It’s easy to set up and pack up, and has a few nice features as well. If the Sundome is more of a beginners tent than you want, the Hooligan (also from Coleman) could be a good alternative. This tent comes with a vestibule for storage and a rain fly which provides much more coverage from the weather.
This method isn’t particularly high-tech compared to many other tents, and it does have the potential to slip out, but we did not encounter any issues with this tent specifically. The Sundome is freestanding, so you won’t need to stake anything out while getting the tent erected, and you can take your time between setting up the tent and adding the rainfly. If there is one area where the Coleman Sundome 6 let us down the most, it certainly would be weather protection (or lack thereof). The rainfly only extends about halfway down on all sides, leaving the lower portion of the tent body exposed, and you won’t find any sealed seams to help keep water out. While the tarp-like material on the bathtub floor didn’t allow water to soak through, the rest of the tent’s construction was a major let-down. We experienced one moderately rainy night in the Sundome and awoke to find a number of puddles on the inside of the tent floor.
After spraying each corner for about five minutes, two of the four corners leaked. For me, this would get the tent immediately sent back, as I’m not sure if gobs of seam sealer would remedy the issue. The biggest coleman screen tent drawback was that it leaked in the corners when we water tested. The inside corner seams are taped with what looks to be really flimsy version of duct tape that was already peeling up at the corners.
The easy and simplicity of set up also makes the coleman ice chest a smart choice for family camping trips. Not only does it cut down set up time and leave more time for enjoying your trip, teaching kids to set this tent up is made easy thanks to the design. Although this simple dome-style tent comes with a convenient carry bag which makes it easy for car camping, it’s a little too heavy to be used for backpacking.
This did not raise any alarms since these sections of the tent shouldn’t be taking much abuse. What did give us cause for concern was the fiberglass tent poles. Although we cannot cite any breakages with these poles, we are always hesitant when they are utilized since fiberglass is much less forgiving than aluminum. Whereas aluminum can be bent back into place when sustaining too much pressure, fiberglass will simply snap and be rendered unusable.
6-Person Skydome™ Camping Tent – EvergreenWith a quick setup in under 5 minutes, the Skydome™ Camping Tent lets you enjoy more time with friends and family on the next camping trip. The Coleman Sundome is super easy to set up including the rainfly. It took us less than 10 minutes with two people to get everything together and ready for our use, which meant more time for enjoying ourselves. The rain fly on this tent only uses one pole down the center making it easier to set up and less parts that could potentially break.
Sure, there may be better tents out there in this size, but they come at a harder to pay price as well. However, if you are just doing the occasional holiday or one weekend a month type of camping, then the Sundome will serve you well. It also comes with a fantastic vestibule with a door that can be propped up to form an awning. The sheltered living space in this tent is the advantage it has over the Coleman Sundome. This tent can be put up fast and easily thanks to the simple three-pole design.
I haven’t got caught in a strong storm yet in this tent, but I imagine it will be easy for the wind to blow the tent in on itself because of the poles. The coleman screen tent 4 person tent is not just for newcomers looking for a budget beginner model. Even for more seasoned campers, perhaps looking for a second versatile tent for storage space, this Coleman offers amazing value to meet their needs.
If you’d like to ensure even further waterproofing, consider getting Coleman’s seam sealer to spray on the seams of the tent. Also, the design of the rainfly allows wind (and even breezes) to blow right under the rainfly and through the mesh. This caused the fly to flap incessantly in the wind (very noisy) and brought that cold wind stright into the tent. While we were eating breakfast Sunday morning, the winds were picking up, and it eventually fractured one of the poles. I’ve owned this tent for 3 months and have 12 nights of camping in it (including 4 days of rain in this tent with no leaks at all). I have a couple 2-person tents that have a lot of camp time on them but wanted to try something a little bigger.