Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent Review

As its name suggests, this immensely popular tent fits 9 campers. It’s one of the market’s most beloved products of this type, recognized for its genuinely spacious interior and tall walls. 

Its style is a hybrid one: Coleman Hampton features a unique cabin/dome design. And even though it’s quite roomy, the model can be obtained at a reasonable price, which is always a big plus in my book. It goes without saying that it works great for families and groups of outdoor enthusiasts. 

Due to its reputation, as well as due to the fact that it has been present on the market for quite some time now, I’ve decided to take a detailed look at this large camping tent. 

If you’ve been thinking about buying Coleman Hampton, you’re in the right place – in the following paragraphs, I’m going to uncover every little detail about it and help you make the decision. 

Full Review of the Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent

Coleman tent in the woods
Photo by anjanettew via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Specifications: 

  • Dimensions: 82” (H) x 120” (W) x 168” (L) 
  • Packed Size: 10” (H) x 12” (W) x 37” (L) 
  • Materials: Polyester (rainfly & tent), polyethylene (flooring) 
  • Structure: Steel stakes, steel & fiberglass poles 
  • Assembly: Color-coded stakes & poles
  • Type: Cabin/dome freestanding tent 
  • Included: Stakes, rainfly, carry bag 
  • Waterproof rating: 600mm 
  • Capacity: 9 people 
  • Season: 3-season
  • Weight: 31 lbs

The Main Features: 

  • Freestanding structure 
  • Sizeable hinged door 
  • 2 optional rooms 
  • Removable divider 
  • Bathtub flooring 
  • Waterproof rainfly 
  • Electrical cord access 
  • Mesh roof & windows 

A lot of camping enthusiasts consider Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent to be one of the market’s most reliable options for comfortable and safe group camping. With its hinged door, domed roof, and tall walls, it can turn every camping adventure into a truly enjoyable experience for everyone. 

Obviously, as a 9-person model, Coleman Hampton provides quite a lot of room, but this spaciousness has no effect on its cost – it’s a very reasonably-priced product. What is more, it is made out of rugged, durable materials with a waterproof rating. 

It goes without saying that this large tent is not a suitable choice for hiking, backpacking, and similar outdoor activities. It is, however, a fantastic option for group camping escapades in the summer. 

I should also point out that the tall nature of the Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent makes it unsuitable for use in places with high winds. If you’re searching for a sizable tent that can easily withstand genuinely harsh weather conditions, you’ll have to look elsewhere. 

Pros:

  • Well thought out hybrid design: cabin/dome style 
  • Very spacious and well-ventilated interior 
  • Hinged door & removable divider

Cons: 

  • Not for harsh weather conditions

Top 3 Features 

Feature #1 – Hinged Door 

As far as I’m concerned, the very best feature of this large tent is undoubtedly its hinged door. If you know a thing or two about tents and camping, you know how convenient hinged doors can be, particularly when you’re camping together with more than 5 people. 

To put it simply, a hinged door on a tent makes getting in and out of this shelter as simple as it can be. Zipper fabric doors, on the other hand, can make this simple process quite frustrating – to open and close the tent’s door, you have to constantly zip and unzip. 

If you’ve only been using tents with zippered doors so far and you’ve always had troubles with bugs, you will love the hinged door on Coleman Hampton. One can open and close this door much quicker, and it’s also equipped with Velcro tabs whose job is to keep it securely in place. The fact that this door also has handles (both on the outside and inside) makes using it even easier. 

Feature #2 – Two Rooms 

Another thing I really liked about Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent is that its interior can be divided into two separate rooms. As you can already guess, this feature can provide campers with some privacy while they’re all sleeping under the same roof. 

The “wall” between these two rooms is a simple curtain, which is surprisingly thick but still very lightweight and therefore easy to adjust. 

Not only can this curtain be used to separate two families once it’s time to go to sleep, but it can also divide the tent into a bedroom and a storage area. Pretty convenient, wouldn’t you say? 

Feature #3 – Easy Setup 

Although it’s much larger than your standard camping tents, Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent is actually surprisingly easy to assemble. 

Even if you’ve never had a chance to set up a tent before, you’ll have no trouble assembling this one – all of its stakes and poles are color-coded. In other words, even a complete camping amateur can quickly and easily pitch this tent. 

