To gauge livability, we brought along two adults, a portable crib, and a dog, and found that the Sundome 6 provided more than enough room for summertime adventures. We were able to move around comfortably, the sleeping space easily accommodated the aforementioned crib and a double-wide, 52-inch mat, and the generous amount of mesh made for an airy feel overall. In practice, we almost always recommend sizing up your tent, and we think the Sundome 6 work bests with groups of three to four people. Coleman also offers the Sundome 4, which we think is ideal for two campers and a dog. A popular choice among car campers and festival-goers for years, Coleman’s Sundome 6 (also known simply as “the Coleman Dome Tent”) is offered at a bargain-basement price that is tough to match.
The tent’s floor area is 244.3 ft² (22.7 m²), and the porch adds 75.3 ft² (7 m²). Because of such a size, I have included it also into my list of extra large family camping tents. I have been using a marmot tent but want a bigger tent for family car camping. I understand the quality of these tents are not what they used to be and we don’t want to risk broken poles or worse water leaking in. The “Skydome™” variants of dome tents are designed to provide “20%” more head room.
If you’re looking for something even bigger and sturdier, check out the Coleman Weathermaster. Its extra-large floor plan and top-notch weather resistance make for an coleman cabin tent excellent family shelter that’s sure to last for years to come. The general shape is dome, and it is a bit low profile with its peak height of 68 inches (173 cm).
To evaluate the small tents in real-world situations, we took them first to Greggs Hideout, on the Arizona side of Lake Mead. During our tests in this area, temperatures reached upwards of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and at night, as the sands cooled, whipping windstorms kicked up around us. 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. We also wanted self-standing tents, which stay up on their own before you stake them down. Even with a self-standing tent, ideally you should stake down each corner securely; in some crowded campgrounds, however, finding a flat spot with soil soft enough to do that can be difficult.
(The mesh on most of the family tents we tested started much closer to the ground.) This design is a big plus for people who regularly camp in crowded campgrounds and don’t like to get naked in front of strangers. And you can unzip the front door, remove it, and neatly stash it into one of the tent’s internal pockets—a useful feature if you’re feeling sociable. If head space is a priority, REI’s Kingdom tent line is an option worth considering for family camping trips. The 6-person tent has a peak height reaching 75 inches, providing enough room for most people to comfortably stand in, while its 83-square-foot floor area can fit an air mattress and luggage. It also includes a zippered divider in the center to create two separate rooms for privacy, and has two doors for easy access through the front and the back of the tent.
Coleman Instant tents are designed to be erected very quickly (after some practice), hence the name. A hub at the center of the tent roof connects all the support poles. Once aligned, all the outer poles are simply extended to lift the tent into place.
Having said that, most casual campers who take decent care of their gear should see many summers of camping with the Sundome. 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. Typically, covered tent vestibules are a great place to store items like shoes, camp chairs, or anything else you’d like to keep out of the elements, but not so with the Sundome. This may not seem like a big issue as your car likely will be parked nearby, but we appreciate a good vestibule and it’s an unfortunate omission here.
The two simple and identical poles were quick and painless to put together, and the lack of color coding between them and the tent body minimized any type of confusion or missteps along the way. Further aiding to the straightforward coleman tents set up was the relatively small rainfly, which was easy to toss over the tent. Even assembling the Sundome 6 solo was a smooth process, which took less than 10 minutes from start to finish at a leisurely pace.
But in sudden, violent storms, car campers always have the easy (if perhaps pathetic) option of collapsing their tents and retreating to their cars. Weighing 2 pounds, 8 ounces, this backpacking tent by Big Agnes is an ultra-lightweight option for long hiking trips. It’s easy to pitch, with reflective guylines and color-coded webbing for nighttime set-up, and is made coleman cabin tent from solution-dyed fabric that’ll hold color longer and resist fading from UV rays. It’s a three-season tent, meaning its ripstop nylon/polyester mesh fabric won’t necessarily hold up in winter weather, but it’s still a durable and spacious option for backpacking beginners. This 3-person rooftop tent is designed to fit on top of most vehicles with a roof rack.
It offers an area of 144 ft² (13.4 m²) but not all of this is fully sealed. I have included it also in my list of best inflatable tents for camping. On the other hand, the tents built for the US market are typically smaller regarding the floor area, and the official capacity is usually unrealistic. So make sure that you check the actual dimensions, and do not rely blindly on the official capacity. The Gold series is manufactured with higher quality fabrics, and provides more livability thanks to its detachable awnings, increased storage, and better ventilation – so it’s ideal for regular camping outings.