Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent

G'day Ben,

Yes it is safe to assume the new Lighted model has an integrated lighting system, however all other features are the same :)

G'day Troy,

I've just double-checked and the Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent doesn't have gusseted window flaps on the exterior windows.

G'day Louise,

It will, but it will be a tight fit due to the height of the bed, and the space lost by the slopping walls of the tent.  Hope that helps!

G'day Atif,

The carry bag for the Coleman Instant Northstar Darkroom 10P Tent is made of 75D ripstop polyester. Unfortunately it does not have wheels, and being around 30kg it is recommended for a 2 person lift.

G'day Chad,

The Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent only comes in one colour, which is green and gold as per the images on our website. I'm not too sure where you're seeing a blue and brown model, but I can confirm they are green and gold.

G'day Kaitlyn, 

We just recently tested the fit of the Zempire Twin Speedy Stretcher Bed in the end room of the Northstar 10P and it was a good fit with a little bit of extra space as well! As for the two single speedy stretchers, I measured the external dimensions of the stretchers inside one of the end rooms and likewise, you'll comfortably fit two single Zempire Speedy Stretcher beds in the end room of the Northstar.  

G'day Timothy,

Thanks for your question, we've got a great blog on Understanding Tent Waterhead Ratings. The Northstar Dark Room has a good water rating and will keep you dry in most wet weather conditions.

G'day Raff,

If you'd like to but heavier duty pegs for your Northstar we'd generally suggest just replacing the main pegs, but if you want all the pegs the same then you could do the fly and guy ropes too. 

G'day Nicole,

The Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room tent doesn't have specific locations for mounting a fan. The Coleman Lighted Tent Fan does have a magnetic attachment system allowing you to mount it just about anywhere in your tent but I've just tried it out and it doesn't really work mounted on the walls, I think attaching it to the ceiling is going to be a better option. Having said that I'm a little sceptical that a small fan like this will really move enough air to effectively cool the tent down at all. 

G'day Jacqueline,

Great question! Last week we tried the Zempire Twin Speedy Stretcher Bed in the end room of the Northstar 10P and it was a good fit with a little bit of extra space, so the Oztrail Queen Stretcher should be fine! In terms of the bunks you might need to put one in one room, and one in the other room to fit both in.

G'day Michael,

The main difference with the Northstar Dark Room and the 10P Gold is the Darkroom coating on the fly. This can be handy for sleeping in or small children who need day sleeps. The other difference on the Northstar is the front awning that will provide a little bit more shade than the 10P version. Apart from that, they are both good quality tents with plenty of room, some families do find the 3 room layout handy for storage of gear or an extra space in poor weather. Hopefully, that helps in the decision making!

G'day Eliza,

I've done a bit of research and made a few calls for you here and to be honest, I couldn't find out exactly what the black in the coating is made from sorry. The coating itself is a polyurethane (PU) coating, the same as most other tents on the market. The black layer is applied to the fabric under this PU coating so, in theory, is fairly contained until the PU begins to deteriorate. One thing I did look for is a warning that is compulsory if the product is sold in the American state of California and contains any carcinogenic chemicals, and I couldn't find this warning on either the product, packaging or catalogue so I don't have any reason to believe it is an unsafe material. 

I'd recommend the Oztrail Ultramesh Tarp (https://www.snowys.com.au/ultramesh-tarp), Jodi. These come in multiple sizes and, depending on what sort of area you want to cover you may need a combination of two of them to cover the entirety of your tent and living areas.

Think about how you will use the tent. I'd start by considering the footprint which is about 6 metres by 2.3 metres. The 3.05 x 6.10 metre Ultramesh tarp will cover all of this with some overlap on the sides.  You should also consider if you want any coverage at the doorway or side of the tent. If this is the case then two 3.05 x 4.88 metre tarps will cover the floor of the tent and give you 2 metres of covered flooring along the side of your tent.

As for the hooks you mention, I assume you are referring to pegs? For the awning, I'd suggest getting about 6 heavy duty long pegs for the awning and guy ropes. Something like the Key Head pegs from Supa Peg is a good choice - https://www.snowys.com.au/key-head-galvanized-steel-tent-pegs

I hope this helps.

G'day Dave,

The Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P has dual internal windows (mesh and polyester), there are also external windows on the fly, so as long as the external window is shut then you can shut the internal window from the inside.

