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Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent Best Review

core 9 instant tent

9 Person Cabin Tent

Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent

The Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent is a camping essential you may well have seen while searching around. It’s quickly become one of the best tents for family groups! But why is this? In this guide and review, I’ll take you through what makes this cabin tent worth every penny.

How to Set Up the 9 Core Cabin Ten

You can set the Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent up in an instant. Hence the name! This means there is no need for clumsy fiddling with poles and ropes. The tent uses telescopic poles to allow you to ‘pop up’ the tent without any confusion.

This is a tent that, believe it or not, you’ll be able to pop up for instant use within a minute. If you’re tired of having to fuss around with family tents that take forever to setup, this is going to be a massive plus for you. What’s more, it’s impressively sturdy and resistant against most weather. Not all ‘pop up’ tents have this luxury!

Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent Takedown

Taking down and packing away the Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent is just as simple. It’s a case of folding it into its mainframe sides. One of the biggest chores of camping is not only setting up a tent, but the takedown, too. Removing all the ropes and poles at the end of your trip or vacation can be a nightmare with cheaper models.

Not only that, but it’s already going to be a pretty sad occasion – no one wants their holidays to end! That’s another reason why I like this tent so much. It takes only a few minutes to set up and take down. There’s absolutely no fuss.

Is There a Footprint That Can Be Purchased for This Tent?

Core has a footprint specifically developed for the Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent, which will fit your floor perfectly. Rather than waste time looking for footprints designed to fit all kinds of tents, it makes sense to look to your main manufacturer. Core’s footprint for this tent is designed to give you complete ground coverage, meaning that if you are camping on rough, rocky, or uneven ground, you’ll receive complete comfort throughout your trip.

In the same way that the tent itself is really easy to set up, the footprint for this tent is also very simple to lay down and tie in place. It measures around 13’6” by 8’6” and is made from 115 GSM PE. That should give you more than enough ground resistance against the elements from trip to trip. Try it for yourself!

Can One Person Set This Up?

Yes, one person can set up the Core 9 fairly easily. However, I’d probably recommend that you try and get a family member, partner, or friend on side to help. While it’s absolutely possible for you to ‘pop up’ the Core 9 on your own, think about the math. The more people you have on side to help, the quicker it will be to set up and pack away.

If you really want to get this tent up and running in an instant and want to shave a further 30 seconds off the setup time, make sure you have at least one other person on hand to help. Otherwise, 60 seconds really isn’t much to bear – and it’s fantastic that you can put a tent of this size up on your own.

Can I Put 2 Queen Beds in the Core 9? Will There Still Be Space to Move Around, or Even Put Stuff Inside?

Extended Dome Tent

Yes, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty placing two queen size beds in the Core 9. Queen beds generally measure around 5 feet by 8 feet, and with a floor plan of around 14 by 9 in the Core 9, you really won’t have much of an issue. There will actually be a little bit of wiggle room left, too, so yes – you can still have a small amount of space to walk around in.

However, this is a tent that’s designed mainly for larger groups. It is, of course, what you make of it! As the name suggests, you can comfortably fit nine fully grown adults in sleeping bags in the tent, however, for that little bit of extra luxury and elbow room, there’s nothing to say you can’t bring queen beds in.

What’s more, yes – there should never be much of a problem for you to store items in this tent alongside your beds and/or sleeping bags. Be sure to take a look at the full dimensions if you’re concerned about space in the long run.

Buyers Guide

Let’s take a look at all the things you need to consider about this tent before you buy As I’m only covering the Core 9 in this review and guide, I won’t be comparing other tents or models. However, it’s worth breaking down the key features to see whether or not it’s going to be the perfect fit for you.

Space and Room

This is the main reason for people investing in the Core 9, as it’s a spacious nine person tent with a floor space of 14 feet by 9 feet. This means it’s likely to stand head and shoulders above many other family tents. When we think of family tents, we normally consider those which allow for four or five people!

That’s why the Core 9 really does go above and beyond. It’s also never too much of a squeeze. As mentioned above, you will be able to comfortably fit queen beds in here and grown adult parties of up to nine will still have elbow room.

Ceiling Construction

The ceiling of the Core 9 is also worth talking about, as it’s made from protective mesh. This means that not only will it give you a great view of the night sky when rolled back, it’ll help to protect you from nasty flies and biters. This is a perfect investment for those people who want to get away from city light pollution to actually look up at the stars.

