Coleman - Sundome Dark Room

A Sundome or Skydome is still easier to set up and a lot more waterproof. The fact that they added an extra sold separately rainfly to the Instant shows it’s bad.

Blackout and waterproof. I rock a Coleman 8 man Skydome or a 4 man Sundome

Coleman Sundome and Skydome are both super easy

I recommend a 6 man (or 8 man) Coleman blackout Sundome or Skydome. Check out Ollie’s if you have one for deals on Coleman

Coleman Sundome or Skydome. Check out an Ollie’s if you have one. The other Coleman tents will probably be just fine too. But I would avoid the instant up - sets up fast but leaks so badly they made an additional rainfly for it.

Try a Coleman Sundome or Skydome from Ollie’s, blackout if you can get it. I’ve bought both to festivals with multiple severe thunderstorms and was much dryer than people who brought much more expensive tents. The bathtub floor will be much better in bad weather than this tent. Sometimes you can get a dud Coleman that leaks in one spot, but that’s only happened to me once. Just set it up and test it in rain before your event. I will say avoid the instant tent, that thing is so bad they sell an aftermarket rainfly to fix it.

If you check out the Sundome on Amazon, I think it’s the most reviewed tent they sell

And IMO, the difficulty of putting it away offsets the ease of setting it up. Gimme a basic Coleman any day.

Coleman tents are generally VERY waterproof. I’ve used one many times in severe thunderstorms. Check out the Amazon reviews for the Sundome.

I didn’t bother to buy it after testing the instant tent in the rain. But my Sundome and Skydome are great in bad weather

I had a stoic madrone 4 and water came in through the floor. On the other hand, my 8 man darkroom Sundome keeps me totally dry in severe thunderstorms even though the rainfly doesn’t reach the ground. The tent body is also waterproof.

The Sundome is a classic for a reason. Get a darkroom version if you can

They work the same as the non darkroom versions

Poor design. The Sundome and Skydome don’t leak like that

I’ve used a 6P Darkroom year round, including in/on snow, including an 8” overnight drop. I do use a cot and either alone or with 1 other person, also on a cot.

Several of our other adult scout leaders have them. I’m not a fan. Rainfly is a separate purchase. It is fast to set up, but weird. And awkward to take down and dry out. It isn’t worth saving 5 minutes of set up to cause more hassle later, Door is only on one side, which makes it hard to use 2 cots (6 person). I would rather do a Sundome for similar size/ease with more utility.

HikerDirect member? I generally use a Coleman Sundome 6P Darkroom. It is what my cot fits in and I can stand up. I joke with the other leaders that I camp like a Cub Scout leader. A few times I’ve gotten much better rest due to the Darkroom and ear plugs. Occasionally another adult will share with me, but depends on the location and which troop I’m with that weekend.

Coleman Sundome 6 Dark Room

I mean, it isn’t anything super fancy, but I’ve had it since 2018. First few years were family campouts/Cub scouts 1-2x a year. The last 3 have been an average of 1 weekend a month. I have replaced 4 pole sections after they cracked and have 1 more remaining, then I have a newer one to start using. The current one has also been set up and played in by Cub Scouts a good dozen or so time. The skin is greeting worn, but still waterproof. My daughter’s scout troop has been using 4 person ones exclusively for a few years. A bunch got flattened in a wind storm, but it was like 80mph gusts. Coleman replaced most of them and we repaired the rest. They are not ALPS or REI, but for low cost simple tents, they will last a long time if you treat them properly.

I have 1 10-person Coleman dark room instant tent and 2 6-person Coleman dark room sundome tent and I highly recommend just buying 2 6p tents. The 10 P tent is great if you want space to play games at night, but need to make sure you have enough space to carry it around in a truck as its pretty huge and more space at campsite to setup. 6p tent seems perfect for sturdiness and space to move a bit, as the 10p tent seems more flimsy in the wind as the poles seem smaller and all connect to one center being it is instant which takes around 15 min or less to setup but 6p tents are also easy as its still only two crossbars.

Yes! Especially with my kids, who are used to having blackout shades. Love my Coleman 6-person darkroom tent for car camping with 4 people.

We bought a Coleman Dark room 6 person tent from Costco about 5-6 years ago and it is still going strong. It’s super easy to put up. My man and I can assemble it in under 5 minutes without any bickering. A single person could probably assemble it if they practiced and weren’t in a rush. I love that we can stand up in the center, it’s dark so we’re not woken up super early in the morning by the sun. It has screens on 2 panels that don’t zip up but when you put the rain cover over it covers the windows so privacy and retaining inside tent temperature isn’t an issue. We’ve camped in the rain with it (put an extra tarp over top) but it didn’t have any leaking on the sides or bottom. It’s was fairly cheap in price as well. Most likely under $100. I’m sure there’s a newer version now but we would definitely look into this same model again once our current one screw the pooch. As for our set up, my man and I like to sleep on 2 separate twin pads against the walls with room in the middle for standing and moving around. We each put our bags at our feet with plenty of spare room. We’re very comfortable in it. But for 3-4 people you’d be nice and cozy. For 3-4 people I’d actually look for an 8+ person tent to make sure there’s enough room.

My partner and I have been using our 6 person Coleman dark room tent from Costco for about 5-6 years now and we love it. It’s easy to pop up and take down. Takes about 7 minutes total to put up and even less to take down. It works for spring to early fall months.

The Coleman 6-person Dark Room tent would be a great option for you. Easy to set up, handles weather well (we had a nasty storm blow through the Peach a few years ago and it did great), has enough room for a queen inflatable mattress plus stuff. The link is directly from coleman but I believe we got it cheaper elsewhere [https://www.coleman.com/camp-sports/tents-by-size/6-person-dark-room-skydome-camping-tent/SAP_2207025.html](https://www.coleman.com/camp-sports/tents-by-size/6-person-dark-room-skydome-camping-tent/SAP_2207025.html)

I have the 4p and 6p and they definitely block out the light

Love my coleman dark room tents!

I got one of the Coleman tents with dark room technology 2 years ago and when I tell you it’s so worth the investment! Stays cool/dark enough to sleep in once the sun comes up if you want to.

You’ll definitely want a canopy, I’ve always had my dark room tent partially under one to help protect from the sun even more. You can probably place a pickup order for a canopy at a Walmart in Indio.

Buy Coleman with the Dark Room tech, or a brand with similar like Logos. Don’t buy the cheap shit people are telling about. They will get insanely hot and keeping out the sun is the only way they are useful.

I've never had a CORE tent, but Coleman and Kelty have both worked well in the past for car camping. The Coleman "instant cabin" would probably be an easier setup, but not much easier, and at cost of some sturdiness. Coleman Dark Room and Kelty Daydreamer are also neat; they're designed to black out sunlight, so the material is a bit heavier... and yeah, you can sleep in past dawn much more easily.