G'day Monica,

The Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P has a dark coating on the fly which will make it quite dark during the day. They make the Instant Up Gold 10P which is similar but doesn't have the dark room fly coating.

G'day Narelle,

Good question. The big difference would be the frame type, in that the Northstar uses the Instant Up frame so it's going to be faster to pitch and break down. The other difference would be the fabrics. The Northstar has the Darkroom coating on the rainfly so you get a blackout effect, great if you like to sleep in or put the kids to bed before sunset! There's also a much nicer floor fabric in the Northstar. It's a bit softer and quieter to walk on and it'll be a bit more durable. 

G'day Sam, 

You shouldn't need to put a tarp over the top of the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P tent as they have the special Darkroom coating on the fly which will block out 95% of light and reduce heat by up to 5'C. The whole side of these also opens up as an awning to provide plenty of shade too. It might be worth giving us a call on 1300 914 007 and we can chat through some other shade options if you need.

G'day Gavin,

Yes you can enter the Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P tent from the front and the back.

G'day Justine,

The Darkroom fly really is only suitable for the Instant Northstar Tent and would not properly fit any other Coleman, old or new.  Occasionally Coleman might have replacement flies but they would only be available through special order and unfortunately, cost nearly the same as purchasing the whole tent!  Cheers :)

G'day Naomi,

The packed dimensions of the Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P are 125cm long x 30cm high x 30cm wide.

G'day Jane,

We think the Oztrail Ultramesh Tarp 8 x 20 ft is a pretty good option to go under the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent.

The pegs are fairly standard so some people prefer to purchase slightly more robust pegs like the Supa Peg Key Head Galvanised Steel pegs in 300mm length on the main peg points (6-8 points).

G'day Justine,

There is no Gazebo that will attach to the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P, you can put any gazebo up next to the tent but they won't attach/connect.

G'day John,

I've been down to the shop floor and roughly measured the awning on the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent and it's around 1.5m wide by 1.7m deep. So the Black Wolf Turbo 300 will have a much wider, slightly deeper awning that due to the tall centre pole, will shed water better than the Coleman. If you'd like to discuss the other pro's and cons of both tents give us a call on 1300 914 007 or shoot us an email and we'd be happy to run through all the details with you. 

G'day Greg, 

The guy ropes included with the Instant Northstar Dark Room Tent should be sufficient for normal camping conditions.

As for the pegs – they're fairly standard, so some people prefer to use extra pegs that are more robust such as the Key Head Galvanised Steel pegs from Supa Peg in the 300mm length on the main peg points (6-8 would be enough). If you’re using the Northstar on sand – then sand pegs are worth considering. 

Same goes for the Oztrail Gazebo – the guy ropes should be sufficient, but the pegs are quite standard so an extra 4 heavy duty pegs (Galvanised steel pegs in 300mm from Supa Peg) are a good idea to add to your set up just in case. 

G'day Jo,

The Coleman 10P Gold and the Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent are both pretty similar when it comes to wind resistance.

G'day Jo,

Unfortunately, we don't have any broken up weights for the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent but we would estimate that the fly weighs about 20-30% of the overall weight of the package. 

G'day Carolyn, 

The weight of the Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P is 30kg, and as for the fire rating – I’ve given Coleman a call about that, and unfortunately, this tent doesn’t have a fire rating.

G'day Fiona, 

We haven't heard any news from our Coleman rep about an update for the Dark Room tent. However, if there is something that you think they can improve on with this tent, feel free to give us that feedback and we can pass it along the grapevine, Fiona. 

No worries Fiona, let us know if you have any other queries about the Dark Room tent. 

G'day Samara,

The mesh areas inside the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent can be closed up to fully enclose the tent. If you were to leave on open during a cold night, it wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world because having some ventilation does help with reducing condensation inside the tent. 

G'day Rory, 

It might be a bit touch and go to get it by mid-June if you pre-order, as we're unable to get a solid ETA from our supplier for the Northstar Dark Room Tent.

I would say that unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to guarantee it in time for your trip. 

G'day Rory,

The 220x200 measurement for the end rooms on the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent is taken from the floor, yes. I would suggest though that you may still have issues fitting your mattresses in though as the rooms taper off at the ends and you might not have enough height to lay down right in the corners. 