And why wouldn’t you?

There aren’t too many tents which offer this clarity and protection, meaning if you are keen to stay bite free without sprays and creams in your tent at night, this is going to be a major plus point for you.

Tent Construction

The Core 9 is made from 68D polyester. This makes it particularly waterproof and weatherproof, which means you shouldn’t have much of a problem camping out in the cold or drizzle. Core themselves suggest that you can expect waterproof protection of up to 600mm in terms of hydrostatics, which is pretty impressive.

Further Waterproofing and Ventilation

instant dome tent ventilation

The Core 9 has a rainfly that’s easy to remove and set back up, as well as flexible vents. You’re going to need your tent to protect you against the rain at all costs, especially if you are out in the great outdoors and are trying to sleep under the stars! The rainfly on the Core 9 is extremely easy to undo and set back up, meaning there shouldn’t be much of a chance of you getting wet while it’s in use.

Ventilation isn’t that common across tents – even family models – which is why this is a further bonus if you choose the Core 9. The Core 9 has vents which will allow you to bring cool air in and push hot air up towards and out of the ceiling. This is an impressive ventilation system you’ll find hard to compare elsewhere.

Poles and Stakes

Of course, you’re going to want to consider setup, and as mentioned, the Core 9 is super easy to get up and running. Core 9 offers telescopic poles, which means that they easily pop out and back in depending on whether you are setting up or shutting down.

This is a massive bonus. Many of us will have spent plenty of time searching around for poles and stakes otherwise when it comes to tents elsewhere. It’s great news that everything comes in one package here.

Room Division

In a tent built for nine people, the Core 9 offers room division that lets you split spaces off. The room divider in the Core 9 is simple, but effective. It will help to give you and your party some privacy, meaning you don’t all have to congregate in the one space.

Privacy divisions aren’t always so common across modern tents, which I still find pretty surprising. Family tents in particular benefit from this technology, and thankfully, you can easily attach the divider here before taking it down again when you’re finished. There’s no need to have it up the entire time.

Pricing

For a family tent, the Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent is well priced at less than $270. Prices will vary from tent to tent and manufacturer to manufacturer. However, as a spacious and reliable camping unit, I think this is a price that more than pays for itself over time. It should last years of careful use.

Going above $300 on a family tent of any kind may be a little excessive, but as with most things, you should expect better quality for higher prices. This isn’t always the case, but it does at least shine through in the Core 9. It’s well worth the money.

Review

Let’s take a final, closer look at the Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent in a full review.

Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent

The Core 9 is a tent that’s extremely quick to pop up and take down. One person alone can set it up in less than a minute thanks to its telescopic poles! There’s enough room here for nine grown adults and their sleeping bags, or two queen mattresses as you see fit.

There’s also plenty of space inside when it comes to keeping your camping gear safe and handy. There are storage pockets, and what’s more, you’ll also benefit from fantastic waterproofing. It’s built from durable polyester and offers what Core refers to as its H2O Block technology. You also get advanced venting, too, with a ground ventilation port that allows you to bring in cool air and push stuffiness out.

For family and friend groups in need of privacy, you also receive a detachable room divider. In fact, much of what you’ll need is right here in one package. You get all the stakes as well as a bag to carry in – and a rain fly that’s really simple to pop on and off when you need to.

There’s a footprint built for the Core 9, too, but you will need to buy this separately.

Key Specs: 14 feet x 9 feet, 78” height in center, zipper closing

✅ Pros:

  • Really is easy to pop up and get going in a minute
  • Very resistant against water, weather, and the cold
  • Makes for a luxury tent for fewer people, but stacks of space for big groups, too
  • Vents easily

➖ Cons:

  • Be careful with zippers – they may let in water if you’re not

The Core 9 remains one of my absolute favorite family tent choices. It’s probably the quickest and easiest tent of its kind to set up, so much so that you can handle it on your own. I also love the fact that it offers privacy and venting as standard, which is a bit of a luxury with other manufacturers.

Conclusion

So – is the Core 9 Person Instant Cabin Tent right for you? If you are looking for comfort under the stars for large groups or are concerned that your current tent doesn’t protect you well enough against the rain and other weather, this is likely to be a great choice. I also think it’s brilliantly priced.

Make sure to take a look for the Core 9 at online retailers. It’s available from Core directly, or you can take to Amazon to find third party deals if you prefer.

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