Coleman - Dark Room™ Skydome™ Camping Tent

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 8 man Darkroom Skydome. The shorter rainfly works just fine. A tent doesn’t help you stay warm in cold months; they are not insulated.

Yes! I love my 8 man darkroom Skydome. It’s my festival tent (since people don’t respect your space unless there’s a tent there)

These are what I use the most: \- Tent: Coleman SkyDome Darkroom Tech 8-man cabin tent. Very sturdy tent and stands up to elements well. Darkroom tech, rain fly means it stays nice and dark in there, even during daylight hours so if you're the type that likes to sleep in, not a ton of light gets into the tent (just through the lower vents through the mesh, so makes for a nice dim light in the mornings. It's also room and I, as a 6'2" guy, can easily stand up in it with room to spare. \- Cot: Cabela's Alaskan Guide camp cot. I opted for a HEST foamy pad to go on top of it, and the cot organizer that attaches to the cot with velcro. The cot is sturdy and the HEST pad makes a perfect combo on it. I just bring some regular bed sheets, a blanket, and my regular pillow and sleep like a baby on there. \- Camp chair: Cabela's Outdoorsman XL camp chair. It's comfortable, folds up easily, and doesn't weigh a ton

I love mine. It's my best tent for longer weekends/trips at campgrounds. My other go-to is a Coleman SkyDome Darkroom 8-man tent for shorter trips, since it's lighter and easier to setup/tear down. But it's not nearly as sturdy/strong as the Cabela's tent. I also have an REI SL3+ half-dome for backpacking, and a Columbia Mammoth Creek 8-man 2-room cabin tent I've been meaning to try out but haven't had a chance to set it up yet.

I have four tents: - my small REI half-dome SL3+ (the light blue one) for backpacking and smaller campsites - my Cabela’s Alaskan Guide 8-man all season dome tent. By far my strongest tent and a fortress against bad weather, seriously that thing blows my mind the beating it can take. Plenty of room in there - my Coleman 8-man Skydome Darkroom tent. By far my favorite of all of them and my usual go-to. Tons of room in there and I like the dark room tech to block out the sun - my 10-man Columbia two-room cabin tent. By far my largest tent but also the biggest pain to setup. But once it is, I have a small “house” for a tent for sure. I use this guy for longer trips So no. You’re not alone at all in using bigger tents. I’m right there with ya!!

I have the coleman skydome 8 with 'dark room' covering. Our toddler needs pitch black, and the tent worked very well for that. We took heavy rain and even with the rainfly, the side corners leaked a little bit, like beads of moisture so my pillow got damp. Our dog also caught her leg while walking out of the porch and it ripped the fabric off the zipper for like 18 inches in the lower corner, it's pretty fragile.

I just bought the 8 person version this year. Have set it up and taken it down 3 times so far, no issues getting it back in the bag. There's also a strip on the bottom of the bag that can be cut to make the bag larger that I still haven't cut, but in theory will solve the issues you're describing.

I have the 8 and 12 person version of this tent, no issues, and pretty sure I paid more than that for the 8 person. Just be aware that not all tent pads are longer than 8 to 12ft so this may not fit all campsites, which is why I have both.

I have the 8p version of this tent. It's a solid choice for a family (or just a couple that likes to have a little extra space in the tent). You made a great choice for that price

I absolutely would not recommend it, but I've put a 8p skydome together by myself many times haha.

We have a Coleman 8p for 4 people and it’s been great. No issues so far. Does require two people for setup but still pretty easy to do. As someone else mentioned you’ll need to make sure your campsite can accommodate the larger footprint. Great choice though for the price point.

I think ours is the skydome. Good height inside, can actually stand up straight. Fits 2 double mattresses plus room for gear.

We have an 8 person Coleman (Skydome I think) and we comfortably fit 2 adults + 2 older kids. We use 2 double air mattresses for sleeping and still have floor space for gear. Not super challenging to put together with 2 adults. I don’t think could do it by myself but probably with the help of an older kid. It’s held up well across multiple trips. I find the brand to be a good value.

I have a variety of tents based in the situation I am camping in. Backpacking -REI half dome 2SL Car camping short trip - Ozark trail 6 person instant tent (used to have a core instant tent that was better quality. Started leaking on a trip after around 100 nights of use and did a quick replace at Walmart due to continued rain in the forecast. This is also the one I lend out to friends when needed.) Car camping longer trip - Coleman 8person skydome Car camping but walk in site of 1 mile or less Core 6 person dome tent with vestibule.

We have a Coleman 8 person dome dent that my 2 nephews use when camping with us & it's the perfect size for 2 people + gear. A queen size mattress fills the 4 man tent almost completely.

I think I had the Aussie version - looks like the same tent but it’s called the coleman quickdome darkroom. See my other comment for why it’s the worst tent I’ve ever used.

I have owned one blackout tent in my life, a coleman quickdome darkroom. Worst tent I’ve ever had. Tore open on the 3rd day of a 2 week camp. The dark did not make it cooler. If anything it was hotter in there than a beige or grey tent. I hated needing a damn torch just to find something in the tent in the middle of the day. In 20km/h winds you could hear the fabric screaming as it slowly broke apart, and many small holes were visible in the fly by day 4. On day 7 the door zip separated from the main tent, meaning the tent could not be zipped fully. I’d already used all my patches and hand sewn several running tears in the tent walls where stray threads had just unravelled. At this point we went into town to a different outlet of the store we purchased from, with a timeline of photos of the clusterfuck, and asked for a refund. Unfortunately to do that, we had to hand the tent over before they could give us the store credit to buy something else. So we had to go back to camp, pack it all down, go get the refund and new tent, and then setup again midway through the trip. Really soured my opinion of coleman tents.