Coleman Sundome Tent with Rainfly

The media could not be loaded. This Coleman 4 person tent kept us warm and dry on our camping trip this Memorial Day weekend. This was my very first time setting up a tent and camping out with 2 kids and 2 dogs in tow, and it took me just 15 minutes to set up the tent.Set up took 15 minutes from start to finish for a tent newbie like me with some help from one kid. Based on forum advice I got some tent pegs that were easy to drive into the ground so I did not use the ones that come with the tent, so I had a very easy time setting it up. The poles were already connected by a string and I had to thread them through and clip them on with the attached clips. I also got a heavy duty tarp for the bottom of the tent based on advice on some reviews posted here. I had to fold it slightly to make sure it stayed under the tent. then once the tent was all straightened out I drove in the pegs into the ground. The rain fly was easy to install too and the included cords helps make sure the rain fly is stretched out away from the vents.The 4 person tent is 9ft by 7ft and it fitted an Intex Queen Mattress that I inflated in 15 min with a handpump. There was a little room on all sides of the tent after fitting in the mattress. If you push it to one side then there was place for one small person. We had 1 adult and 2 teenagers in the tent and our 75 lb lab and we were pretty comfortable with room to turn while sleeping. There was not really room for more than one small duffel bag after packing in 3 people and a dog, so if you're using this as a backpacking tent and plan to store your gear you can only fit in 2 people. I was glad that I had got this size compared to the 3 person tent (7ft X 7 ft) as it would have only fitted in a queen mattress and no more, and we ended up needing more room. I think the 4 person is a great size for 2 people to sleep in comfortably and have a bit more room to bring in a kid if needed.I had carried a seam sealer but reviews advised not to use it as the tent remains dry. There was no rain that night, just a little moisture in the air. The tent is very well ventilated so it got cold and airy in the tent in the night. Next time I may carry something to cover the vent on one side or maybe a warmer sleeping bag as the night got colder than we had anticipated. This would be a great tent for warmer summer evenings.The white walls of the tent reflect light well and there are 2 pockets on the side where you can put a flashlight facing upward to illuminate the whole tent. Another feature I liked was that the bottom of the tent comes up all around about 4 inches which helps keep dirt and water out. It's also advisable to pitch the tent on higher ground slightly sloping downwards so that the water flows downward away from you.The pull down was just as easy as the put up. It was easy to bring down and fold up the poles. However, I could not fit it back inside the bag. How did they manage to fit it inside that tiny bag in the first place is a mystery. I put the pegs, poles and my extra tarp inside and will find another bag for the tent itself.Now that I've learned that's it's not too hard to set up a tent, I plan to go camping more often with this Coleman Sundome tent.Update 7/9/2015 -The 4 person tent held up well and has been put up and taken down about 5-6 times already. It takes just 15 minutes to set up and is very comfortable in 45 degrees plus weather with a warm sleeping bag. For colder temperatures, I wouldn't recommend this tent. It's very airy and the 2 side windows that zip down made it comfortable even in 70 degree weather. For even warmer days you can leave the rain fly off if there is no chance of rain. I figured out finally how to roll it back tightly so it fits back inside the bag with all accessories. You just need to make sure you have the door and window unzipped so you can let all the air out and then it rolls up tight.I also purchased the Coleman 3 person tent, it is about 7 ft by 7 ft inside and just about fits an Intex Queen size air mattress. On a recent camping trip the 3 person tent worked for 2 teenagers and a dog inside the tent. It is a compact tent for 2 people, you can fit in 2 adults but there won't be any room for bags. It's not the lightest tent I've seen, but it's fairly small and fits back easily into the bag it comes in. We set up this one about 4 times and took it down in different camping grounds. The pegs did not hold up well in hard ground but I'd purchased a set of better pegs from Amazon.I am really pleased with both the tents and will be using them for many more camping trips.Update 9/29/16 - This tent is still going strong, I had my daughter put it up by herself and took a time lapse video. With a little help, it's even easier to put up, but she wanted to demonstrate putting it up with no help. It took her about 20 minutes, if there is someone to hold and align the poles it takes less time. It rained for hours in the night and the next day on our last day - this was a trip to Glacier National Park. We were both warm and dry in our 4 person and 3 person tent and it was kind of fun to hear the rain beat hard against the tent. I had not applied any seam glue to either of the tents, but might do so in the future. Unfortunately, on a subsequent trip in late fall, the tent pole snapped as the person setting it up with my daughter did not have much experience and went too hard. I now have to figure out how to get a replacement pole.

