This is our review of the CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room.
This tent is the perfect tent for families. Be it 4, 5, or 6, you can squeeze everyone in with room to spare.
But the best part about this tent is that it goes up quickly! Since it is an instant tent, it can be set up in 10 minutes with two people.
Its huge interior allows you to fully stand up and move around with ease, and the screen room keeps bugs away and allows for gear storage.
Since we’ve camped with this tent, we can’t imagine camping with any other family tent. It’s perfect for us!
Read on for the full review!
CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room: Key Features
Type: Cabin, 2-room, Screen Room | Seasons: 3-season | Weight: 46 lbs | Inside Height: 84 in | Floor: 14 x 10 ft (140 sq ft) | Setup Time: 10 mins
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Overall, we give the CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room a rating of 8.2 out of 10.
This spacious and easy-to-set-up tent provides comfort and convenience during your outdoor camping adventures and is featured on various of our “best of” rankings:
I’m going to review this tent on a variety of metrics and I know that by the end you’ll understand why we rate it so highly!
Space & Comfort
The CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room is huge!
At 140 square feet, this tent is perfect for accommodating bigger groups or families with ample room for 6 people.
We camp with a family of four and have more than enough room for everyone plus gear, and plenty of space left over. It truly is a palace.
With a peak height of 7 feet, you have plenty of headroom and never have to duck, unless you are an NBA player.
One of its standout features is the screen room, which serves as a bug-free, open-air area for relaxation, extra storage, and enjoying the outdoors without the annoyance of insects.
We found that no insects were able to get inside the internal tent, which was a huge win for us on our last trip.
Finally, the room divider can also split the tent into two, with separate entries for added privacy, though the divider is a pretty thin material, to be honest.
So we didn’t bother with it, but can be useful if you’re going with another couple or want to offer your older kids a bit of privacy.
Quality & Durability
Offering a 1-year limited warranty, when you buy a CORE tent you know that you are getting a quality and well-made tent.
The tent is constructed with durable materials, including water-resistant fabric that uses CORE’s H2O Block Technology, but basically, it’s a solid budget material that does its job.
We’ve found the quality of the tent poles to be far superior to Coleman’s or Ozark Trail, and haven’t run into any issues with their ability to extend or lock into place.
This tent also includes two steel poles to hold up the screen room, and a fiberglass pole to tie them together across the front.
Weather Resistance
As we talked about above, the tent is constructed with decent-quality materials for a budget tent.
It also can stand up well in gusty winds. On our recent camping trip, we had some up to 30 mph, and the tent didn’t budget.
We also had to set this tent up in light rain and didn’t run into any problems.
The issue you’ll find with this tent is that the rainfly doesn’t offer full coverage, so any wind-driven rain can potentially make its way into the windows or penetrate the tent fabric if it’s flying in the right direction.
We do not recommend this tent for extreme conditions, but for most 3-season camping it’ll do just fine.
Ease of Use
Setting up the CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent is a breeze, thanks to its pre-attached telescoping poles.
The instant setup allows you to have your shelter ready faster eliminating the time-consuming and often confusing tent pole assembly process.
In our case, it took me and another camper just a little over 10 minutes to fully set this tent up including attaching the ranfly and staking it down.
Truly a breeze, especially in comparison to the standard CORE 11 Person that we tested recently.
If deciding between the two options, I would go with this tent purely on its ease of use.
Value
The big reason to buy this tent is its value. At $299 on Amazon, it is one of the best large family tents that you can buy for the money.
It combines spaciousness, privacy, and insect-free outdoor enjoyment, making it an excellent choice for extended camping trips or outdoor gatherings.
It’s a tremendous value and offers a fantastic camping experience for larger groups or families.
Frankly, after testing this one, it is going to be our new go-to tent!
Intangibles
The tent’s big selling point is the attached screen room.
We used it for gear storage, but in buggy weather, you could easily set up chairs and enjoy the views without getting bit to shreds.
The screen room does not have a floor, but that was fine in our case, as the tent is big enough internally to hold everyone and everything.
The gear pockets were closer to the doors and in a weird spot, but it was not a huge deal.
