This compact Coleman tent is the perfect fit for two adults.

We had a Coleman tent for many years. The upside, it still looked brand new and cosmetically didn’t really show any wear at all. The downside, the poles that support it are made of what appears to be a fiberglass material that with age have started to disintegrate.

The ends of the poles started to splinter, so I fell to the tried and true remedy. I used duct tape to keep the poles from splintering more. This quick fix bought us one more summer of fun with our old Coleman tent. As I packed our Coleman tent away after our last camping trip I knew it was time to part ways, we couldn’t find any replacement parts for it.

Why choose a Coleman tent?

In my opinion, the Coleman is the best waterproof tent on the market. So, keeping in line with what Coleman calls a four person instant tent, I went along the same lines once again while choosing our new tent. I’m not quite sure of what four people the company was referring to when they say it ‘sleeps four’. Images of the little Oompa Loompas come into my mind.

A four person tent, by Coleman’s definition,

works perfectly for two people. 

The Coleman tent is not really a four person tent unless you have small children, under the age of five. The tent would work for four people in an emergency, otherwise the tent is just large enough for the both of us, a small carry-on travel bag to keep our clothes dry, and a queen size air mattress.

Other than size, I was looking for the same amount of simplicity that Coleman canopy tents have offered in the past: waterproof, quick to set up and take down. With those attributes on our wish list, we decided to do some shopping.

After a few trips to different department stores, we ultimately ended up finding exactly what we wanted on Amazon.

The Coleman Sundome 4 Person Camping Tent was just what we had in mind.

Liberty Mountain Sports Sundome tent dimensions:

With 108 in x 84 in x 59 in and only two Fiberglass Poles, it seemed roomy enough for us yet not weigh us down while traveling.  This model comes in a light green color that blends in well with nature.

Coleman Tent Specifications:

• Measures 9 by 7 feet
• 59-inch center height
• Dome structure is easy to transport and simple to set up
• Polyester taffeta 75D flysheet
• Polyester mesh 68D inner tent
• Floor: Polyethylene 1000D-140g/sqm floor
• 450 mm PU coating on flysheet and inner tent
• Privacy vent window
• Two pole setup with shock-corded poles
• Interior gear pocket
• Electrical access port
• Continuous pole sleeves
• Instructions sewn to durable carry bag
• Pin and ring design and InstaClip attachments
• Limited 1 year warranty

I ordered it with the free shipping and the total cost was a steal, coming in at just under $70.00 (price may vary). The tent took less than a week to get here and I was more than eager to set it up once it arrived.

Shop For This Tent

Using our back yard as a test site, I proceeded to test its set-up time which is set at 10 minutes. Silke watched from the edge of the deck as I deftly maneuvered my way around the laid out tent and proceeded to stake off the corners. It was very similar to our old tent in layout and design so I had an unfair advantage to setting it up the first time.

In no time at all (less then ten minutes actually), the Coleman camping tent was standing and ready to go in our back yard. Once inside, Silke commented on how well ventilated it was. This is nice in the summer, but we’ve camped in the late fall before and we were freezing. We will need to bring some extra blankets along from now on.

This Coleman tent is actually pretty roomy inside!

Even after we figured in the size of the air mattress, we still had plenty of room to store our gear off to the sides plus the little bed for our dog Lily. Check out the homemade dog treats we made for her.

The patented keepsake pouches always came in handy for car keys and wallets in the past. You can see one of the mash bags in the picture above.

I mentioned earlier that there were only two fiberglass poles for this tent, the old tent used four plus small ones for the rain flap. The larger poles can easily be replaced but the ones that were used for the rain fly couldn’t be replaced.

The rain fly on this tent only uses one pole down the center making it easier to set up and less parts that could potentially break. All the poles that came with this tent are available as replacements at any sporting goods store that sells Coleman camping gear or online.

Watch our video ‘How to set up a Coleman tent’.

Nick and Lily showing off our new Coleman tent

 With our Coleman tent and cooking gear in tow,

we are ready to go camping!

Read over 600 customer reviews on this 4 Person Coleman tent on Amazon:

Monkeybizness: Don’t ask me why, but we went camping and canoeing during Hurricane Irene in the Shenandoah River for the entire weekend. This tent was easy to set up (in the dark) and was sufficient in keeping the bugs out. Saturday night, there was heavy rain and winds 45-60ish mph; pretty scary when you add some thunder and sounds of falling branches. This tent was secure and kept my wife and I dry when our friends tents sprung leaks and suffered wet sleeping bags.

Phantom448: I purchased this tent for a camping trip in Lake George NY. I’ve never been camping since the boy scout days. Opened up the package when I got there and setup was simple, it took about ten minutes. Tent is really well made for the price, everything went together well. The ventilation is great with the upper walls screened. Even with the rain cover on you still get great ventilation through large screened openings on the front and back walls of tent. Without the rain guard installed, the upper walls of this tent are screened so you can see the sky and stars.

Buy A Coleman Camping Tent

Do you have a similar tent and would you like to share your experience with us? Please leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.