Naturehike Village 13: Bigger, Easier Family Tent

Naturehike Village 13 Tent

Every good camping trip starts with comfortable shelter. That means, it is time to upgrade our most important camping gear, the tent. It's been a few years since we started using the Coleman 8-Person Dark Room Technology tent. We've been very happy with its performance. We were able to sleep through the morning because it was really dark inside the tent. The interior was spacious, and the additional screen room was big enough to store our camping gear overnight.

Setting up Coleman 8-Person Tent with my son

But we weren't 100% happy with it. Whenever we set it up, it took us a good amount of time, and my wife was having a hard time clicking the top portion of the plastic clips that hold the ceiling mesh of the tent to the main pole. The tent poles were already attached to the bottom front corners of the tent, but we had to connect the poles so they could cross each other to put up the tent, then we had to place the poles into the designated slot to make the tent stand firmly.

We thought and felt that it was just part of camping. We asked our kids to help us out, but since they are still young, they could barely help. Mostly, they pretended to hammer down the pegs on each corner of the tent.

It's been a good two years with this tent. It went through vigorous condition throughout the years. This tent stood strong against the strong winds in Palm Springs and managed to survive rainy camp site at Santa Margarita. During that time, one of the poles in the ceiling area got split, so I had to fix it by adding a smaller pole repair splinter, and it was all good.

But as we went camping more often, we started seeing more tents that were easy to set up and take down when it was time to go home. That was one of the biggest problems when we were ready to leave. We usually had to check out by noon or a little later, and whenever we tried to take down the tent, we were dealing with direct sunlight, and it took us a good 20–30 minutes to get everything packed up. I just didn't like it as we started camping more often.

Some of our friends came with instant tents, but their sizes were only for 4- or 6-person tents. We just needed a bigger tent, and we couldn't find one until we found the Naturehike Village 13 tent on Amazon. Click HERE to check the tent on Amazon. (Paid Link)

Naturehike Village 13 Dimensions and Capacity

Naturehike makes a variety of tents, and even within the Village 13 model, they have four different options to choose from: 8-person ($400), 8-person Pro ($500), 8-person Premium ($600), and 8-person Premium Pro ($660).

My wife and I saw this tent on Instagram and fell in love with it. Initially, we thought we needed the most expensive 8-person Premium Pro, but as we thought about it more reasonably, we realized we only needed the basic 8-person model, the cheapest one. The other models have a bigger area to work with, but that wasn't what we needed. We only needed enough space inside to sleep and store our gear. The inside sleeping space for all four tents was the same.

Although we like it from the picture, we weren't sure if this was the right tent, so we bought a Used-Like New item from Amazon for $200. The price was right, and since it was a used item, we didn't have to feel bad about returning it if we didn't like it.

Will it fit on your trunk?

How I put the Village 13 in the trunk

One of the reasons why we weren't able to get an instant tent from the very beginning was the trunk size of our car. If we had a pickup truck, our camping setup would be so much different from what we have now. Anyway, that will have to wait until we purchase a bigger car. For now, we have to work with our 5-seat Tesla Model X.

Since there's no third-row seat, we have a really huge trunk space. But that's nothing compared to a family minivan or pickup truck.

When the Village 13 was delivered, it was almost twice as big as the Coleman tent. But thankfully, it barely fit in the back of our car. We were able to pack everything in, even with one of the biggest items in our camping gear taking up a lot of space.

The Set Up

When we set it up, it was pretty easy. We didn't have to connect any rods together. We just pulled out the six folded poles and extended each leg until we heard a click. That was it. It was that easy. We didn't have to hassle with clicking the tent fabric onto the poles. And amazingly, it took us only 3–4 minutes to set up. Compared to the Coleman, it was only a fraction of the time.

Next was the rainfly. It was a really heavy and big rainfly. Compared to the Coleman, it covered the whole tent from the floor, while the Coleman only covered the top half of the tent. That was the reason why it was so heavy and huge.

Setting it up was easy, though. Instead of hooks, it had a click mechanism to connect the rainfly to the tent frame. Four clicks at each bottom corner, and that was it. We were all set up.

