28.4.2018

My tent just arrived yesterday. I struggled on what to give this tent for a rating because I just got it. I was thinking about giving it a 3 for average which seemed fair to start with. But after seeing how it handled the wind without breaking or tearing, I decided to give it a 4 because it surpassed my expectations. I plan on using this tent quite a bit this summer so I will update my rating and review as I go. I found the assembly instructions to be very basic but adequate. Anyone who has put up a tent like this before will have no problem. It took me about 15 minutes. Anyway, I set my tent up in my back yard yesterday to see how it looked and how it took on the elements. My first test was wind.I have a weather station and the average wind speed was 7 to 8 mph with gusts up to 17 mph. The back of the tent was torward the wind and when the gusts would come, the back of the tent would bow it quite a bit. I have read the reviews some people have written and see some have had problems with the poles breaking. This is what I was afraid of as I watched the back of the tent bow in. I wish I had taken a picture because it was substantial. Anyway, the poles did not break and the tent returned to it’s original form when the gust passed every time. I have seen the video on Amazon of the testing process Coleman puts their tents through. Not sure how much wind this tent is rated for but I’m pretty sure 17 mph is close to it’s max. The tent looks to be made very well for the price I paid for it. There are only two guidelines that come off the rain fly on the sides of the tent. The tent is staked down on all four corners of the floor plus a floor vent in the back of the tent. In all, there are only 7 stake down points that I could see. I feel if the tent had some guidelines higher up on each of the four corners of the main body of the tent it could withstand more wind. The stakes are ok but bend fairly easily if the ground is too hard or you hit a rock when pounding them in. I will be buying some better ones before I go camping. I left the tent up over night and checked on it this morning. It held up very well and only one of the stakes for the rain fly guidelines had twisted in the ground causing the guideline to come loose. I left the tent up because it was going to rain today. I need to know if I have any leaks before I take it out camping. It has been raining lightly for two hours now and my weather station says I’m getting .05 inches of rain an hour with a light steady wind of 2 to 3 mph. Far from what I would consider a hard rain but it’s still rain. I went out and looked at just the outside and the water seems to be beading up and running off the rain fly and tent very well. It is supposed to rain until 9 or 10 o’clock tonight so I will check for water on the inside in the morning. I’m hoping not to see any with such a light rain. If there is, I will definitely be spraying the tent down with a waterproofing spray before I take it out camping. Now for the pro’s and con’s.Pro’s:1). Great tent for the price. If your on a fixed budget or are looking for a good starter tent you will not beat this one.2). Very roomy inside. I plan on using this for two people, a shepherd and, all our gear.3) There is an eyelet at the top of the tent so you can attach a lantern and two side pockets for stowing smaller needed items like a headlamp, cell phone, keys and, so on.4). There is a small zipper in the bottom front left side of the tent for running wires. See my picture. It is covered by a little yellow strip of material to protect the zipper from the rain. You do not see this feature on most tents. I plan on using it with my solar panel so I can charge my power core, headlamp, cell phone and, other gear from inside the tent out of direct sunlight.5). I was surprised at how much give the tent had at 17 mph gusts and did not break any poles or tear. It bounced right back to it’s original form.Con’s:1). You may want to consider buying stronger tent stakes.2). I wish there was a high point on each of the four corners for attaching extra guidelines. Although it handled 17 mph gusts very well the tent did bow in quite a bit. If I had to guess, the tent was reduce by almost half it’s size. If I was inside the tent I know I would have been annoyed being hit by it every time a gust came. I really don’t feel the tent as is, could handle much more then that. I’m thinking about how to attach extra guidelines in the corners without effecting the structural stability and elasticity of the tent. Make sure you pitch this tent in a sheltered area out of the wind if your expecting bad weather.Update 04/30/18I went out the next morning after the light rain and the inside was dry. The following day saw more rain showers with substantially more rain. Checked the tent again today and it is still dry. After reading some of the reviews I really thought this tent would leak. Because this tent has preformed better then expected I have changed my rating to a five. I am going to seal the seams and spray waterproofing on the tent anyway because I would rather be safe then sorry. For the size and price of this tent you will not find a better deal. Just remember to pitch your tent in a sheltered area in you are expecting winds and you will not be disappointed. I think I have figured out a way to put up extra guidelines on each of the four corners so the tent will preform better with heavy gusts of wind. I will test it out and take pictures. More to come.That is all for now and there will be more updates coming.

