You can secure the fly to the poles with Velcro ties underneath the fly, so that the extra lines anchored the whole tent, not just the thin protective fabric, but we only needed to do so in very windy conditions. When the fly is fully deployed, the tent has two vestibules, which provide additional gear storage and also help ventilate the tent coleman cabin tent in inclement weather. And in a stroke of design brilliance, a small loop sewn into the top of the fly makes it possible to roll up one half of the fly, exposing the full mesh canopy while still providing shade and privacy. Underneath the fly, the Mineral King 3 has a full mesh dome with a waterproof, tape-seamed bathtub-style polyester floor.
Like our top pick, the Tungsten 4 is a sturdy, two-door dome-style tent that can be deployed in about 5 minutes. It uses high-quality materials such as aluminum poles, breathable mesh, and water-resistant polyester coleman tents fabric, and it comes with a full fly and a footprint. The Tungsten 4’s larger size accounts for the higher price tag (about $40 more), but campers who would like that extra room may find the expense worthwhile.
This tent also includes the instant setup technology, which allows one person to pitch this tent in under 60 seconds by simply extending and securing the pre-attached poles. Like our couples’ tent pick, the Wireless 6 is a dome-shaped tent with a tried and true two-pole design. It has an interior footprint of 87 square feet, which sleeps four adults on single pads, or two adults and two or three children, and can accommodate a crib. That wasn’t the tallest we encountered—the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 and the Alps Mountaineering Camp Creek 6 each topped out at 7 feet—but it’s enough space for most adults to maneuver standing up. The tent comes with a full rain fly that adds two vestibules for storage (each 14 square feet), totaling 115 square feet of livable space—which is fairly generous yet still practical for most campsites. The best-selling Coleman Sundome 6-Person Tent has a footprint larger (100 square feet) than that of our top-pick tent for families, but it felt smaller because it has a lower ceiling, no vestibule, and only one door.
Vents are openings in the tent fabric — usually with a mesh screen to keep out bugs — that promote airflow through the tent. A small tent-top fly keeps drizzle and dew out of the tent while allowing plenty of airflow. A full-coverage fly offers maximum protection from the elements while maintaining airflow across the tent wall.
That’s because Coleman uses a flexible fiberglass frame that packs down flat for storage, but then “pops” up instantly into its fully pitched form the second you unfold it. You can literally just toss it into the air and watch it expand before your eyes (you won’t be the first or last camper to do so). The Skydome won’t be everyone’s first pick though, which is why we’ve also listed the best models out there for every sort of camper in the outdoors from large family gatherings to solo backpackers. To ensure waterproofing, the majority of Coleman tents, like the Coleman Elite Montana 8P, come with WeatherTec, which creates a waterproof tent with welded floor corners and inverted seams.
Providing affordable functionality, and ease of set up, the Silver Series is an excellent choice for entry level outdoorspeople, or occasional campers. Taking all the above features into account, we found that the Coleman Skydome 4 was the best Coleman tent overall. Its combination of all the things we love in a family camping tent (affordable, roomy, coleman sleeping bags and reliable) with the added bonus of a sizable front vestibule just can’t be beaten. Taking our top honors as the best Coleman tent overall is the Coleman Skydome 4. We love the Skydome because it delivers all the budget-friendliness you expect from a Coleman shelter, but adds in extra space, storage, and weather protection without any added expense.