Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

[omegapd]

I picked this up recently on sale for the times that my son and I need to camp together for his boy scout trips. Normally, they camp in patrols but we have two camp outs coming up where we'll be canoeing down the Alapaha River and I don't want to miss out. :D So, you have to carry your own gear and camp with who you canoe with. Our Troop still uses the large canvas tents and this should be easier to pack up (and keep dry when the inevitable happens ) than those.



PROS: The tent has a decent rainfly, pretty good ventilation, was easy to set up and has a tremendous amount of room compared to my other "2" man tent that barely holds me alone. I picked it up for around $40 shipped- and added some real tent stakes to the order, too.

CONS: I wish it had a second full mesh door instead of just a half door. The description on the ad didn't say and I hoped that it would have that option. I also assumed (rightly this time) that it would come with the cheap and flimsy stakes that the majority of tents come with now.

UNDECIDED: I haven't had the opportunity to use it in the pouring rain, so not sure how well the fly will actually keep out heavy rain. I'm not expecting 100% there, but it appears to cover enough of the ventilation that a normal afternoon shower won't be bad at all.

So, the quality compared to price point seems well. We'll see how well it holds up after these two trips and the abuse it will probably take. I'll report back the next two months and fill everyone in.

EricW.

[Hikenhunter]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news ,but if I were you I would send that tent back and get my money back.The fly is known as a 1/2 fly and it will not protect you from the rain at all. A good rain fly should extend to the bottom of the tent. If it is at all possible and you don't want to spend alot of money, I would chek out some of the Eureka tents at Campmor.com. Square bottoms give you the most usable floor space and a full rainfly is a must have. If you must use this tent then I would strongly recommend that you seam seal every seam and
]I would buy a tarp that will cover the entire tent and reach to the ground, but you should stake the tarp in such a manner so that the tarp isn't touching the tent fabric as condensation weill appear wherever the tarp touches the tent fabric.

[zack0109]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news ,but if I were you I would send that tent back and get my money back.The fly is known as a 1/2 fly and it will not protect you from the rain at all. A good rain fly should extend to the bottom of the tent. If it is at all possible and you don't want to spend alot of money, I would chek out some of the Eureka tents at Campmor.com. Square bottoms give you the most usable floor space and a full rainfly is a must have. If you must use this tent then I would strongly recommend that you seam seal every seam and
]I would buy a tarp that will cover the entire tent and reach to the ground, but you should stake the tarp in such a manner so that the tarp isn't touching the tent fabric as condensation weill appear wherever the tarp touches the tent fabric.

I would also send it back.....When you meet a rainy day while camping, a tarp can survive you.

[zack0109]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news ,but if I were you I would send that tent back and get my money back.The fly is known as a 1/2 fly and it will not protect you from the rain at all. A good rain fly should extend to the bottom of the tent. If it is at all possible and you don't want to spend alot of money, I would chek out some of the Eureka tents at Campmor.com. Square bottoms give you the most usable floor space and a full rainfly is a must have. If you must use this tent then I would strongly recommend that you seam seal every seam and
]I would buy a tarp that will cover the entire tent and reach to the ground, but you should stake the tarp in such a manner so that the tarp isn't touching the tent fabric as condensation weill appear wherever the tarp touches the tent fabric.

I would also send it back.....When you meet a rainy day while camping, a tarp can survive you.

[Internetpilot]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

The Coleman tents I've owned have been excellent in the rain. The seam on the bathtub floor and walls pretty much leakproof by design. I haven't had to seam seal either of my tents yet, and I've been camping in them for like 5 and 3 years respectively. It almost always rains on us, too (Florida).

The only problem I can easily see with that particular tent is that because it's so small there a really good chance you could end up touching the walls while you sleep. If it's raining and you touch those walls, the rain will definitely wick in. Otherwise, that fabric is rather water resistant. Neither of my tents have a full rainfly, and as long as I keep everything away from the walls when it's raining, they don't leak a single drop.

I like for my rainfly to be a little bigger than that one, but I don't really care for most tents with the full rainfly because they typically look like this without the fly:

and yet for some reason tend to cost 2x the price. In the end, it's the same amount of fabric protecting you. If it's a bad tent, the rainfly isn't going to be any better than the walls at protecting you from the rain.

