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.
That been said campers love this tent and the larger versions, and seem quite happy to pay extra for the convenience it offers. Both are sold without a rain fly, which you will need to purchase. To test the family-size tents, we planned a series of weekend camping trips with a total of 12 California families, all with kids between the ages of 9 months and 9 years.
This 6-person version offers 87.2 ft² (8.1 m²) so it is best to downgrade the number of users. The instant setup means that you can have it ready literally in 60 seconds. This is what they call the Fast Pitch design, and this means there is a hub element attached to the poles. The area is 90.4 ft² (8.4 m²), and the peak height is 76 inches (193 cm). This is a very unique design, what you see here is a connectable tent. This means it can be zipped to three other tents of this type or to smaller 3-person tents from the same series, one of them is shown in the picture.
When Coleman introduced their first Instant Tent to the world back in 2013 I was a little skeptical it was smaller than similar tents and quite a lot more money. The original Instant 8 has over the years has become an all time favorite along with the more recent Instant Cabin both have huge followings with great ratings. The tent is very affordable and dome-shaped, note that there is an extra loop pole for the vestibule support, and these are fiberglass poles. The tent weighs 9 lb 5.4 oz (8.77 kg), and its peak height is 72 inches (183 cm).
There are 3 doors here, you also have PVC windows, and the shell is with a a huge waterproof rating. The poles are fiberglass, there are 4 shock-corded loops that support the tent. And, to prevent rain from entering, any exposed mesh sections like windows are built with a waterproof flap that zips open and closed. In addition to the various capacities, Coleman also makes the unique and rather intriguing Dark Room Sundome.
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 sizes, coleman sleeping bags 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. The rainfly only covers the roof and top portion of the tent, and has built-in guy lines for staking into the ground.
So, to keep the overall cost down, coleman bbq are usually supplied with these type of tent poles. If you expect a tent to be waterproof but doesn’t have taped seems, a high waterproof rating, or a full coverage rainfly, it’s going to leak. The massive tent was able to house our mountain bikes, riding gear, camping equipment, and sleeping area comfortably. Surprisingly, the tent was able to weather a bit of rain and wind gusts with zero issues.