Of course, hammering down the pegs is something we can't forget. Since the Coleman tent was almost square-shaped, it only had four pegs, one at each bottom corner. But since the Naturehike Village 13 is more rectangular in shape, I had to hammer down six pegs: four at each corner and one on each longer side of the tent.

It didn't take too long, but that wasn't it. You could use the tent the way it was set up, but we wanted to set up a shade in front of the tent. The Village 13 came with three poles that can be used as columns for the shade. Of course, it came with the strings to tie it down to the ground.

This setup was great, and I really liked how it looked. If we had chosen one of the other options, like the Premium Pro, the tent site would have been bigger. But since we already have a bigger canopy, we didn't need the additional space that the other models offered, and this simple tent was perfect for us.

Naturehike Village 13 Spacious Interior

Inside, it was very spacious. We put one full-size and one queen-size mattress next to each other, and there was still plenty of space available for storage.

One of the most interesting little details that the Naturehike Village 13 has is the zippers. All the zippers have their own strings, so they are easy to use. Not only that, but each string has a glow-in-the-dark rubber piece attached to it, so we were able to find the door zipper or window zipper really easily and quickly.

LED Lights Are Not Usable

A close-up look at tent interior with Pre-Installed LED Lights 

One of the things I was interested in was the pre-installed LED light. If you connect your external battery to the provided USB cable, you can use the LED lights installed on the ceiling. We had high hopes, but unfortunately, this wasn't very usable. I mean, we could use it, but the brightness was way too low.

We just used our battery-powered sensor light instead, so it turns on and off by itself. It was way more convenient and easier to use.

Also, when I connected the external battery to the USB cable, the light switch turned on and stayed on for the rest of the night, which I found annoying. We wanted complete darkness while sleeping, but this remote-controlled light wasn't pleasant for us at all. We ended up not using the pre-installed LED lights.

Tent Fabric

Close up of the main front entrance showing the extended awning canvas supported by poles

The floor fabric was very disappointing. I'm not sure how the other models compare, but this one's floor fabric was the same material as the wall fabric. It could be different, but compared to the Coleman tent, it felt like a very cheap material.

The Coleman's floor fabric was more like thick tarpaulin, so it felt sturdy, and I didn't worry too much about puncturing the floor. With the Village 13, I had to be a little more careful when setting up the tent.

But the rainfly was different. It was very thick and heavy and felt like a really good material that could protect us from heat and rain.

Packing Up

When it was time to go home, we didn't worry too much about getting the tent back into the bag. Since it only took us about four minutes to set up, folding the tent only took us about 10 minutes.

Folding the rainfly to the right size and waiting for the air to escape took us some time. But folding the tent itself was easy-peasy. Shorten the poles, fold it the way it was, and that was it.

We were amazed by the fact that we didn't have to go through all the hassle we had with the Coleman tent.

The only difficult part was putting everything back into the package bag. Like most tents, this was also a challenge to put back in. But it wasn't too bad at all. Since we were already experts at folding the rainfly and figuring out the correct way to put everything back, it didn't take us too long to pack it up.

Should you get one?

I would totally get it if you have enough space in your vehicle to put this tent in. Surprisingly, instant tents' packed sizes are pretty similar regardless of their size. One of my friends brought a 4-person tent, and their tent's packed size was almost the same as ours.

So, if you have the space, get this tent. It gives you more space and comfort for your camping experience.

Other models may be too big for some tent sites. We were in a group tent site, and if we had chosen one of the other models with the additional space, we wouldn't have been able to use what they had to offer.

But if you need more space and will be using that additional space to set up, please check the details before you purchase.

I also recommend purchasing a used one. Although we purchased a Used-Like New tent, we got a tent that was never used. I guess it was an open-box item.

If we can use this tent for two years, I will be more than happy to have bought it for $200. You can't get a decent 8-person tent for $200.

Please explore your options, and I hope you choose the right tent for you.

But for us, this Naturehike Village 13 will do it for a few years.

Good luck searching for your tent!

LET'S GO!