6 Best Coleman Tents – Buyers Guide

Today we are going to focus on a Coleman tents review. I have included Coleman in many of my previous articles, for a good reason – because Coleman tents are great. So, I came to the conclusion that they deserve a review all of their own.

I have compiled this buyer’s guide with a list of the 6 best Coleman tents and we’ve got quite a variety – instant and pop-up cabin tents, dome tents, even a darkroom tent.

Let’s dive in and see what exactly makes Coleman tents so great. Here are our favorite coleman tent reviews!

Best Coleman Tents – Top 6

#1 Coleman Instant Cabin Tent

This Coleman 10 person tent sets up instantly, in as fast as a minute, and can fit up to 4, 6, or 10 people. The 4 and 6-person tents are very similar, even in color, whereas the 10-person tent has a few differences and instead of brown, it comes in green, blue, and black.

Let’s talk about all the features this one has that make it such a great cabin tent.

This is quite a cheap Coleman tent, and it’s a freestanding one which means that it can easily be set up anywhere no matter the type of ground, and can be moved if need be.

Setting up a tent has never been so easy and simple; all you need to do is unfold, extend, and secure it. It’s thanks to the preassembled poles that it’s so quick, and it’s also just as effortless to take back down.

Even if you’re a first-time camper, it’s impossible for it to take you longer than a couple of minutes. You’ll want help setting up the 10-person tent but for the others, just one person would have no problem doing it alone. 

It’s made with durable 150D/150D polyester which can withstand the elements of any season. 

Taped and inverted seams and welded corners help keep water out, while the integrated rainfly gives you more protection and ventilation without the need for extra assembly.

The 4-person and 6-person tents have four windows in total, two at the front, and another two large ones on the sides. Although, I wouldn’t have complained if there were more windows at the back, but there was enough fresh air coming in when I had used it so it’s not a big deal. 

The large door makes it easy to get in and out, although it is not in the center. 

The 4-person tent can fit a queen-sized air bed with dimensions of 8 x 7ft, and 4 feet 11 inches in height, whereas the 6-person tent fits two queen air beds (10 x 9 ft, 6ft center height), and the 10-person tent has dimensions of 14 x 10ft, which can fit 4 queen-size air beds and 6ft 7 inches center height. 

It doesn’t just depend on how many people you’re going camping with, but also your preferences and how much gear everyone brings along. Personally, I like to be able to stand up in a tent, so the 4-person tent isn’t ideal for me, even if it’s just my partner and I. We usually have a lot of gear and our dogs with us, so more space is better for all of us. 

The tents come with a carry bag so that you can conveniently store it inside and carry along with you. The 10-person tent has Dark Room Technology, by using illumine reflective lining, 90% of the sunlight coming into the tent is blocked so that you can sleep in as long as you’d like without interruption by the sun. Plus, it reduces temperature buildup by about 10%. 

This is ideal for summer camping trips – not only because of the heat reduction inside the tent but also because you won’t get woken up as soon as the sun rises. Being able to sleep in a little bit longer, for once, makes the whole trip that much better.

Moreover, when you go for a bathroom break during the night, it’s incredibly easy to make your way back to your tent because there are reflective guy lines that stand out in the dark.

The 10-person tent even comes with a room divider for added privacy, making this an excellent Coleman 2 room tent.

Also, there are storage pockets so that you can keep small things neatly organized and avoid clutter all over the floor. 

What I love about Coleman is that they test all of their tents against rain and wind. They have something called a rain room, where 35+ gallons of water are sprayed over the tent for 10 minutes, ranging from light drizzles to heavy downpour, and if more than two tablespoons of water manage to seep into the tent, then it fails the test. For the wind test, they have strong fans to blow at the tent at 35+ MPH. If the tent stays in place throughout the wind, without any pole damage, then it passes this test. 

Despite having enough ventilation, ground vents are always a good thing – which this tent, unfortunately, does not have. It doesn’t have a vestibule either, which is also not a necessity but a nice thing to have if you want to use it.

#2 Coleman WeatherMaster Outdoor Tent

Here we have one of the best Coleman family tents for rain; the WeatherMaster. This is a 6-person and 10-person tent that both come in the color brown and cream and are dome-shaped.

The 6-person tent has enough room for two queen-sized airbeds and weighs 14.5kg. The measurements are 11 x 9 feet, and it has a center height of 6’8”. Not only is there plenty of space, but even if you’re tall you won’t have any issues standing up inside.  This one also has a nice D-shaped door and a separate, floorless, and meshed screen room. Come rain or shine, the screen room provides even more ventilation while keeping you protected from getting wet or the sun’s heat.

