Under particularly windy conditions, we appreciated the fact that we could also secure the fly to the tent poles with Velcro ties underneath the fly so that the extra lines anchored the whole tent, not just the thin protective fabric. The fly also adds the vestibule space, which not only gives you options for gear storage but also helps ventilate the tent in inclement coleman sleeping bags weather via two vents. 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 options for sun protection and privacy. Without the fly, the Mineral King 3 has a full mesh dome with a waterproof, tape-seamed bathtub-style polyester floor.
Send me exclusive offers, unique gift ideas, and personalized tips for shopping and selling on Etsy. The total area is 40 ft² (13 m²), but the screen room is not fully protected, so the inner protected zone is with the dimensions 10 x 9 ft (3.05 x 2.74 m), and this means 90 ft² (8.36 m²). This Coleman OneSource Camping Dome Tent 6 Person is a part of a collection that included many products. So this is a tent with integrated lighting system and a fan included. Gone are the days of being woken up by light streaming in through the tent fabric, and as a bonus, it helps get kids to bed early when there’s still light outside.
Fly-less, we had no problems, and the tent maintained its shape under windy conditions the first time we pitched it. The tent body simply clips onto a set of aluminum poles that dock into grommets at four corners of the tent. These now-common clip-style setups are generally intuitive and can be accomplished in minutes—certainly this was true of the Mineral King 3, as under good conditions one person pitched the tent in under five minutes. In high winds, it took us a maximum of 10 minutes to pitch and fully secure the tent fly with extra lines and stakes. Mountain Hardwear’s plastic clips and aluminum poles handled well and fit together easily. For this guide, we’re not looking at overly specialized gear but rather tents that suit the most common terrains you’re likely to roll up to in a car-camping scenario—grassy lawns or clearings, soil, sand, and basic platforms.
The Mineral King 3 also comes with its own footprint, a groundsheet that protects the tent from abrasion, which many outfitters sell separately—and which we recommend that you have. Among the tent’s setup features, we also appreciated the shepherd’s hook stakes the Mineral King 3 comes with. In contrast, the majority of the tents in our test group came with basic L-shaped stakes, which tended to spin around in the soil and slip a line. The shepherd’s hook design, in contrast, held lines and tabs secure in all conditions and required no extra equipment for handling. For the first incarnations of this guide, we tested the smaller tents and the larger, family-size tents in two separate groups.
Instead of the poles following a continuous arch around the tent, the Skydome™ tent poles include an elbow connection which breaks up the arch, resulting in a more squared-off shape. There are plenty of high end camping brands out there, such as Marmot, Nemo, and Big Agnes. When looking at tents from those companies, you can typically expect to pay an arm and a leg for anything from their catalog.
A full rain cover, a spacious vestibule, and a reinforced pole structure make this the best choice for families who are committed to getting outside no matter the weather. If you’re constantly on the move and aren’t keen on pitching and taking down a tent, rooftop tents secure to the roof of your car and either pop up or fold out when you’re ready to use them. This convenience and additional features — including a ladder and a built-in mattress — mean rooftop tents tend to be on the higher end of the price spectrum.
Cost-wise, the Dark Room will set you back approximately $30 more (depending on current sale prices) compared with the regular Sundome. Most Coleman tent poles are made of fiberglass, stored in sections, connected together by a shock cord with two vinyl caps on the ends. Fiberglass poles are a strong-but-cheap option for your tent poles.
Although the seams may lack sealing of any kind, the stitching itself is free of defects and looks neat in general. First, the zippers used on both the door and back vent feel especially cheap, often snagging while in use. Second, we’re not a fan of fiberglass tent poles—we find aluminum to be sturdier and less prone to splintering.
Regardless of the type of tent you choose, Campspot’s Tessa McCrackin noted the importance of practicing setting up your tent at home before heading out, especially if you may have to pitch it in bad weather. “And whatever you do, put the tent up right when you get there — don’t wait until later, because setting up a tent in the dark after a few beers isn’t easy,” she suggested. To make sure your tent lasts for years, Romero recommended always shaking out the tent before packing it back up, never placing it near a cooking area and keeping all the parts together, including poles and stakes. Coleman’s flagship weather protection system is called “Weathertec” and tents with this system are the best suited for three-season camping rain-or-shine. It’s a bit of a bummer that Coleman didn’t add a second door to the Cabin, but considering its “one big room” interior and the fact that a second door would mean more opportunity for water to find a way in, we really can’t blame them there.
At Untamed Space, we’re passionate about helping you have the best camping experience possible. We are an independent website and do not receive payments or incentives from manufacturers to promote their products, and we continuously update our content to provide new information based on product availability. Wherever you are in your journey, whatever gear you’re searching for, you can be sure to find unbiased and up-to-date reviews for all of your needs. Coleman makes no dedicated footprints for its tents, so we suggest that you buy a groundsheet.