Ventilation is well-maintained with multiple windows and ground vents, helping reduce condensation and keeping the interior fresh and comfortable.
And finally, this is also a 2-room tent with a room divider, though the material is quite thin and see-through.
However, since this tent also has 2 doors, it can act as two separate tents with either party using the door on their proper side of the tent. Not truly two rooms, but this is typical for a “two room” tent.
Warranty
All CORE tents come with a 1-year Limited Warranty
Additional Sizes
CORE also offers this tent with LED lighting, though it’s another $85 for that extra feature.
However, if you are willing to forgo the screen room, they make this instant tent in 6, 9, and 12-person sizes as well.
Pros, Cons, & Best Uses
Pros:
- With 140 sq ft, it’s huge inside, plus as an additional storage area in the screen room
- A tall 84-inch (7-foot) ceiling height makes it so even the tallest folks won’t have to bend over
- Comes with a room divider for extra privacy
- Adjustable ground vents and mesh ceiling provide great ventilation
- Strong wind resistance – up to 30 mph
- This is an instant cabin tent, which means you can set it up in less than 2 minutes
Cons:
- The floor is not that durable, so it’s wise to put a tarp beneath your tent
Best Uses:
- Car Camping
- Family Camping
- Group Camping
- Camping with Dogs
Are CORE Instant Tents With Screen Rooms Worth It?
In our opinion, it’s worth the money to get this tent with a screen room.
Not only is there an extra foot of length for the actual tent compared to the CORE 9-person, but the screen room offers flexibility with gear storage and helps to keep the bigs out of the internal tent.
It’s a bit more expensive than the CORE 9-person, but we really enjoy the additional space and storage capabilities.
Does the CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room fit 10 people?
No. While you can easily fit up to three queen-size mattresses into the main cabin tent area, you’re not going to have much more room than that if you want to store your gear.
If you’re looking to fit 10 people into a CORE tent, I would recommend splitting off into two 9- or 10-person instant tents.
They are quick enough to set up and most campgrounds have room for a second tent somewhere – just double-check.
Read: Camping Tent Sizes – What Size Tent Do I Need?
Will it hold up to heavy winds and rain?
Standalone, the CORE 10-person Instant tent OK wind and rain protection.
It can withstand gusts up to 30 mph, but anything more than that may start to topple the tent and break the poles.
If you know that you’re going to encounter heavy winds and/or wind-driven rain consistently I would either bring a more weather-resistant tent or bring a tarp to put up and over the tent to provide an extra layer of attention.
What are some comparable tents to the CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room?
Comparable tents include the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room, the Coleman Skylodge 10-Person Camping Tent with Instant Setup, or the CORE 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent (which is essentially the same tent without the screened porch).
Of those, the Ozark Trail is the closest match but has slightly less square footage.
The Skylodge has a floored screen room but is not quite at the same level of quality and durability. It leaks and has a more painful setup.
The CORE 9-Person is almost the same tent, minus the screen room. So if you like this tent, but don’t need the screen room, I’d opt for this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are CORE tents made?
CORE is based out of Overland Park, Kansas, but their tents are manufactured overseas.
What are the disadvantages of instant cabin tents with screen rooms?
The biggest disadvantage of this tent is also its selling point – the screen room.
You have to go through two entrances to get into the inside portion of the tent. It’s not a huge deal, but it does get old if you find yourself going back and forth into the tent a lot.
The second disadvantage will happen when facing inclement weather. Since the rainfly doesn’t offer full coverage, you’re relying on the window seals, seams, and zippers to keep you dry.
No matter how nice these tents are, they won’t perform as well as dome tents.
Can you fit three queen-size mattresses in the CORE 10-Person Cabin Tent with Screen Room?
Yes, you can fit three queen-sized mattresses in the CORE 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room.
This tent fits 6 people pretty comfortably and even has room for a few more if you have smaller kids.
There will be plenty of room for gear and storage even if you pack 6 people in here.
Our Verdict
We love the CORE 10-person Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room.
Its huge interior and large screen room make it perfect for gear storage and keeping out bugs.
For big families or those who simply love space and the ability to fully stand up, this tent is perfect.
With excellent ventilation and great versatility, we highly recommend it!
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