29.6.2018

This tent saved my boyfriend and I on a camping trip that went completely awry. For info, this was the first time for both of us camping on our own, first time using this tent, and we camped in June at Bennett Spring, MO for 3 nights. It is very compact for travel (2 1/2' x 5"), and I was able to get it back in the bag upon take down. Setting the first time took about 15-20 minutes, take down less than 10. I was surprised to find such a cheap tent with Coleman's name on it, and it was worth every penny.I'll start with the not so great things. First and foremost, the style of the tent has the corners pulled SO taught when it is set that there are teeny tiny needle point-sized holes in the corners.It lets in nothing but rain, but even then it's not that much. I'll touch on that when I get to the good things. Also, the zipper protector is completely necessary and helpful, it can just be a huge pain because it gets snagged and caught in the zipper a lot. I was able to stand up almost completely in the center of the tent (I'm a little more than 5') but my boyfriend could not. We did not use an air mattress, but there was plenty of room still with the pool floaties we slept on, a huge sterilite container, our box fan, and more. Speaking of our box fan, the weather was complete garbage on our trip. It was HOT; the heat index got up to 110. This tent has tons of ventilation- even a little vent in the bottom on the back. We definitely needed the box fan any time we spent more than 2-3 minutes in the tent, and it was going all night. One of the nights did get down to 60, and I was shivering. So it's safe to say that this is not a flaw of the tent, just more of a tip for fellow campers. When it's hot, it's hot!I will now begin raving about this tent. Our first night, we got severe thunderstorms and torrential downpour for almost eight hours straight. We stayed completely dry!! I was convinced that it was going to leak or at least start seeping through the walls eventually, but it didn't! Some water did get through the aforementioned corners, but I was able to use a hand towel to dry it up and the towel was still mostly dry. Very impressive. The next day, the tent had a few hours to dry in the sun before more severe weather came through. After the previous night, we didn't want to be around for it, so we left camp for the afternoon. More torrential downpour, this time tornadic weather, so there was a LOT of very strong winds. In all seriousness, this storm literally took down a tree and several branches on the campground campus, but not our tent!!! Out of 7 steaks, all but one was torn out of the ground, and the tent had been shoved forward about 1 foot and was leaning about 65 degrees forward. The tent was easy to set up (we did do a full trial run before leaving), but the very rocky Missouri soil made it extremely difficult to get the steaks in well at the campsite. The one steak that was in the ground still was the one we were actually able to get in well, so I can't say if the steaks were ripped out strictly because of wind, or if they were set more poorly than we thought. I would still recommend different, stronger steaks, because the ones that come with are flimsy. I purchased 4 MSR Groundhog steaks that we used on our tarp underneath and they were unphased by the storms. Needless to say, all our stuff inside was safe and dry!!!!!! The corners did their infamous leak again, but I dried it up just the same as last time (and then we reset the tent in the dark by flashlight!). No poles broken, nothing ripped, no leaks that weren't the corners. I will add that we used those interlocking foam mats on the floor of our tent to make it a little more comfy, and upon pulling them up when we were leaving, there was moisture that we are assuming was from the corners, but don't know for sure. We were on a very slight downhill, and the moisture was only under a small portion of the front three mats. Thinking it was just the water from the corners rolling forward. Everything else was fine and dry.I have photos of it set, but have to post them later. I am including a video of the storm from inside during the first night. I know that being in a tent amplifies how rain sounds, but it was truly as bad as it sounds in the video.Edit to add: we did no waterproofing on our tent.