This kind of straightforward assembly solution is absolutely essential when it comes to setting up large-capacity tents. It can come in very handy when you have to pitch your tent in bad weather or during the night. 

Breaking Down Every Detail 

Coleman tent at night
Photo by Amnsalem via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Roomy & Smart Design 

Even though the Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent is advertised as a dome model, I’d say that it’s more of a hybrid – it’s a dome and a cabin tent at the same time. 

The overall structure of this tent is very well thought out. The aforementioned hybrid design gives you both a tall, rounded roof and very vertical walls. The result of this combo is quite obvious – all of the tent’s occupants can stand up easily, without hurting or bending their backs and necks. 

It’s always nice to have this kind of straightforward design. While I have nothing against traditional L-shaped tents, the old-fashioned rectangular shape of Coleman Hampton is greatly appreciated by numerous camping enthusiasts for a good reason. Its strong and tall structure certainly has its benefits. 

The tent’s interior, on the other hand, is very airy and spacious, even when it’s divided into two separate rooms with the aforementioned curtain. I would even go as far as to say that Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent could easily fit a queen-size bed and still have enough room for all of your group’s camping equipment. 

Practical & Functional Features 

Blue Hampton tent

This tent’s hinged door, which I’ve talked about above, undoubtedly deserves special words of praise. Since it opens and closes just like your regular door, it provides effortless entry and exit. 

To put it simply, here, you don’t need to fight the zippers every time you want to enter or exit the tent – you just have to use the door’s handles. It doesn’t get much easier than that! 

I should also mention this tent’s rainfly. The best thing about it is the fact that it sits slightly above all the openings, which, as you can already guess, prevents the rain from easily leaking inside the tent. 

However, this still isn’t a full-coverage rainfly, which is precisely why Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent should be used only during warmer months. The model does a pretty good job at protecting its occupants from milder winds and (very) light rain, though.  

And when it comes to this tent’s roof, it’s made out of mesh material. That’s yet another thing that turns this model into a great choice for warm-weather camping adventures – you’ll be getting quite a bit of airflow inside of it. 

Moreover, you’ll be able to gaze at stars without having to worry about annoying insects. 

Straightforward Assembly 

Even though it’s pretty big, the Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent is incredibly easy to assemble and set up. This is because all of its parts are color-coded – plastic hub joints, sleeves, legs, and roof poles – which makes putting it together as easy as it gets.  

The fact that Coleman decided to dramatically simplify this tent’s assembly process deserves special words of praise: even the most casual camping enthusiasts will be able to set up this model in a quick and hassle-free manner. 

The combination of a comprehensive user manual and these color-coded parts allows one person to pitch Coleman Hampton in less than 20 minutes. For a tent as large as this one, that’s more than impressive. 

Another thing worth pointing out here is that this particular tent is a freestanding model. In other words, it can be placed on any kind of flat surface, and once you do that, you will not need to secure it down. 

However, I would still recommend using guy ropes and stakes to secure this tent – you’ll want maximum safety and security while camping deep in the wilderness. After all, high winds often come without any announcement and can easily ruin one’s camping adventure. 

A 3-Season Tent 

Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent is advertised as a 3-season model. However, it doesn’t fare that well in rainy, windy, and generally cold conditions. Therefore, you should use it only during summertime and late spring/early fall. 

But still, one can make its interior a bit warmer if needed by closing all of its mesh windows from the inside. I should also point out that the model’s roof is covered by the rainfly and that its floor is made out of thick and durable polyethylene. 

If you’re planning to camp somewhere where it might rain, I would recommend keeping the tent away from direct contact with the ground by placing a tarp or footprint underneath it. 

And since it has a waterproof rating of only 600mm (which means that it can handle only mild rainfall), make sure to spray it with some waterproof solution as well. 

The Takeaway 

Interior of a Coleman tent

After taking a closer look at all of its features, I can only conclude that Coleman Hampton 9-Person Tent is a great option for groups and families alike. 

This model offers “the best of both worlds”, as it features a hybrid dome/cabin design. Furthermore, its interior is extremely spacious and can even be separated into two rooms with a removable divider. 

It’s one of the most affordable large-capacity tents out there and an excellent choice for group camping adventures in the summertime.

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