It got so hot one afternoon that we spent the day taking shifts in the car, cooling our photography equipment while monitoring ourselves for signs of heatstroke and dehydration. If tents can withstand those conditions, they’ll withstand just about anything. Many cabin tents come with add-ons that make using them more enjoyable. For example, the Core Instant Cabin Tent has a built-in flap that opens to accomodate an external electrical cord. Other models, such as the Ozark Trail Instant Cabin Tent, come with a rainfly that protects campers from heavy downpours.
The tent is made from 150D polyester and you can see the seam seals all the way around. We haven’t had a chance to test it in the rain yet, but we’d expect it to hold up well initially and potentially not be the most durable tent over the years since the zippers and mesh don’t appear to be high quality. What we did like about this tent was the spacious footprint and the two large doors that allowed for a refreshing cross breeze. This tent has an integrated rain fly, and could have been stuffy without a lot of thoughtful attention to ventilation. What’s more, the carrying bag split open the first time I zipped it shut and, from the looks of it, won’t last more than two or three camping trips before it needs to be replaced.
Darkroom technology sets the coleman sleeping bags with Instant Setup apart from competitors. This tent blocks out 90% of the sun’s rays, making it easy to take a midday nap or enjoy some shade when spending the day on the beach. Interlinked poles mean you just unfold this tent and maneuver it into its natural shape. During our testing, we found this tend to be super simple and quick to assemble. It’s nice that the assembly instructions are printed on the tent so you don’t have to worry about losing them. Even the rain fly is harder to attach due to the height, we still think putting the rain fly on is super simple.
This pentagon-shaped tent opens and closes like an umbrella, making for a speedy and intuitive setup. The four windows, floor-to-ceiling door, and skylight roof allow coleman bbq lots of ventilation and superior cross breeze on hot days. The Coleman Instant Cabin has an enormous cult following, and when we tried it, we could see why.
Drawbacks here are few and far between, but our biggest gripe with the Skydome is that it doesn’t deliver the level of wind resistance advertised. Coleman claims the Skydome is tested to withstand 35 mph winds, but several owners have reported poles snapping under milder conditions. We’ll also point out that although the Skydome is available in 2, 4, and even 6-person coleman sleeping bags sizes, all models of the tent stick to a single door/single vestibule construction. We’d love to see a back door added (especialy if it comes with a second vestibule in the future), but for now we’re more than happy to live with a single door at this price. In terms of weather protection, our favorite feature of the Skydome is it’s full length/full coverage rainfly.
Note also that the tent is quite tall with its 6 ft 4 inches (193 cm) peak height. Note that regarding the inner tent, there are no principal differences between the two versions. But the tent with the porch offers more of the fully protected area. The picture below shows the tent’s rear side, so you see this is a non-freestanding tunnel structure supported by three main loops. Coleman 4 Person Cabin Camping Tent with Screen Room is a pleasant and tall 2-room structure with three panoramic windows, and in two variants, with or without the waterproof porch.
Our other main issue was the lack of a vestibule, which means that in the case of a sudden rainstorm, there will be no dry area to store your wet clothes before entering the tent. And although we did like the two deployable vents on the roof, you’ll want to make sure to keep those closed if the weather is at all questionable since they are liable to let rain into the tent. In the 2022 redesign of the Marmot Tungsten 4, however, we did notice a weakness in the tent’s pole design. Like the Mineral King 3, the Tungsten 4 has poles that are pre-bent. The purpose of this is to pull out the tent fabric and give the dome greater volume; generally speaking, we view it as a plus as it gives dome tents a more open feel.
Shawna Newman is the editor-in-chief of Active Weekender, a website that provides resources — from gear recommendations to beginner tips — to people looking to plan outdoor adventures. Her favorite outdoor activity is hiking, and she is on a quest to visit every national park in the U.S. But if you are worried about performance in the wind, we’d recommend looking at a different tent rather than a smaller size. The welded floors are like tubs with patented corner welds, and you have covered seams around the parameter. Thankfully, like all good Coleman tents, there’s a storage pocket to suit your needs. This is more of a tent for backyard camping, rather than backpacking.
What’s more, five of the eight tents made it through an unexpected rain and a hailstorm! The remaining three tents were doused with a garden hose on full blast. Among the tent’s setup features, we also appreciated the shepherd’s hook stakes the Mineral King 3 comes with.