The Coleman Montana Tent models offer tent campers an economical family dome tent with extended ends.
A white over green color scheme blends in with the campsite surroundings.
Design
The Montana uses a 4 pole modified dome design.
The center part of the tent is formed like a 2 pole dome tent.
On each end or side of the tent, a flexed fiberglass pole forms a hoop to extend the ceiling and headroom out to the sides of the central tent dome.
This design allows the tent to offer much more interior volume than a standard dome tent, with a minimum of extra poles.
Large mesh ceiling panels over the tent ends allow stale air to flow out of the tent and be carried away by the wind.
Due to the single door, Montana tents are 1-room tents, meaning that there is no divider curtain in the tent body.
Features
Closable windows in the upper panels of each tent end slope back into the tent at an inverted angle to allow them to remain open in vertical rain. In driving rain, the windows can be closed off with zippered storm flaps.
A separate flexed hoop pole extends the rainfly to form a canopy and wings around the front door, which protect it from most side winds and vertical rain.
A polyethylene (tarp material) floor resists standing water well.
A small e-port to the lower left of the front door allows an electrical cord to pass into the tent to power a heater or other 120 volt electrical equipment.
An mesh gear pocket is provided in each tent end to keep small items from getting lost among sleeping equipment.
The rainfly seams are factory taped and the tent floor has welded corners, so they may only need spot sealing to become weather proof in light rains.
The exposed tent wall seams have not been factory taped, and every seam not covered by the rainfly will need to be thoroughly sealed with seam sealer.
Sleeping inside the tent
Please note that all Coleman Montana Tent models are 7' deep. The models vary only by width and height.
Tall campers will probably prefer to sleep along the width of the tent instead of from front to back.
Other campers can sleep front to back along the 7' dimension of the tent floor.
Campers looking for a larger tent of the same style with more doors and a divider can consider the Coleman Weathermaster Tents, which are 9' deep, but the Weathermaster is not in the bargain tent category.
Due to the modified dome style, the Montana is a fixed (non-freestanding) tent. The tent will need to be staked down and guyed out in order to stand properly.
The Montana offers a lot of floorspace at a reasonable price.
The Montana 6 tent body dimensions are 12' wide by 7' deep by 68" high.
The 84 square feet of floor space is rated to sleep up to 6.
With a single door, the Montana 6 should comfortably sleep about 3 or 4 adults or a young family of 4 to 5.
This tent model features a single, roll-back, D-shape door, which has a closable window with storm flap in the upper panel.
The single door is an advantage for families who want to keep track of young children. An adult watching the doorway will be able to keep an eye on crawling and toddling kids leaving the tent.
The 68" of height at the peak is not quite standing height for many, but will allow for easy movement on foot about the tent.
The Coleman Montana 6 should allow for a queen air mattress in the left tent end and plenty of room for storage and dressing in the right tent end.
The Montana 6 weighs 17 lb. and should fit on a large, 12' x 12' tent pad.
Repair parts for the tent are available from Coleman.
This size will be too large for most available tent pads. Campers can expect to instead pitch the tent on open ground.
The Montana 8 tent body dimensions are 16' wide by 7' deep by 74" high.
The 112 square feet of floor space is rated to sleep up to 8.
The Montana 8 features a hinged door, which uses a separate flexed pole to allow the door fabric to hold its shape when unzipped and swing open and closed.
Velcro keeps the door closed and allows it to be quickly opened. A zipper closure allows the door to be more securely closed when campers are away from the tent or during the night.
With a single door, the Montana 8 should comfortably sleep 4 to 5 adults or a young family of 6 or so.
The large canopy over the entryway can shelter 2 camping chairs and allow access to the door.
The 74" of height provides standing height for most adults so they can dress and move comfortably around the tent.
The Montana 8 should comfortable hold a queen inflatable mattress in each end and have some space in the center for dressing and standing.
The Montana 8 weighs 24 lb.
Replacement parts for the tent are available from Coleman.
Note that the Montana 8 is a bit wide for an x-large, 15' x 15' tent pad. With some ingenuity, campers may be able to use an x-large tent pad, if they can stake the end floor loops to the ground outside of the pad. The retaining timbers around the tent pad should add some length for the tent floor to rest on.
The Elite Montana 8 is identical to the Montana 8, except with white over navy blue fabric panels. The rainfly has a red border trim.
The Elite Montana offers self rolling windows, which automatically roll down as they are unzipped. A flat spring coil in the window rolls the flap as it is unzipped.
The unzipped window flaps stay rolled up and do not need to be tied off to keep from hanging into the tent.
This model also offers a hooded ground vent in the lower center of the back wall. The vent will allow air to enter the tent, when the windows need to be closed for privacy. The hood will keep rain out of the open vent.
The Elite Montana also features a 12 volt, 15-watt spiral fluorescent light in the center of the ceiling.