G'day Tina,

As much as I'd love to say you'd have no issues, I do fear that a double high airbed might be just a bit much for the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent. You'll most likely end up touching the sides, especially when windy and that probably won't end in a good night's sleep for you.

G'day Peter,

That's an excellent observation and you're onto something there. The Coleman Instant Northstar DarkRoom 10P Tent really is designed to be as dark as possible at all times, it doesn't really allow for you to get any natural light in when it's raining. If you're wanting a tent that you can open up a bit more, it might be worth having a look at the Coleman Instant Up Gold 10P.

G'day Dan,

I'm not sure how secure it would actually be, but the only way you'd be able to lock the zips is to get a lock small enough to fit through the zip tabs (the hole is no more than a few mm), but then there is nothing stopping someone pulling these tabs of the zip itself.

G'day Craig,

The middle awning as shown in the image doesn't include side walls. However, when the full awning which incorporates the panels either side of the middle section are in use, there are side walls that are attached and zipped in place.

We'll look to source an image so that we can show this a little better.

G'day Sara,

The side walls of the awning are built into the fly of the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent. So you don't need to get them separately, no. 

G'day Craig,

It's been a few years since the Coleman Timbertop Geo 6 Deluxe CV was available and I, unfortunately, can't find specifications for it anywhere. As a result, I can't offer you a comparison except to say that the Coleman Northstar would be a bigger tent as it's designed for 10 people, where as the Timbertop is designed for 6 people.

G'day B,

If it's just the cot going in, you should have no worries. The roof is still 175cm at the lowest point before then sloping to the ground.

G'day B,

This is the current model, but it's been around since last year.

Unfortunately, it's only available in this colour.

G'day Kate,

The internal dimensions of the side rooms of the Coleman Northstar Dark Room tent are 200cm long and 220cm wide. Where some measurements vary is because we try to allow for the sloping angle of the tent walls.

G'day Ashleigh,

Great questions. The Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent is 220cm wide in the end sections.

You will certainly struggle to fit four stretchers in that space, but two bunks like the Oztrail Deluxe Double Bunk would be possible and this will then allow you space down the middle.

In regards to your double stretcher, depending on what you buy/have, most will also easily fit in the other end section.

In terms of quality and price, this Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent is certainly hard to beat at the moment, especially in regards to what you are looking to do. It's very convenient to set up and pack down, fantastic for getting kids to sleep with the darkroom feature, it's packed with internal space, well ventilated with doors and vents and has great wide awning coverage.

G'day Katrina,

Great question. We've found that by partially or completely opening doors/windows of Darkroom tents allow for enough light (available sunlight depending) to light up the inside of the tent enough to do basic tasks. Especially in regards to the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent as there are so many openings, it's pretty easy to get light coming through. The other beauty of the Northstar is that you can section it off - for example, you can be doing something in the light in the middle section while someone is sleeping in a completely closed off dark end section. The only time I would say you might need a torch or similar during the day is if you're looking for something small or particular in a 'dark corner' of the tent, but the need for this would be highly unlikely.

G'day Jamie,

Coleman doesn't provide a tested wind rating for the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P tent unfortunately.

When it comes to managing high winds, it's important to remember that no tent is indestructible. While the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P tent is a relatively strong frame compared to many others in a similar price range, I would always be cautious with it once the wind starts to pick up. While you can do many things like ensuring you have your guy ropes correctly tensioned, use of vehicles/trees to act as windbreaks etc there is sadly, no guarantee. It's also important to remember that damage caused by natural causes (weather) is not covered by the warranty.

G'day Belinda,

The Galvanised Steel 300 x 8 mm pegs would be a fantastic option. The range can be found here. Or for further information and insight into peg differences, feel free to read our blog about all things pegs here.

G'day Philip, 

I've just checked out on the floor, and we don't have a display model of this tent at the moment so I can't crack open the bag and count them for you.

But, from having a look at the images we have online if we had to take a guess we'd say that you need at least 24 so we'd recommend 30 to be on the safer side. 

G'day Philip,

I'd go with the Supa Peg Key-Head Galvanised Steel Tent Pegs your can find here in 225mm or 300mm length: https://www.snowys.com.au/key-head-galvanized-steel-tent-pegs

G'day Alex, 

I've just looked into this for you, and unfortunately the Coleman Dark Room Cabin Tent doesn't come with additional side panels. In our range, the Oztrail Tourer, Black Wolf Turbo and Oztent Jet Tents are designs that can be closed off with additional side and front panels. 

