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 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.
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.
Overall, both nylon and polyester are synthetic fibers which are strong, moisture resistant and lightweight. In comparison, most high-performance tents are made from coated ripstop nylon. Nylon fabric and its variants are typically higher strength and more lightweight compared to other coleman sleeping bags materials. The separate rainfly and full mesh interior allows for greater airflow during warmer nights. Usually, Coleman groundsheets have an ultra mesh design that allows the grass underneath your tent to breathe so that you cause less damage to your environment while camping.
Weighing just 7 pounds (or 6 pounds 1 ounce without extras like the tent bag), the tent is light enough to double for backpacking trips, especially if you divide the pieces among hikers. Before buying a tent, it will be helpful to know how many people it must accommodate on your trip. So, getting the right sized tent will make sure that you are well rested for your next day’s activities. With that being said, we do recommend you take note of your Coleman tent’s longest measurement when packed, especially if you’ll be transporting it in a compact car rather than a truck or SUV. And, because there are so many different Coleman models to choose from, we’ve also included a handy buyer’s guide down at the bottom to help explain what these tents are all about and help you find the right model for your next trip.
Once we Velcroed the poles to the fly via the tabs that run under the seams, the poles stabilized. And with some added staked lines, the tent was as sturdy as any we observed. But under windy conditions, you’ll want to reinforce the poles with all available mechanisms and not cut any corners in setup. We talked through the Copper Canyon’s specs with Ryan Flynn, sales manager for Johnson Outdoors, Eureka’s parent company. Flynn told us that the advantage of the lighter aluminum poles found in the company’s Jade Canyon tent is purely about weight.
With the right truck bed tent, you can enjoy the great outdoors from the comfort of your pickup truck. This lightweight option by Marmot is a 2-person backpacking tent, complete with an interior mesh wall for a bug-free and well-ventilated enclosure. It comes with a durable polyester rainfly, which is an outermost layer of fabric that protects the tent from rain and condensation, and includes vents for a breathable living space. It also includes a footprint — typically sold separately — that can be placed below the tent to protect the tent floor from abrasive objects like sticks, rocks and roots. In terms of weather protection, our favorite feature of the Skydome is it’s full length/full coverage rainfly.
One night during testing, for example, clouds loomed in the distance with clear skies overhead. After we pitched the tent, the Mineral King 3’s adaptable fly let us arrange an open mesh half-dome for easy viewing of the stars. When the rain finally arrived, we had only to reach out of the tent for a few moments to unfurl the waterproof material and secure it for a dry night’s sleep. In the morning, we opened the doors and unzipped the fly, rolling back one of two vestibule panels. It was still raining, but from inside the tent we could watch the sky lighten and make coffee outside the door under the remaining covered half of the vestibule, where our shoes and sundries had remained dry overnight.
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 coleman tents 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.
When you’re looking for a waterproof tent in Coleman’s range, you need to choose one with a higher waterproof rating. However, depending on the type of Coleman polyester tent, you could find that Coleman has utilized a UV inhibitor, a special design element meant to prolong the lifetime of a Coleman polyester tent. Coleman tents are made out of mostly nylon or polyester fabric for the inner and outer of the tent. If your tent needs to perform in adverse weather, you are better off purchasing a tent that openly displays its waterproof rating so you know what you can expect from it. The combination of slick marketing and lack of technical information combined with attractive pricing means that a lot of people own Coleman tents that aren’t as good as they hoped. An avid swimmer, surfer, hiker, and camper, she currently lives on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where she can be found, as much as possible, in water.