Setup is easy, a kid could probably do it if they had to. It feels pretty sturdy, the poles don’t feel like they’ll snap in windy conditions and the mesh hasn’t ripped. I’ve always been a firm believer that a 1 person tent is useless, so I always buy a 2 person tent for solo camping. This fits me and my gear quite comfortably. My sleeping pad fits and my backpack has a spot in the corner. You might have issues if you’re tall though. I like the 2 pockets to hold things. I have a light in 1 and my wallet, keys and other things in the other. It’s been pretty wet for my entire trip and I haven’t had any water get inside. My only legit complaint is that it is currently 23° outside and it feels like that inside too. If you don’t have a good sleeping bag, be prepared to be cold. For the price, this is absolutely worth it if you aren’t going camping all the time. I’ve only used it on 1 trip, so I can’t speak for the long term durability, but tents are usually expensive for a reason.

I bought one of these a few years ago, and I actually still have it. My buddy and I were planning a two-week trip out to South Dakota and Wyoming and Montana in the early weeks of May, 2022. He didn't have a tent, and I wasn't willing to take my tent (because I was worrying about snapping the tent poles and didn't obtain a solution for the first night if that actually happened), so I suggested we both buy some and have them sent to a local Distribution Center in Rapid City, SD, for pickup. I had success with my first tent, and it's still serving well, and it's affordable and why not?First off, I don't do too much camping, so I'm still a little bit of a novice, but my buddy is totally green. Nonetheless, he had absolutely no problem figuring out how to set the thing up in about 10 or 15 minutes without even needing the instructions. While everything you need is within storage bag, I opted to go to Harbor Freight to buy more robust tent stakes, which proved to be extremely helpful with some of the weather that we had.The storage bag is 100% sufficient with storing the tent, as long as you fold it up a little bit as opposed to just stuffing it in there like whatever. The bag is sturdy enough to carry everything. We also bought some waterproof tarps that were a little bit thick from Harbor freight, as we wanted to keep the tents as dry as possible. Completely satisfied with the amount of airflow, and while it did get down to the low 30s on some nights, having a good sleeping bag (and air pad) takes care of that and having the option to open and close the air vents that will definitely help maintain a decent temperature within the tent. I had no problems at all with the waterproofing of the tent.We had three days where we experienced some rain. The first day, it rained for maybe 30 minutes at night, but the tents were dry in the morning after the sun came out for a little bit and everything dried rather quickly. The last day we also had a bit of rain, so we had to set the tents up before we pack them up for the final time just to let them dry off, but they dried super, super quick. There was one day where there was a torrential downpour that lasted about 2 hours and was absolutely frightening. The wind was ripping super hard, hail was coming down, and I could hear the tent getting pelted like mad by rain. Overall, I was extremely frightened by the lightning, and wondering what I was going to do if the tent came down because it was shaking pretty hard. Well, other than the outside of the tent being wet and being dealt with in the morning, absolutely nothing came inside or happened in any way to damage the tent. My buddy even didn't know that he was supposed to attach the tent to the tent poles with some clips, yet his tent held up. I definitely gained a bit more confidence in the tent after that downpour, I would never even want to be in the car with what was happening. The second photo is the morning after the downpoor.I love the storage pockets, and the hook inside to hang my light, as well as the small inlet for a power cord. I was about as comfortable as I could possibly be. Set up and breakdown is super, super easy. It takes maybe 15 minutes at most with one person, and about 5 minutes with two people. The two-person tent fits one person comfortably with a backpack or something inside. It's quite small, and if you were to use two people in a two-person tent, it would just be you and one other person sleeping next to each other with absolutely no room for anything at all inside. Now, I have two of these tents after I brought the second one home, but I am not complaining at all. I did look at a few other tents before buying this second one and having it shipped, but I know that I was not going to do as well as I would have with this tent. Definitely worth a second purchase, in my opinion!