[Hikenhunter]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

I beg to differ with internetpilot but, rainflys that go to the bottom of your tent protect you better than rainflys that don't especially when wind comes with the rain.JMO

[Monk Industries, Inc.]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:





CONS: I wish it had a second full mesh door instead of just a half door. The description on the ad didn't say and I hoped that it would have that option. I also assumed (rightly this time) that it would come with the cheap and flimsy stakes that the majority of tents come with now.



We sell a lot of replacement stakes to folks who order a new tent and are shocked when they see the stakes that the factory sent out with the tent......

[Internetpilot]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

I beg to differ with internetpilot but, rainflys that go to the bottom of your tent protect you better than rainflys that don't especially when wind comes with the rain.JMO

Well, I'd have to conditionally differ with you on this one. A full fly definitely protects you better from wind, which is why 4-season tents have them. However, if the sidewall material is the same as the fly, and the partial fly overlaps the solid wall/mesh appropriately, it's going to take a ridiculously strong wind to blow rain up the side of the tent and under the fly -- a wind that will likely blow the tent down and/or snap poles before it has a chance to blow rain up the side.

This is my current tent, which has a minimal rain fly just over the mesh roof:

My first camping trip in it was in a torrential downpour at the beach with 30mph wind gusts, and the tent didn't leak -- not even through those windows.

I've been in similar rain/wind with my first Coleman tent -- a dome with a partial fly similar to this:

and again, no leaks.

Any way you look at it, you're relying on tent material (the fly or the sides) being water resistant. With the exception of the poly bathtub floor, the sidewall and rainfly material and seam craftsmanship is identical in the typical Coleman tent.

A full fly would keep him warmer, but if he doesn't need a 4-season tent, IMHO and experience, he'll do fine with this tent in rain and with moderate temps/wind.

[frank6160]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

I have 2 Coleman tents of the same style. One is 8X8 and the other 12X10. I have other styles also 4 total. I haven't had an issue with the rainfly size. I will agree with the seam sealing. Take your time when you seal it and make sure you get all seams from base to up under fly.Get some Seam Grip it works well.I have had great service from my Coleman tents. I have heard of many scout troops using them. They may not be the bomb the "high end" tents are but are a very usable tent. I carry a tarp just in case but have always been advised to with ANY tent. You never know what may happen.

[Hikenhunter]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

Internetpilot and frank6160: Since you both are experienced users of tents with the shorter flys and you have had no bad experiences then I truly apologize for my opinion as stated earlier in this thread. In all honesty I have never used a backpacking tent with a short fly because it was something I was taught when I researched those things to look for in a tent. My family tent has no fly at all. It is a tent with a mesh top that fastens inside a 12x12 Canopy and I have had no issues with it in the 5 or more years that I have been using it. This due to the fact that the material is waterproof. I guess I learned somthing new today and I thank you for that. Just goes to prove that even when we honestly think we know something we are not always right and we are never to old to learn something new.

[busere]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

There’s more to a full fly (in regards to a backpacking tent) than rain and wind. Here are a couple more reasons for it:

Gear storage – with two people (my wife and I) in a two person backpacking tent, there would be no room in the tent for our gear. With our full fly tent we get two doors and two vestibules, and our gear is stored in the vestibules at night…plenty of room.

Condensation – When I wake-up in the morning and bump the screen wall of full fly tent, I don’t get wet. On that…the trip we took this last weekend to Cole Mountain, on Sunday morning we woke-up to a dense fog. There was tons of condensation on the inside of the rain fly, but none of it was on us. On the other hand, one of the other couples that were with us on the trip had a small back potion of their inner wall exposed from under the fly, and the husband had slept with his arm up against the wall…not good. They had a puddle of water in their tent by 4:00 am. Their tent was a good one; it was just that the fly didn’t go all the way to the ground like ours.

One of the biggest reasons I wouldn’t go with a Colman, is weight. I’d rather have an ultra light tent to keep pack weight at a minimum…make the Journey (the most important part) more delightful. Here’s the tent we use…though it cost a bit more than $40.



It's a MSR Hubba Hubba. They are expensive, but for compact packability and saving weight they're awesome. This picture was taken on this last backpacking trip.

