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I’m not a Coleman fan, but there far room tents are a great tent, well ventilated, very dark in daylight. My sister has an older version 8-person with the door flap door which is my favorite feature
I’ve used the Coleman blackout dome for 3years. Even in 90 degree heat it feels much cooler and the sun won’t drive you out early in the morning. If you close the door at midday you will need a light source inside.
Mine from like 2015 has drainage. It’s an early version of their blackout tents and I love it
We have a Robens Aero Yurt and it’s brilliant. The step up from the Coleman Octagons we’d used before is enormous. Really, really impressive build quality.
OK Im uniquely qualified to answer this question! My time to shine finally! I was a previous owner of a Springbar Family Camper and current owner of the cheapy Coleman Blackout Tents. One thing to consider with the Springbars, are the amount of sunlight that get let through them. Theyre great tents, very comfortable, setup easy, but they just let in way to much light for getting little kids down to bed. Ultimately we went back to the cheap blackout Coleman tent and have been happy with that. It wont last as long as the Springbar, but it works while our kids are really little, and eventually we can buy another Springbar if we want too.
We have a fancy blackout tent (I think Coleman) but find that using a reflective shade over the top still massively helps it to stay cooler. You can get fabric ones fairly cheap which are great because they’re reusable and not noisy like space blankets
I have had the eight person for about four years now. We use it maybe three times a summer. It’s very heavy. So definitely a car camping tent. It is easy to set up. Not quite as easy to pack away. We did camp through a torrential downpour. With the rain fly, it did leak a bit near the windows. I subsequently bought tint wax and waxed all the seams near the windows. Haven’t used it in the rain since so I don’t know if it worked. One thought. We are two adults and one kid. We can all sleep in half the tent. That leaves the other half as a living room if the weather is no good or at night, I put a blanket down, a couple of camping chairs, and a table, and we have our own little tent cabin.
If you are car camping, go big on the tent. The space is great. I use a 6-8 person tent for myself and two dogs. I can fit a queen sized cot, side table, and double camp chair in the tent with plenty of space left over. Really nice when there is bad weather. Plus being able to stand up and move around in a tent is great. The exped megamat is one of the most comfortable sleeping pads you can get. I recommend putting it on a cot to get yourself further off the ground. I don’t bother with an electric cooler and just have a good Rotomolded cooler from Ozark trail. Can hold ice for a 5 day trip when packed correctly. For cooking I bring a Coleman stove and a tripod so I can good over the fire or on the stove depending on what I’m making. Between that and a cast iron pan and a pot I can make just about anything. I just bring my pillow from home. I’m by my car so space isn’t an issue. Especially since I switched to a minivan this year. Even with two large dogs along I have a ton of space to pack. I used to have a small sedan and packing was a bit more interesting in that. A roof bag came in handy. For water I bring a 7 gallon igloo container that I put under the table. I have a USB powered faucet and a hose runs down to the container. Works out great and so much easier to use. I get a lot of heat on sale, second hand, and from Sierra. My tents are Coleman and Ozark trail. The Ozark trail one is a 6 person instant tent that I bring if it’s a quicker trip and good weather. The Coleman is an 8 person but not instant. Has better weather resistance though so if rain is in the forecast I bring that one.
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