Our rooftop tent is fine for the two of us, but friends we camp with travel as a family of six, and that takes rooms. Their tent is the Coleman Lighted Instant Northstar 10 Person: three rooms with two darkened bedrooms, a living area, built-in lighting and a frame that goes up in minutes. They paid just under $1,000 for it on special, and we’ve camped next to it and had a good look.
What You’re Getting
A large tent in three sections: a bedroom at each end and a living area in the middle. The frame is built into the tent, which is what “Instant Up” means: there are no separate poles to thread. An awning rolls out over the front door, and the tent has Coleman’s DarkRoom, WeatherTec and built-in lighting.
What we like
- Extremely fast set-up
- Spacious three-room layout
- Room for a family of six
- Blocks up to 95% of sunlight
- Built-in LED lighting
- Large front and side awnings
What we don’t
- Heavy and bulky: around 30 kg
- Needs guy ropes in strong wind
- Flimsy pegs that bend easily
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Coleman |
| Weight | Around 30 kg |
| Sleeps | Up to 10 |
| Rooms | 3: two bedrooms and a living area |
| Frame | Instant Up |
| Bedrooms | DarkRoom: blocks up to 95% of sunlight |
| Lighting | Built inUp to 450 lumensUSB |
| Weather protection | WeatherTec: welded floorsInverted seams |
| Doors | Front and rear mesh D-doors |
| Awnings | Front and sides |
Size and layout
This is a very big tent. Set up, it’s longer than the ute parked next to it, and the three sections are easy to see from outside: two bedrooms with a living area between them. The bedrooms have privacy doorways, so the living area can stay open while someone sleeps.
For a family of six that’s the point: there’s a bedroom at each end, so kids and parents can each have their own, and there’s still a room in the middle for bags and wet days. A “10 person” rating means ten mats side by side, so six people is a comfortable load, not a squeeze.
The size is the reason to buy it and the thing to plan around. It needs a large, flat site, and at a busy campground that isn’t always easy to find. It’s also heavy and bulky: around 30 kg, and it takes up a lot of boot space when it’s packed. That’s a two-person lift, and it rules the tent out for a small car that’s already full.
Setting it up
Set-up is extremely fast for a tent this size. The frame is pre-attached, so you unfold it, extend the legs and it stands. Coleman says that takes under three minutes. Pegging out the corners, tensioning the guy ropes and rolling out the awning comes on top of that, and with a tent this size it’s much easier with two people. With a family along, there are plenty of hands.
The corners peg down through steel rings, and the yellow guy ropes are easy to see at night, which saves a few trips over them.
Two things to know. A tent with walls this tall catches the wind, so in a strong blow it needs to be heavily guy-roped and properly secured, not just pegged at the corners. And the pegs that come in the box are relatively flimsy and bend easily in hard ground. A set of sturdier pegs is a cheap upgrade: see our Coleman steel tent stakes review.
DarkRoom bedrooms and the lightsDarkRoom bedrooms & lights
The two bedrooms use Coleman’s DarkRoom fabric. According to Coleman it blocks up to 95% of sunlight and can reduce the heat inside by up to 5 °C. In an Australian summer that means the tent doesn’t wake everyone at five in the morning, and kids can nap during the day.
This is the “Lighted” version, with a lighting system built into the tent. It gives up to 450 lumens, runs for up to 72 hours and takes USB power, so a power bank will run it. It’s LED, and it means you don’t need extra lanterns in every room.
Awning, doors and weather
Large awnings can be set up at the front and at the sides, which gives a big family extra shade and a dry spot to take shoes off. There are mesh D-doors at the front and the back, and the windows have flaps that roll up and tie off for airflow.
For rain, the tent uses Coleman’s WeatherTec system: the floor is welded and the seams are inverted to keep water out.
Conclusion: Coleman Lighted Instant Northstar 10 Person TentConclusion
The Coleman Lighted Instant Northstar 10 Person is a tent a big family can live in: three rooms, two darkened bedrooms, built-in lighting, an awning and a frame that goes up in minutes. It’s heavy and bulky at around 30 kg, it needs heavy guy-roping in strong wind, and the pegs in the box bend easily. Our friends paid just under $1,000 for it on special and use it for their family of six. For car camping with a crowd, it’s a very comfortable base.
A three-room, 10 person tent with DarkRoom bedrooms, built-in lighting and an Instant Up frame.
Our friends use it for a family of six and paid just under $1,000 on special. Heavy and bulky at around 30 kg, it needs proper guy-roping in wind, and the included pegs are flimsy.
- Families
- Groups
- Car campers
Yes, on special. Our friends paid just under $1,000, well below the full price, and for that a family of six gets a tent with separate rooms, built-in lighting and a frame that goes up in minutes. At full price it’s a lot of money, so wait for a sale.