G'day Kobus,

Great news - both the Coleman Instant Up Gold 10P and the Northstar 10P floor is made with a 420D Polyoxford PVC fabric.

G'day Bec,

The internal dimensions of the side rooms of the Coleman Dark Room tent are 200cm long, and 220cm wide.

G'day Roxanne, 

You can choose to set up the awning of the Northstar tent either along the entire side (4th pic above), or just over the awning (1st pic above) depending on what you prefer - so it's really versatile! 

G'day Anjar. We are sorry to see that your tent has arrived with a hole in the floor. We don't see many issues with these tents but sometimes you can just be unlucky! If you could please send some piccies of the hole in the floor with your contact details and order information to service@snowys.com.au and we can take a look at that for you! Cheers!

G'day Melissa, 

As far as we understand it, the main differences are the addition of the light blocking and heat reducing fly, and the removal of the side awning. 

Everything else about the tent - the frame, floor, waterhead rating, and size etc seem to be the same. You can check out the full details of the older model here for the full details if that helps. 

G'day Wayne, 

In general replacement parts are not usually an off-the-shelf item, but we can get them in from Coleman in the event there was an issue with your Dark Room Tent. 

On this tent the poles thread through pockets so they can be replaced easily if need be. We don’t have an exact figure to give you on replacements, but in general we don’t find them to be an expensive item to order from the supplier.

This tent has been around for a while now, and in the event they were to stop making it, we find that Coleman usually keep spare parts for discontinued tents, as we have sourced many parts from them in the past for superseded models. 

G'day Catherine, 

The middle room of the Instant Northstar Dark Room Tent is 180L x 220W cm. The Dura Sleep XL Single Airbed measures 185L x 192W cm, so it seems that there isn’t going to be enough space to fit two of those airbeds in the middle room of the Dark Room tent unfortunately. 

Apologies Catherine, I see I've jumped the gun there and compared the wrong airbed!

G’day Mick,

At this time the Coleman Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent only comes in one colour, which is what we have available online.

G'day Tahlya, 

The side rooms of the Instant Up Northstar Dark Room Tent are both 200cm long, and 220cm wide so you should be able to, provided the stretchers you want to use are under that size. 

G'day Katrina, 

I've just tried a few of our sand pegs out in store with the Dark Room tent we have on display, and I found the best size to be the Poles Apart Sand pegs in the 300mm size, which you can have a look at here. 

Hi Simon, 

Coleman don't make any walls or panels specific to the awning for this tent, but I'm sure you could probably rig something up with a tarp.

Your tarp size will depend on how many sections of the front awning you want to use, and while all of our tarps have eyelets I couldn't say for sure they'd be in exactly the right position so you may need to make a few adjustments, but I'm sure you could make it work! 

G'day Luke, 

The side rooms on the Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent 200cm long, and 220cm wide, and the Coleman XL Single Quickbed is 188L x 99W cm.

We haven't tried this ourselves but theoretically, you shouldn't have any trouble fitting two single air beds in each room Luke. 

G'day Wendy,

Unfortunately at this time we only deliver to addresses in Australia, so it may be best to get in contact with Coleman New Zealand who can track down a supplier that stocks the Dark Room tent across the pond. 

G'day Nick, 

I've just measured the display model we have in store, and the side rooms of the Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P Tent are 200cm long, and 220cm wide.

We currently have a double air bed in one of the side rooms at this very moment, and it fits with room to spare - so you should be good to go! 

That's a great question Adam!

I haven't heard anything on the grapevine at this stage, but if the Northstar Darkroom continues to go as well as it is at the moment then it may well be something Coleman might look to implement on some of their other products down the track! We'll be sure to mention it to them :) 

G’day Ryan,

In general, we always recommend that you use a ground sheet under your tent, just so that you can have an extra layer of protection to the underside of your tent. The most popular one is the Ultramesh Tarp, this one is a good option because it will also allow for some breathability for the ground underneath as well.

The dimensions of the Instant Northstar Dark Room 10P tent are 600 x 230 while the awning is about 180cm wide so size-wise you’ve got 2 options.

The 2.44 x 6.10 will cover just the underside of your Dark Room 10P tent, or if you want to cover the area under the awning as well, we’d suggest using two of the 3.05 x 4.88 side by side – but it’s up to you what would prefer for your set up.