31.12.2016

Great tent for general camping. Given the quality of the materials and finished product, this is a great value.First use was in 50 degree F and 50% humidity. The tent handled those conditions no problem. The air flow can be controlled somewhat and felt just right without tying anything closed or otherwise trying to stop the natural air flow within the tent. Obviously, the tent itself has no insulation, but the temperature inside was very comfortable given the above mentioned conditions. I can see going down another 10-20 degrees F and being totally fine with this tent and standard sleeping bags. Below that you will probably need additional tarps to put over it to block air flow and warmer than standard sleeping bags.I cannot attest to the rain resistance of the tent,however, it looks like it will handle light to medium showers with relative ease. The floor is tarp material with a fair amount of water resistance, and makes up the lower 4-6 inches of the walls. From there up is standard tent material you would find on many other tents at this price point. The mesh makes up a great deal of the upper portion of the tent, and all of that is covered by the rain fly when it is on. The rain fly itself is the same material as the tent walls. Air flows between the rain fly and the mesh sections. You can close that up to some degree to control the air flow. Additionally, there is a vent on the back wall near the floor, but high enough to not be a splashing water during rain problem. There is also a very tiny zippered opening on the front wall to bring in an extension cord. There are also two zippered, large windows. One on the back wall, one on the door itself. The D door is well thought out, and features a flap to keep rain out on the lower half.Setup is a breeze, even for the novice. It is very intuitive and straightforward. You have three poles to assemble, two for the tent and one for the rain fly. Slide them through, clip, and plug in at the ends. Thats pretty much it. There are some little velcro straps here and there to further secure the poles to the tent and rain fly. Put the third pole in the rain fly and then attached to the tent with the straps with clips. Tie down as needed, and you are done. There is also a floor mat for the entrance in the bag. This tent will stand on its own and does not absolutely need to be staked or tied to something. Its optional. Recommend you buy some additional parachute cord and maybe some heavier-duty stakes, as is pretty much always the case with every single tent on the market.Pack up is also a breeze. With minimal effort I was able to get it all in the box it came in and then into the carry bag. You do not have to use that box, and you can discard it and just use the carry bag. I like the squarish dimensions, so I kept the box. Otherwise, it will be more of a gym bag when packed. At any rate, plenty of room in there for additional stakes, parachute cord. If you manage to pack it tight, you could even fit a floor tarp in there (not included).4 people is actually possible with this tent, but not with gear. Maybe some backpacks, but thats about it. You can fit two full size air mattresses, or a queen plus a twin. It will be tight either way, and double stack air mattress will make it even tougher. But, it is possible. A full plus twin is more realistic, and there will be some room for gear. We just use a full and have tons of room for gear, coolers, etc.Overall, fantastic tent at this price. Love the navy color scheme, and worth the extra couple bucks. I would not call this a hiking tent, as it weighs over 10 pounds. More if you buy heavier stakes, additional floor tarp, etc. But, you could make it work for hiking if you share the loads. For the occasional camper, this is perfect.

