Even with the added privacy vent, I find ventilation for this tent to be a little less than impressive. The front and rear windows are fairly small, only covering the top portion of the tent. There is good size ventilation mesh on the ends of the tent, but once the rain cover is in place those are also covered. With the rain fly off, it will be difficult to maintain privacy since those mesh areas will not be covered.
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. My one complaint in this area is the flimsy fiberglass tent poles. I’m not a fiberglass hater, but these are a little on the thin side.
Skylodge™ 8-Person Camping Tent – BlackberryWith ample space inside and plenty of airflows, the Coleman® Skylodge™ Camping Tent makes for the optimal home away from home. If you need to return an item, please Contact Us with your order number and details about the product you would like to return. We will respond quickly with instructions for how to return items from your order. Or for something a little different, check out the Coleman 4 person instant cabin tent review. In researching this we came across a user who had even used the tent successfully in snow – which is some really impressive durability and protection from a tent that won’t break the bank.
For us, the combination of increased weather protection and nicer materials make the more expensive Meramac 6 well worth considering. Another Kelty tent to have on your radar is their Tallboy 6. It’s a step up in price from the Discovery above at $230, but you do get a number of upgrades, including a lighter weight (14 lbs. 1 oz.), taller peak height (72 in.), and smaller packed size. The Kelty uses slightly higher-quality materials than the Sundome, but we find it hard to justify spending more for less space and similar overall performance. If there is one area where the Coleman Sundome 6 let us down the most, it certainly would be weather protection (or lack thereof).
Unless you are planning to use the tent just for sleeping (and keep your gear stored somewhere else) it’s going to be too small for a family of four. Also, if you’re expecting the Skydome to be a quick-pitch, well it’s not. And the last disadvantage is that it’s also more expensive than your regular classic Sundome Tent. Sadly though, my Skydome Tent didn’t have an e-port, while all my Sundome tents came with e-ports. But I could still easily fit 4 regular sleeping pads, or 2 double pads, inside the tent without leftover space, or 1 queen-sized bed with plenty of leftover space. In my opinion, the Coleman is the best waterproof tent on the market.
Stacked up against the Sundome, the Montana 6P is smaller with 84 square feet of floor area, shorter with a 68-inch peak height, and costs a little more at $117. Where the Montana gets the edge is livability with an included awning and taller side and end walls. In the end, we prefer the 8-person version of the Montana ($220 at the time of publishing) for families wanting to spread out, while the taller Sundome is the better budget choice among 6P options. Another relatively inexpensive alternative to the Sundome is the Alps Mountaineering Meramac 6. Both tents feature a simple two-pole design, similar floor dimensions and peak heights, and generous use of mesh for airflow.
I have used this tent in the wind, rain, snow, and sun without any problems. We bought a replacement pole for the tent when we got home, but have since turned this into the backup/extra tent for when we take friends. For ourselves, we did what we should have done all along – Spent the money on a quality tent that will last us many years of camping (We bought the REI Base Camp 6). Now even with those cons I’ve mentioned this is still a worthy tent and I am pleased with my purchase and the tent’s performance so far. If one of my poles breaks I could spend $36 dollars on some aluminum poles and still only have a hundred dollars invested and even at that price this tent’s still a bargain. Provide additional weather protection over front door and back window.
Typically, covered tent vestibules are a great place to store items like shoes, camp chairs, or anything else you’d like to keep out of the elements, but not so with the Sundome. This may not seem like a big issue as your car likely will be parked nearby, but we appreciate a good vestibule and it’s an unfortunate coleman instant tent omission here. In terms of windows, you’ll find two large mesh panels on the upper half of the side walls as well as smaller, closeable windows on the back wall and at the top of the front door. The panels provide excellent views on cloudless nights, but these will be lost with the attached rainfly.
Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations. The mesh pockets are great for storing small valuables to keep them accessible but safe. Although there might not be much extra space for fitting bigger families in, for a couple and one child this tent would be a great starter tent. There’s no included footprint with this tent, and we’d recommend purchasing a 10’x10’ footprint, which you’ll need to find from a third-party supplier since Coleman does not make one.