That plan was ultimately thwarted by all the missing slats in the most level platform I could find. The patented keepsake pouches always came in handy for car keys and wallets in the past. Receive our latest updates about our products and promotions. Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based.
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. At almost 10 pounds, it would be too heavy for carrying over long distances. The Coleman sundome 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. Much like with all Coleman tents, their main selling point is often the overall value of the tent rather than special design features that make it stand out. However, we did find a couple of things that piqued our interest.
The storage bags for the poles, stakes, and tent are all great. I like the make of the storage bag, it is zippered instead of being made like a stuff sack with a draw string. With the zipper open it is easy to fit the tent, poles and stakes back inside. This is a decent 3-season tent, it’s not great, but it’s not bad either.
Coleman produced the Skydome Tent as an update to their classic Sundome. From my testing, I’ve found that the Skydome has a little more headroom, it has a better door, more storage options, and better ventilation. However, it also has a little less rain protection, it’s a little more expensive, and isn’t exactly a quick-pitch. 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.
This was not an issue we found was consistent across online reviews. However, the Sundome doesn’t come with Coleman’s Dark Room Technology like some other Coleman tents which would make this dome-shaped tent even better in the summer. The center height reaches 4’11” which might be too small for some campers. We’ve looked at every size of this tent in detail as well as some other popular tents from Coleman to give you as well-rounded an analysis as possible. But before you buy anything, I highly recommend that you read this blog post where I compare not just the Sundome Tent, but also the Skydome Tent, against more than 10 other Coleman tents. After I opened the door, the water on the roof of the tent just dripped right into the tent when the door is open, which is kind of silly.
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. The exclusive WeatherTec system is guaranteed to keep you dry. Inner tent has a mesh vent for increased ventilation as well coleman ice chest as a rugged floor with inverted seams. Unfortunately, the lack of storage options continues to the exterior of the Sundome 6. Unlike most other camping tents, such as Kelty’s popular Discovery 6 model and its full-length rainfly, the Coleman’s partial design does not create any vestibule space.
Even with the rainfly on for rainy days, my Skydome Tent has 3 humongous mesh wall vents, which beats the 2 mesh wall vents in the Sundome Tent. On the other hand, the Sundome pole sleeves are actually pretty short and very snag-free, so it was really easy for me to put everything up, even for the 6-person Sundome, on my own. You can push the poles through the sleeves when doing both, it just adds time.
The metal tips clipped to each corner were easy to insert into the base of the tent poles. Using our back yard as a test site, I proceeded to test its set-up time which is set at 10 minutes. Silke watched from the edge of the deck as I deftly maneuvered my way around the laid out tent and proceeded to stake off the corners. It was very similar to our old tent in layout and design so I had an unfair advantage to setting it up the first time. Even though Coleman uses an inverted seam to sew the tent body to the tub floor I still went around all four sides with seam sealer before I took it out on its first camp. So I’ve spent 12 nights in the tent and with a good steady rain on 4 nights and no leaks yet.
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. While I have yet to sleep in this tent, I was able to pitch it several times and get a feel for the overall quality and functionality. Plan B was to set the tent up on the BSA summer camp standard issue wood platforms covered by an old canvas tent.
For smaller groups or those confined by small campsites, Coleman offers three other size options. For groups in the two to three-person range, we think the Sundome four-person should be just about right. If you are camping solo or with a furry friend, we’d recommend opting for the three-person or two-person models.