The large D-style door makes it very easy to get in and out, especially because it’s hinged. I’m used to much more flimsy doors, but this kind of door makes it effortless to access the tent even when carrying something like a baby.

It’s great to have a screen room to enjoy lounging bug-free, and it doubles as a place to keep gear and thus have more space inside of the room. Or, if it’s a particularly hot summer night you could sleep in the screen room.

The 10-person one has two doors, which is a great feature to have when so many campers are staying in one tent. The maximum height is 80 inches, weighs 31 pounds, and the tent is made with durable polyester taffeta 75D 450mm with PU coating. 

There’s enough room inside this tent to fit 3 queen sized air beds, the front door is hinged which makes it easier to enter, and there’s a room divider for extra privacy. 

The measurements of this tent are 17 x 9 feet (W x D), with over 6 feet in height. It even has color coded poles that make the assembly process that much easier. 

So, apart from the size and the screen room, these tents are more or less the same as they both share the rest of the great features.

Firstly, let’s start off by addressing the name of the tent – WeatherMaster. It gets the name from having Coleman’s ‘WeatherTec system’, which means that Coleman have a rain room built in their factory to simulate rain conditions, varying from a light drizzle to heavy downpour, in order to test their tents beforehand.  So, you know for sure that you’ll stay dry if some unexpected bad weather appears while you’re on your camping trip. 

Basically, this tent is guaranteed to be one of the best Coleman tents for rain because of its excellent waterproofing and design. Inverted seams in the tent increase weather resistance by ‘hiding’ the needle holes on the inside, and this tent is also engineered to have a strong frame to resist against the wind thanks to the redesigned poles and guy-out triangles. 

The windows are angled, meaning that you can even keep them open when it’s raining because they keep the water out and provide more air circulation. 

There’s also a mesh storage pocket sewn into the side of the tent’s walls so that you can keep small necessities inside them within close reach and off of the floor. 

The zippers on the doors are made of weather-resistant fabric, adding even more protection from rain. Not to mention the floors, which have been made with welding-inspired technology which strengthens the tent floor, eliminates needle holes, and makes it even more water resistant. 

Apart from having fully-taped rainfly seams, the rainfly covers the doors and windows and incorporates Velcro frame attachments which are easy to use.  

You have everything that you need to set up the tent included, as well as a convenient carry bag that even has straight forward instructions sewn into the bag.  It’s also really simple to do so, and can be done in about 20 minutes thanks to the two color-coded poles, shock-corded fiberglass poles, pin-and-ring design, and InstaClip attachments.

Coleman have been in business for over 100 years, producing high-quality and affordable products, and the WeatherMaster 10 person Tent includes a one-year manufacturer’s warranty. 

The very first time I set it up, it did take me longer than 20 minutes, but that’s because I did it by myself and it was the first time – every time after that it only took about ten minutes. 

My only complaint is the tent stakes, even though they’re metal they aren’t the best and it seems like they could easily bend if they’re not staked carefully. For our complete review check out – coleman weathermaster 10 review.

#3 Coleman Sundome Tent

The Coleman sundome tent comes in multiple sizes and there are two color options you can choose from: navy blue with gray and a touch of bright green, or bright green with white and a dab of black.

The sizes available for the sundome tent are for 2, 3, 4, and 6 people.

The two person tent has measurements of 82.7 x 59.1 x 47.2 inches and weighs 6.38 pounds, whereas the 3-person tent’s interior is 7 x 7 x 52 inches, only weighing 8 pounds. The tent for 4 measures at 108 x 84 x 59 inches, has a center height of 4ft and weighs 9 pounds. The 6-person tent has a center height of 4ft, and with an interior of 7ft x 5ft you can fit a queen-size air bed inside. 

These tents and the rainfly are made with thick and durable and breathable 75 denier polyester taffeta, and the tents have welded corners and inverted seams which stop any water from getting in. The rainfly is for extra protection but when it’s not on, the top half of the tent is mostly meshed so that lots of fresh air can flow in. 

 They are freestanding tents and so you can set them up anywhere, no matter the type of ground. Also, if the tent needs to be moved for whatever reason, it’s easy to do that without much hassle.

The sundome tent can withstand strong winds of up to 35+ MPH thanks to its strong frame, and they’ve been tested to not let any water in despite having over 35 gallons of water rained onto them in their rain room.