28.6.2020

I ordered this tent to do some disperse summer time camping and Amazon was offering a good deal on it. I'm really pleased with it so far. Had it set up with some help from my friend in about 10 minutes and was able to break it down myself in about 5-10 minutes.I had read reviews about how waterproof it is, but decided to spray the tent and seams with some Alsko waterproofing tent spray I had and let it cure for 48 hours while set up in my backyard. This baby is extremely waterproof now, surviving a summer thunderstorm, staying completely dry.The bottom of the tent is made of tarp like material but I *highly* recommend using a tent footprint to keep it from ripping and ensuring the bottom stays dry.I just use a tarp I picked up at harbor freight for a few bucks and stake it into the ground with the tent.I did not bother using the tent stakes that came with the tent, instead I used heavy duty metal tent stakes I already own. The ones they send are kinda janky and may not hold the tent well when there's a lot of wind gusts.There's a lot of ventilation in this tent making it perfect for camping during the summer. Air moves very well, especially when you have the entrance and window unzipped. Sorta wish the screen covered the entire entrance but that's ok.The rainfly is easy to put on, using just one pole and covers the tent well. Use the guylines on it to stake into ground to keep the tent more stable in windy weather. It's also really nice that you can leave it off if there's no rain forecasted so you can look up into the night sky and enjoy the stars.It does have a ring for hanging a lantern but it's not very heavy duty so I just used it to hold a small collapsible solar lantern. Has two pockets, one on each side to hold lighter objects like a phone or small flashlight. It has a flap to run an extension cord into the tent, which is cool.If you're mostly doing car camping, this is a solid choice. It takes up very little room, only weighs a couple pounds and is super easy to set up/break down. I would not recommend this for backpacking tho.I definitely agree with others that this is a summer tent. There's so much ventilation in it that it would probably be uncomfortable to camp in lower temperatures. I do a majority of my camping in the southeast so it'll be fine for me in the spring and early to mid fall but if you're in colder climates definitely keep this one for summer use only.Overall, I'm satisfied with my purchase and it meets the requirements I need it for. Seriously, if you're looking for an inexpensive tent to do some weekend camping here and there, this would be a great choice. I did purchase the 4 person tent, even tho I mostly camp alone, so if a friend decided to join me there's adequate room. Easily fits 2 adults with some room for gear. When I'm alone, I can fit my sleeping bag and all my gear comfortably. It is 7ftX9ft.

27.8.2017

Great price for a great tent & got it next day w/$4.99 shipping made me camp-ready fir $70 by the following weekend. Bought seam-sealer as well, just in case, but as-is did a great job keeping out the wet & bugs in NW Missouri during 2017 solar eclipse weekend (light rain morning & afternoon 2/3 days).Definitely follow the recommendation to set up w/2 people. Extra set of hands during the raising part of setup avoids risk of forcing/damaging tent or possibly hurting yourself by off-balance leaning on muddy/uneven ground.When set up, pulled 4 corners taught and the front gray/tub surface beneath the door was wrinkled like maybe the base is not really square or maybe one of the extension poles is longer than the other and pulling oddly on that section of fabric from a higher angle,

25.2.2013

Deciding how many stars to give a product is a tough call, because you need to factor in cost. Are we giving out stars based 'just' on the product itself relative to others regardless of cost? The Hyundai we had I'd rate as 5 stars based on how much we paid for it, but is it as nice as a new mercedes? of course not. For the money, this tent is definitely a five star tent so I'm going with that. Is it the "best" ten out there of course not. Go to some other camping sites though and see how much a similar sized "high quality" tent costs. Like others have mentioned this tent sets up easily (rain fly was a bit more annoying but not difficult) and does the job.

3.11.2017

I have camped in this tent two and a half times, and I love it. I say two and a half, because my third trip in the tent, I was forced out of it in the middle of Tropical Depression Nate up in Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah National Park this past October (2017). It was holding its own for most of it, but eventually the rings came lose from the tent stakes and one tent stake came up out of the ground, and I had to flee my humble abode and dive into my parents' van! I didn't have the stakes driving all the way into the ground, because I wasn't expecting a freaking tropical storm, plus we were in high elevation. I think it would have held its own if I had driven the stakes all the way down.

15.8.2020

I bought this tent in 2017 when I saw it on sale for $39.99 without any intention of using it anytime soon but having one just in case. Due to everything going on this year, I was going nuts being stuck inside so I finally took the plunge and started using it for camping adventures in the Rocky Mountains. So far, so good! I've used this tent 4 separate times now and about 6 nights of sleeping so far. My first trip was a solo one and I had never pitched a tent before by myself. The instructions on the bag tag didn't make the most sense but after about 20 minutes I figured it out on my own. Now I can setup or take down the tent by myself in 5-10 minutes,

30.3.2019

First time buying and using a tent to go camping. In my infinite wisdom, I decided to purchase a summer tent to camp in the winter. This is definitely a summer tent. It was extremely easy to set up and included just about everything in the bag except for a mallet to hammer the stakes into the ground. The stakes are pretty flimsy but do the job well. I bent one stake when I was hammering it into a rock underneath the soil. Maybe buy some better ones.Set up took me about 5 or 7 Minutes taking my time. The bottom of the tent is noticeably thicker then the rest of the tent but I still used a tarp underneath it to protect it. My issue was that I went camping in February when it was extremely cold.