A wire in the wall and switch at the base of the tent allows it to be turned on and off at night without needing to stand up. The switch has various settings for brightness.
The light is powered by 4 D-cell batteries or a Coleman CPX 6 rechargeable battery pack.
Repair Elite Montana parts are available from Coleman.
The Montana has been redesigned.
A "cool air port" or vent has been removed from the back of the tent.
The Elite Montana 8 still retains a hooded low vent in the center of the back wall. This vent will likely be useful on very warm nights.
Large ceiling mesh panels above the tent ends ventilate the tent in warm weather.
Windows on the upper tent ends can be opened to improve ventilation, even in vertical rain.
There are no windows in the back wall of the tent. However, the rainfly covers much of the back wall, and a guy line draws the fly away from the tent body, allowing air to pass under the fly.
In warm weather and a light breeze, the tent can be set up front canopy into the wind, so the tent can catch the breeze and ventilate.
The green Montana models no longer have a ground vent. Very warm nights without a breeze may cause the tent to become uncomfortable. Campers may be able to unzip the lower door to allow air into the tent for ventilation. Campers with textile skills may also be able to carefully add a low vent to the green Montana, since it is an economy tent.
Pitch the tent in the shade, whenever possible.
The non-closable ceiling mesh may cause the tent to lose heat on cool evenings, and campers would need to take extra measures to stay warm.
A bathtub polyethylene floor resists standing ground water.
A 3/4 rainfly covers the ceiling mesh and extends partway down to wall to keep moderate wind-driven rain from getting blown through the ceiling mesh by wind gusts.
The inward sloping upper tent end windows can be left open in moderate rain.
The winged canopy around the doorway minimizes any water getting into the tent when campers enter and exit in the rain.
Campers should keep clothing and bedding away from the lower tent walls in the rain. The walls will eventually become damp, however will still shed rain.
It is important for campers to finish sealing and to then test this tent in rain before camping in it.
Due to the long front and back walls and fiberglass poles, the tent should be set up end into the wind in more than light winds. The tent should also be guyed out securely.
The Montana rainfly is 68 denier polyester coated to 450 mm.
The tent body is 68 denier polyester coated to 450 mm.
The Elite Montana offers 75 denier polyester fabric.
The mesh screens are 68 denier.
The tent floor is 1000 denier polyethylene tarp.
The Coleman Montana Tents use fiberglass poles of various diameters:
The Montana 4 & 6 use 8.5mm (11/32") & 9.5mm (3/8") poles.
The Montana 8 uses 9.5mm (3/8") & 11mm (7/16") fiberglass poles.
Sleeves and clips secure the tent body to the poles, and ring and pin connectors secure the poles to the base of the tent.
Due to the extended length of these tents, an good stretch of even ground will be helpful to set them up.
A single camper should be able to set up this tent. The center of the tent is freestanding, but the outer ends will need to be guyed out to remain in place.
Most of the view out of the tent at sitting level will be through the front door window. Campers standing inside the tent can view out the upper tent end windows.
Campers should take care that rain does not pool on the rainfly over the tent ends or it may eventually drip through the ceiling mesh. Guy out the rainfly, so that it does not sag. During rain, occasionally push up on the rainfly at the ends from inside the tent to check for any pooled water. Campers may be able to rig a long ridge pole from one tent end to the other to support the center of the rainfly and eliminate pooling.
A large tarp over the tent may be useful to resist moderate to heavy vertical rain. The tent cannot be expected to perform in moderate to heavy, wind-driven rain.
The tent poles on the Montana 6 tension the fabric across the roll-back front door and make it more difficult to work the zipper. Campers may be able to extend the clips to reduce the tension and allow the zipper to travel more freely. The hinged door on the Montana 8 shouldn't have this problem.
Campetent rates the Coleman Montana as a 2 season tent to be used mainly in warm weather and light rain and wind. In moderate winds, a forested campsite should shelter the tent.
Conclusion
From the number of reviews, the Coleman Montana Tent is evidently quite popular among families looking for something larger than a standard dome tent, but at a budget price.
The extra headroom allows more campers to comfortably get around the tent. The tent ends offer more space for sleeping equipment.
Coleman design and testing help ensure that the Montana will perform in light wind and rain.
Disclaimer
Please note that Campetent does not own this tent model. Campetent strives to research and to provide accurate information for site visitors, but cannot guarantee every detail.
Tent models are subject to feature changes over time. Tent campers should always perform due diligence to verify any important features before purchasing a tent.
The author hopes that the information provided in this article will go a long way towards that goal.
This tent is not rated for wind. In moderate to strong winds, campers themselves will need to judge when the tent has reached its limit in resisting the forces of nature.
The tent has a limited warranty that covers defects in materials and workmanship. As with all tents, campers should carefully examine the materials and workmanship and make sure that they are satisfied before using the tent.