (count ’em) windows provide great ventilation and a 360° view:

So what do two little boys do when they camp in their grandma’s backyard? They jump, read books, tell ghost stories, and take a nap, of course.

Now the pictures don’t do the tent justice when it comes to the space inside. It is 14’ x 8’ – people, that is the size of an average child’s BEDROOM. Seriously, we could easily take glamping to the extreme and move in some furniture and toys. In fact – the boys have a little play table that I’m constantly moving from one room to another; perhaps it will find a new home in our backyard, situated in the Coleman Instant Tent 8!

(I’m also thinking I could totally have the outdoor office I’ve always dreamed of. Bug proof, lots of sunlight, and an exclusive WeatherTec system that keeps me dry – what more is there to ask?)

After the boys had their fun, we came to the dreaded take-down. Even though assembly was a breeze, I had no illusions that we’d be able to fit the tent back inside the carrying case. I was quite petrified, actually.

Turns out, it took us about 10-15 minutes to adequately get the hang of taking it down. The trick is to do EVERYTHING in the reverse order from start to finish, and you should be okay. Although the learning curve was slightly longer, it still beats about 90% of other tents on the market when it comes to disassembling the product.

All in all we’re quite fond of our new camping accessory – the boys love having their own little home in the outdoors, and I’m looking forward to a fall get together with girlfriends – glamping style – with sangria, mini manicures and more!

The Coleman Instant Tent 8 retails for $279.99. Click here to visit Coleman Canada.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julia

    Love the looks of that tent. I’m not a trailer camper usually, but this tent is pretty sweet. I prefer it when camping is made easy! Cute boys.

  2. Allie

    Thank you Lena for not making me the only one who does not wish ever to go camping (my poor kids have to go with friends) i’m not even interested in a cottage as it is just another house to clean!! But cool tent!!!
    And as always the boys are too cute!!!!!

  3. Amy

    I’m quite sure I’ll need to buy that tent for my husband’s birthday next month. He loves camping with his brothers (he is one of five boys) and I think its pretty sweet that they can all fit in the same tent!

    • Lena

      Oooh, what a great idea! The craftsmanship on this tent is amazing – I’m sure he (and his brothers) will love it!

  4. Marissa

    The tent looks great! I’d rather have this tent in my backyard than go camping or go to the cottage. I hate the thought of bugs and mosquitoes feasting on me. The boys look like they are having fun in their new outdoor home.

  5. AlexandraSD

    I hate camping too! Why do people subject themselves to roughing it? It’s so barbaric! Really cool tent and I can’t believe the average person can actually get it up in a minute. I may need to do some glamping of my own!

  7. Florence C

    I loved camping as a child. We went in a tent with our kids when they were children. It was great fun.

  8. Shauna MacKenzie

    I love spending time in Northern Ontario…with bathrooms, a kitchen and hot tub available. I hate camping! Glamping is more for me! I love the tent – Coleman products trump all others for the outdoors!

  9. Tara

    I am going to go out on a limb here and admit that I LOVE camping…What I don’t love though is setting up the tent…It is so not worth the fights my spouse and I get into over setting up a place to sleep in for a couple days..

    So we recently bought a Broadstone easy up tent at Canadian Tire and are in love with this thing. Five person tent is able to fit our family of four and since my husband sleeps in a cot we have room under there for storage of clothes, etc. We had a big two room tent with standard poles but much prefer the easy up setup and the smaller size is great for some of the campgroudns we go to. Takes us about a minute (two if include staking the tent) to get it set up.

    I like how this coleman has the zip covers for the mesh windows as our does not (design fail) so here’s hoping we don’t encounter a very cold night…as the rain cover might not be enough to keep us warm.

    • Lena

      Amazing! Happy you found a solution, but love that you admit fighting with your spouse over putting up a tent – this one only took minutes to take down, but hubby and I both got in a few choice words, LOL!

  10. Cindy

    I am a director of a scout group and I recently purchased 8 of these tents for our most recent camping trip. These things are great. The kids loved them. What would normally take some of our newer members 15-20 mins took only 10.

    I will admit though, your boys look like they had way more fun.

  11. Lori L.

    I am Canadian and so NOT a fan of camping either! I’ll go maybe once every couple of years and ONLY for one night. The last time we went, it was just my partner & I. We bought an air mattress & picked it specifically because it came with a pump. Well, we didn’t know until we got to our camping spot that we needed BATTERIES for the pump! I swear it didn’t say that on the box anywhere! Needless to say, I ended up sleeping in the backseat of the mini van. *sigh* This idea of “glamping” Hmmm… maybe I’ll check out some of Coleman’s products & give it a try.

    • Lena

      OMG Lori I literally fell off my chair laughing at your story – I wouldn’t have known that the pump needed batteries either!! (Though it does make perfect sense, no?) Happy to meet another non-camper!

  12. Eva U

    Holy cow you were roughing it, how did you fare ? lol. Had to chuckle when I read this review. I use to love camping in my youth. But now all the food preparation and avoiding mosquitos the size of cockroaches – I’ll pass. We have a tent set up in our back yard. Air mattress, portable TV and I can always go inside the house – no outhouse to worry about. Glamping, I’ll join that secret society – there are more of US I’m sure. Ladies tell the truth !

    • Lena

      Ew – mosquitoes the size of cockroaches! That’s enough to keep me hibernating in the suburbs FOREVER! Happy you’ve joined the secret society!

    • Lena

      Sure, sure – you say that NOW… until the “mosquitoes the size of cockroaches” from above try to get you, LOL!