3.9.2016

I've only camped 4 nights in it so far in two different locations, but I am rather pleased with it. I frequently camp in the high desert (NM/AZ/CO) in summer, which means cool nights, but warm temps as soon as the sun comes up. My last tent had really lousy ventilation which meant no sleeping in past sunrise. Though I am only a car camper, I was planning to purchase a more expensive 4-person backpacking tent from one of the bigger names just to save on weight and bulk (and *maybe* get a quality upgrade). I ended up going with the Sundome not because it is less expensive, but because all the tents I was looking at had rainflys that prohibited good ventilation.

19.9.2017

Setting up: I first set the tent up in my living room by myself and it was pretty easy to do so. A second person definitely helps so they can hold up the polls in the middle of the tent while you are connecting them to the tent. I first used it this past weekend for two nights. The stakes that come with this are not very good at all. They are small and have a flat bottom. We had pretty hard ground and had a stake bend while putting it in. We were able to bend it back, but it is worth buying different stakes.Rain: It ended up raining on Sunday morning and the tent held up very well even with some of our things pushing against the outside of the tent. There was no water or dampness inside the tent.Size: This says 4 person tent,

22.9.2019

This dark colored tent (I chose not to go with the brighter yellow/green color) enabled me to sleep later in the mornings and set up easier without the tent poles getting stuck in the sleeve because the sleeve is all one-not divided (see amazon and mfgr write up). I camp solo at state/county/national campgrounds (not in the wild). This tent is too heavy for backpacking, but fine for "car camping.' It's a taller center than many so easy in-out access and I can stand inside the tent with just my head bent if need be (I'm 5'5-1/2" tall). Plenty of room for me solo - I typically fit in one single air mattress, a tall folding chair and have plenty of room for bags, and moving around etc.

17.6.2020

Our 7 year old daughter had been asking for a tent, which was a little weird since we've never gone camping with her. Being that I've been trying to get my wife to commit to a short camping weekend for years, it made my day.Regardless, I was happy to look for a basic tent that could hold 2 people comfortably, and 4 in a pinch. I needed something easy for one person to put up, since if/when we go camping, she'd be dealing with the kids while I set up the site (and the kids "helping" me wouldn't do much until they get a little older). I also didn't want something pricey, since there was no guarantee that it would get used a second time.This tent looked to be a good fit for our admittedly basic needs.

25.9.2017

The key to loving the Coleman Sundome 4 person tent is to understand what you are buying. For around $60.00 you are getting a great tent used for the occasional weekend camping trips with your kids or family. I purchased 3 of these tents to use for backyard campouts/sleepouts that my kids want to have with their friends. For the price, they are great for that. I will also use one of the tents with my son for weekend Cub Scout campouts. Again, this is the perfect tent to use during a summer/fall weekend campouts where you are not carrying the tent a long distance.What this tent is NOT is a backpacking tent or a tent to be used often or in very cold weather.

28.6.2017

I've had a lot of experience with tents and this one is fantastic. I don't do as much camping lately, but I needed to replace an old tent with one that would fit my husband and I, and our two young girls. I also wanted them to be able to play in it in the back yard. We've had a very stormy summer in western Pennsylvania with record rains. This tent stayed up thru two giant thunderstorms dumping record rain fall. After the first storm it was 100% dry inside! I checked thoroughly. The second let a little water in, possibly blowing up under the rain fly, and as anyone who has camped in a tent before knows, some of that you can't avoid.The tent has really nice interior windows/zipper blinds -a must for me,

Coleman Sundome 4 - Reviews

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