[Internetpilot]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

Internetpilot and frank6160: Since you both are experienced users of tents with the shorter flys and you have had no bad experiences then I truly apologize for my opinion as stated earlier in this thread. In all honesty I have never used a backpacking tent with a short fly because it was something I was taught when I researched those things to look for in a tent. My family tent has no fly at all. It is a tent with a mesh top that fastens inside a 12x12 Canopy and I have had no issues with it in the 5 or more years that I have been using it. This due to the fact that the material is waterproof. I guess I learned somthing new today and I thank you for that. Just goes to prove that even when we honestly think we know something we are not always right and we are never to old to learn something new.

Absolutely no reason to apologize at all, and your opinion on the matter counts just as much as mine. Look at Busere's post after yours -- he has a different opinion and experience with other gear to justify that opinion. I have different experience with different gear than he does, but we do very different styles of camping, and even if we did the same style of camping we don't camp together, so we're bound to have very different experiences. Both of our opinions are legitimate, and so is yours and Frank6160's and everyone else's.

I'm not the forum owner so I can't say "this forum really isn't about proving someone right or wrong" but I can definitely say that it shouldn't be about that. I view this forum as a place where tent campers can get together and discuss all aspects of tent camping, share experiences, offer opinions/advice (even conflicting versions), and then let people make/form their own better informed choices/opinions. But again, that's just my opinion on this forum, so...we're back full circle...haha.

By the way, I love your style of tent! That might be my next one just for ease of setup and weatherability.

[Internetpilot]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

There’s more to a full fly (in regards to a backpacking tent) than rain and wind. Here are a couple more reasons for it:

Gear storage – with two people (my wife and I) in a two person backpacking tent, there would be no room in the tent for our gear. With our full fly tent we get two doors and two vestibules, and our gear is stored in the vestibules at night…plenty of room.

Condensation – When I wake-up in the morning and bump the screen wall of full fly tent, I don’t get wet. On that…the trip we took this last weekend to Cole Mountain, on Sunday morning we woke-up to a dense fog. There was tons of condensation on the inside of the rain fly, but none of it was on us. On the other hand, one of the other couples that were with us on the trip had a small back potion of their inner wall exposed from under the fly, and the husband had slept with his arm up against the wall…not good. They had a puddle of water in their tent by 4:00 am. Their tent was a good one; it was just that the fly didn’t go all the way to the ground like ours.

One of the biggest reasons I wouldn’t go with a Colman, is weight. I’d rather have an ultra light tent to keep pack weight at a minimum…make the Journey (the most important part) more delightful. Here’s the tent we use…though it cost a bit more than $40.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3470[/ATTACH]

It's a MSR Hubba Hubba. They are expensive, but for compact packability and saving weight they're awesome. This picture was taken on this last backpacking trip.

Great info/perspective, and probably something the OP should consider since he's going to be canoe camping where you typically get a heavier dew near any body of water. I definitely can testify that you don't want anything touching the inside of those walls (or the fly) in at least a Coleman tent because it will wick right in -- been there, did that on my very first camping trip with my two boys, and I should've known better from years of camping in a canvas tent.

OP: If you keep the tent, you may want to bring along some kind of just-in-case tarp solution. I'm not a backpacker/remote camper, but I would think that would be something anyone would want to bring anyway. I can't imagine anything much worse than being rather far from civilization and have everything wet. I would want to bring something like that even if I had the same tent as Busere, but again, I'm a car camper so I have room for a lot more "what if" packing.

[busere]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

OP: If you keep the tent, you may want to bring along some kind of just-in-case tarp solution. I'm not a backpacker/remote camper, but I would think that would be something anyone would want to bring anyway. I can't imagine anything much worse than being rather far from civilization and have everything wet. I would want to bring something like that even if I had the same tent as Busere, but again, I'm a car camper so I have room for a lot more "what if" packing.

Yeah...my "what if" packing fits in an Altoid tin.

[omegapd]

Re: Coleman sundome 2 man tent review:

Thanks for the replies, everyone. It's already extremely hot here now, and last year was the worst drought we've ever had, so I'm really more concerned with ventilation than anything else- but that could change in a heartbeat. Again, thank you for the replies!

EricW