There are large windows and a ground vent to ensure great ventilation by pushing warm air upwards, so you don’t have to worry about restless nights due to heat or a lack of fresh air. It’s also very easy to set up the tent and should only take around ten to fifteen minutes to do so.

There’s also an E-port, for easy access to slip an extension cord through and have electrical power inside of the tent. Although when I go camping, I can manage just fine without any power but only if it’s just for 1 day or 2. When I camp for longer than that an E-port is rather necessary.

 Also, there are indeed storage pockets made out of mesh that have been sewn into the tent’s walls to store small essentials within easy reach and avoid clutter lying around. You’ll also find that inside of the tent there’s a ring in the center of the ceiling where you can hang a lantern from to illuminate the inside of your tent at night.

Included with this tent you’ll find that you have everything you need – poles, rainfly (with pre-attached guy lines), ground stakes, instructions, and a carry bag. 

All Coleman tents have a 1-year limited warranty in the case of a defect upon arrival. 

The only thing that I did notice is that the stakes seem rather frail, and personally, I’d rather invest in getting some more durable ones. Apart from that, there isn’t a footprint included but that’s fine for me as I already had one but if this is your first ever tent, you’d have to get one separately. 

 #4 Coleman Darkroom Dome Tent

The Coleman dark room tent is available with or without a screen room. Both come in the colors black and green, and the classic dome is suitable for 4 people or less, whereas the screen room tent could fit 7/8 people.

Firstly, the smaller tent without a screen room is dome-shaped, weighs 2lbs, and has dimensions of 24.02 x 6.69 x 6.69 inches (L x W x H). One queen-sized airbed can fit inside, and the center height is 4ft and 11 inches. It only takes about 10 minutes to have this tent set up.

As for the Coleman 7 person tent with a screen room; that weighs 22lbs and has total dimensions of 14 x 10ft. The inner room’s dimensions are 10 x 9ft, whereas the screen room is 10 x 5ft. So, the total area would be 140 ft squared. When packed up, the size is 26 x 11 x 11 inches, and the center height of the tent is 5ft 8 inches.

The screen room isn’t just perfect for bug-free lounging, but you can also use it to keep gear and shoes for extra space and less dirt. On really hot summer nights, it’s a great place to sleep in. If you happen to go camping with pets, as I do with my two dogs, the screen room is also the ideal place for your pets to sleep at night.

It has a really large D-style door and windows that let in plenty of fresh air, and the inside is really spacious – two queen air beds can fit inside easily.

You can only enjoy the screen room if it’s not raining though. This is because there is nothing protecting that area when it rains, not even the rainfly. Also, there’s no stake point at the entrance, making it very annoying when unzipping the entrance because you have to hold down the base to do so.

Coleman have something called ‘fast pitch’, what it really means is that the shock-corded poles are permanently attached to the hub element. So, instead of having annoying sleeves throughout the hub that you’d have to pass the poles through, you just use clips instead. Also, the corners have a really innovative design – instead of pin and ring, or grommets, to attach the poles, you have a short tube that you just pop the end of the pole in. They call this the ‘fast fit feet system’.

The tents are made with 75D polyester taffeta, with durable bathtub-style floors.

Both tents have dark room technology, meaning they can block 90% of sunlight and reduce the heat inside by 11%. They have also been tested to be able to withstand strong winds of over 35mph. They were also tested in the rain room, where over 35 gallons of water rained down onto the tents, starting at a light drizzle to a heavy downpour. If more than two tablespoons of water leaked into the tent then it wouldn’t pass the test.

Welded corners and inverted seams are the reason water can’t get in, and the rainfly helps a great deal with that too.

They also have electrical cord ports, so that you can easily bring electrical power into the tent for everybody, and storage pockets that enable you to keep small personal items organized in one place.

The poles are made with fiberglass, which is not particularly durable. In the long run, I definitely plan to replace these.

#5 Coleman Pop-Up Tent

This is one of the top Coleman tents – the 2 –person pop-up tent. It is very affordable, and durable seeing as it’s made with 185T 68D fire- and water-resistant polyester. It’s perfect for camping trips in forests, or even your own backyard, festivals, at the beach, and so on.

It only takes about 10 seconds to set up, because of the preassembled poles that pop up into place. This way, you don’t have to spend any time at all setting up this self-inflating tent, and you can get straight to enjoying the trip.  

Even through a storm, the welding-inspired taped and inverted seams will keep you dry. Even the zipper cuffs have weather-resistant fabric for even more protection.

The frame has redesigned poles and guy-out triangles so that it can withstand strong wind better than ever before. 

