Coleman Instant Up 8P Lighted Northstar Darkroom Tent

G'day Andrew,

We don't currently have a display model of this tent to double check for you, however we're not aware of any changes to the design of the central divider. 

G'day Yumin,

Coleman used to do a large tent dry bag, but that has now been discontinued for some reason.
You could use something like the Darche Nero 240 gear bag instead, or grab a tarp and wrap it before anchoring to the roof.

G'day Khalid,

Are you talking about a tarp to put over the top of the tent, or are you talking about a ground sheet?
If you're talking about a ground sheet, the best size is the size that works for you.  Just determine what space you want covered and pick a groundsheet with the closest dimensions to that.
There are Coleman Tent Footprints, but if you are wanting more the Oztrail Ultramesh Tarp is a great option

G'day Marc,

The ridgepole can be implemented on the 8P tent because the awning is engineered to be set up as a peak.  The Northstar 10P's awning design doesn't allow for a peaked setup, and the design of the awning as a whole and the structure of the frame does not support the use of a ridge pole.
Water pooling on tent awnings in rain is a universal problem across all brands and models, it's not specific to the Coleman 10P tent.  Even on the 8P with the ridge pole, pooling still occurs.
Occasionally pushing water off awnings and shelters, or having to slightly adjust your setup in heavy rain is part and parcel of camping, and generally small levels of pooling are a non-issue, but there are ways you can offset the impact of anything heavier.
Check out the Customer reviews on the Northstar 10P for some photos from Melanie in Brisbane - it's a textbook example of how to manage your awning during rain.
Hope that helps.

Ah!  I'm so sorry Marc, yes I did misread the tent you were talking about.  The Northstar is so popular its just my default though when talking Coleman 10P!

The ridge pole itself is adjustable, so it would possibly work - the question is weather or not you'll be able to get your hands on one.
We don't sell them & they're not available as a listed part in Colemans catalogue.  It may be possible for you to contact them and inquire about a spare part, as I know they do provide bits and pieces for these tents for people who have broken or misplaced them.

Alternatively you could possibly look at a generic spreader bar.  The only real difference between the Coleman one and a normal one appears to be the end pole inserts.  You could look at building one from Supa Peg parts - having a bent spigot one end, and a flat nylon end.
We dont stock all the little Supa Pegs bits and bobs, but their warehouse/store is down in Yatala, QLD so you'd probably get everything you need there.


Hope that helps.

No worries - let us know how you go if you like - real life feedback is always so valuable!

G'day Brooke,

It's very much subjective.  If you're camping on a super hot day with no natural shade, there's no darkroom coating that's going to make any difference.
If you're camping in natural shade, even if it's dappled, and you've got all your windows and doors open, and awnings set up to allow good airflow through the tent, you may find the darkroom coating helps keep things a little cooler.
It doesn't insulate by any stretch, just merely claims to reduce the amount of UV & light, so by default blocks a little of the sun.  We've not noticed a huge amount of difference when filming review videos, however, some customers have provided feedback that they have noticed a difference.
All in all, if you use some common sense with your campsite location (wherever possible) and support natural airflow, it certainly can't hurt.
Hope that helps.

If you are referring to the velcro strip along the top edge of the end flysheet doors then they can be used to attach the awning to a gazebo. Coleman gazebo's feature a full length velcro strip that this can be attached to, other gazebo's generally have velcro patches that can be used. I hope that helps.

G'day Adam,

There's nothing that exists for that specifically sorry, but I can't see any reason why you couldn't use an extension cord & & a phone charger - just pull the phone cable out and plug the USB light cable in.
Hope that helps!

G'day Eric,

That entirely depends on how much area you want to be covered, and if you want some flooring over your awning area.
The Coleman branded ground sheet is 435L x 245W cm, so as close to that as you can get is preferable.
If you want some awning area covered, you'll need to measure the total area you'd need, and pick a mat closest to that.
Alternatively, you could get two different mats & have the awning floor as a separate part.

G'day Rod,

Our apologies, there i are some incorrect symbols on that floor plan, I'll ask our graphics team to fix that up. There are two doors into each room, one from the side and one from the front, so there up 4 doors in total. There are windows only on the back, so there is no awning at the back.

G'day Shar,

Yes, the room divider on the 8P Northstar is now fully removable.
This means you can set it up as either a large single room tent, or a tent with two sections.
Hope this helps!

G'day Amanda,

No, the 10P tent doesn't have side panels per say, they are built into the fly and can be pulled out or rolled away.
Unfortunately, the 8P doesn't have this function due to the smaller size of the tent.
There's not really a compatible tarp option for this, as its a triangular space once you take into account to corners of the fly, but something around the 2m² mark would be close to it.

G'day Ingrid,

It sounds like what you've actually experienced is condensation, which is incredibly common for all tents, and unfortunately unavoidable as it's a matter of physics.
We've got both a podcast and a blog post on the best way of dealing with tent condensation, and the ways in which you can minimise its impacts.  Hopefully these are a helpful resource!

G'day Michelle,

No, there are no options to attach this to a 3x3 Gazebo. You could add some small clips to the awning eyelets to attach it to a gazebo frame, however there is no gazebo attachment accessory for these tents.

G'day Scott,

The Coleman 8P Northstar Tent has a 3000mm waterhead rating which is a good 3 season, or year-round, waterproof rating.
In terms of how it performs in inclement weather, ultimately it's a tent, and different people will have different experiences depending on their overall set up.
If you need more info on how to get the best out of your tent when camping in Wind & Rain, check out our podcast episode HERE.

G'day Laura,

Yes, the Coleman 8P Instant Up tents have ventilation panels at floor level.

G'day Lauren,

There are two storage pockets in each room of the tent below the windows. They are sectioned and generally large enough to fit a book, a flashlight, some keys etc.

G'day Lauren,

In wet weather we'd recommend dropping the front and side awnings and zipping them shut, unfortunately, there aren't any sides on the awnings to protect them from rain coming in.

G'day Lauren,

There aren't any windows in the fly, so in wet weather with the fly zipped down you'll find it fairly dark. 

G'day Mary,

The Coleman Ground Mesh Footprint 8P is the best fit for this tent, you can find it in the "you might also like" section. We think the supplied pegs do a good job, but if you're wanting something a little heftier you could grab some key-head pegs, for the corners and guy ropes (they just won't fit through all of the eyelets).

G'day Leanne,

The Instant Up Tents are generally fairly good in moderately windy conditions, however, you do need to make sure you peg out all of your peg points and guy ropes. We'd also recommend positioning the tent so that the larger flat side isn't getting hit in the main wind direction, and using your vehicle or similar to block windier conditions.

G'day Linda,

The front awning is created by unzipping that part of the tent fly and adding in the awning poles to secure it in place, the entire tent fly is 1 piece.

G'day Linda,

The Darkroom Coating is on the inside of the fly material, so if you want complete darkness you'd need to close the awnings down at night time.

G'day Dave

Each room is about 205cm W x 235cm D, so generally you'll only be able to fit one queen or two singles in each side. You won't be able to fit a queen and two singles together in either side.