This lightweight tent measures at 7ft 6 inches x 4ft 5 inches, and it has a center height of 2ft and 11 inches. There’s enough room inside for two people and their sleeping mats.

There’s a multi-position rainfly so that you can adjust it for the perfect balance of ventilation and protection. You’ll also find that there are two integrated storage pockets so that you can keep small items organized in one place and avoid losing anything. 

When it’s time to pack up and go home, this tent folds flat and is really easy to store and transport. When folded up it won’t fit in a backpack though, because it’s about three feet across in size. The carrying case does have handles, so it’s not difficult to just attach it to a backpack by using a zip tie for example.

Although, it doesn’t have a window. I used the front door instead, by leaving it unzipped. Thankfully it has a mesh liner so I didn’t have to worry about bugs, but I still would have preferred a window or two.

Plus, depending on how much space you need as an individual, you might want to use this as a one-person tent instead. For just sleeping, I don’t mind it with my partner. If it would have been a long trip I wouldn’t have managed though, because I’d need more space for more gear.

#6 Coleman Red Canyon Tent

The Red Canyon tent is the best Coleman 8 man tent and it comes in the colors red and black with a smidge of white, or simple and classic black and white.

The ideal Coleman family tent, you could even fit two small families if you wanted. Or if you prefer camping with a relatively large group of friends, this is perfect for that too. This is because this tent offers something that smaller sized tents don’t – privacy.

Setting up this Coleman 2 room tent is really easy and simple, and it does come with instructions that are straightforward. It can even be done by just one person, although it may take some time due to the size and the fact that the guy lines take a while to attach.

Depending on how experienced you are as a camper and with setting up tents, this should only take around 10-20 minutes to have it pitched.

It has something called a ‘Fast Pitch’ design, which just means that it uses color-coded and shock-corded pre-attached poles and hubs so that it is 50% faster to set up this tent than others.

The instructions are so simple that mostly all you need to do is unfold the tent and extend it and then secure it down with the stakes.

Make sure that you secure it properly with the stakes and use all of the guy lines, to ensure that your tent remains stable even if the wind picks up.

There are no instructions for takedown though, so once you open up this tent you should take a mental note of how everything was packed.

It has an interior of 17 x 10 feet and a center height of 72 inches, and the full-coverage (more or less) rainfly protects some of the door and all of the windows. The reason I say more or less is because I think the fly should have been made so that the door is completely covered and protected.

Three standard queen-sized air mattresses can fit inside, provided that everyone doesn’t have too much gear.

The frame has been engineered to be stronger and more wind-responsive than ever before because of the redesigned poles and guy-out triangles.

There’s a rear ground vent that can even double as a little doggy door, which I think is brilliant and clever. Also, any hot air that comes in through the vent rises and escapes through the mesh on the ceiling.

The tent is made with inverted seams that hide any needle holes and therefore improve weather resistance.

It has been built with welding-inspired technology that strengthens the tent’s floor, and even the zipper cuffs are made with water resistant fabric – adding even more protection on the door.

This tent is durable enough to last you for years to come, no matter how many times you use it.

Two removable divider sheets come with the tent so that you can create three separate rooms, and there is an integrated and adjustable venting system so you can adjust the airflow depending on the temperature.

There are two storage pockets that are sewn into the tent’s walls, for you to keep small items like glasses, keys, phones, flashlights, and whatever else, organized in one place. I really like this because I hate clutter all over the floor and it’s easy to lose track of where everything is.

It does come with a carry bag, making it very easy to take this tent around with you just about anywhere.

The tent has an attachable gear loft on the ceiling, which can come in useful because just two storage pockets for so many people is not always enough.

You have steel stakes that you’ll need to set up the tent included, so you have everything that you need.

A footprint is not included. I feel that it’s necessary to mention this because footprints are quite important. This is because the bottom of your tent can get torn from sharp rocks on the ground that you might not have noticed and removed before placement. Secondly, a footprint helps to protect the tent when the ground is wet.

So, if you don’t have a footprint already, I’d recommend getting one elsewhere because footprints can really help with maintaining the tent and making sure that it lasts long.

Overall, this seems like the perfect tent. There isn’t a tent out there that does not have at least one drawback to it though. For this one, I’d say it’s that the fact that there isn’t any way to get from one room to another with the room dividers up. You have to remove the sheet to pass through, which kind of defeats the point of it.

Also, there’s only one door. This can be a bit irritating if you’ve got the room dividers up and if multiple people want to get in or out of the tent at the same time. For our complete review check out – coleman red canyon tent review.

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