Skydome 2-Person

I wanted to add that, as the kids get older, you/they may want more space. We're a family of 5. We used to all camp in a 10p Coleman. Once my eldest turned 11, he wanted his own tent. Now my kids are 11, 15, and 17, and we use a 6p (me and husband), 4p (11 & 15 yr olds), and a 2p (17 yr old). It is definitely much easier to find a flat spot to set up with smaller tents. The kids also set up their own tents. It's easier to keep a smaller tent warm too. For a family of 7, I'd suggest 2x 6p tents. We used our 10p Coleman tent for 11 yrs before we stopped using it. Our smaller Colemans get used at least 7 times per year. They're still going strong.

A few of our scouts use Coleman tents; one has a two-person, and one has a 4-person. They lack a vestibule for storing gear to keep it out of the rain, but they are quick to set up and they aren't horrible quality. Our scouts have been using theirs for a couple years now. You probably already know, but a 2-person tent will only sleep two tiny people, and 4-person MIGHT fit three.

I feel like location may be a big factor. My troop mostly car camp. Very infrequent backpacking. I’m in Missouri and a $40 Coleman 2 or 3 person is a great starting point. If they stick with it upgrade from there.

I have the non lighted version I got on sale from Walmart for $70 four years ago and never had an issue. But I set the tent up under a 10x10 pop up canopy so really the tent has never seen rain.

I'd get a Coleman Skydome for $100. I go camping all the time and that's what I use

All I know is I've had the same Coleman for 4 years and has never leaked nor collapsed. If something happened to it I wouldn't feel bad and get another. If something happened to a $200-$300 tent I would feel bad.

Sundome is much lower quality than the other options. If you're looking at Coleman, step up to at least the Skydome. Funny enough I was going to recommend the Basecamp. Ventilation isn't great with the fly on but that's very common with cheap tents. I like wooded campsites anyway where you can angle the mesh portions of the tent into the trees and keep the non-mesh facing the walkway for privacy. Kelty kinda owns the cheap-but-mostly-quality space. The Discovery Trail 3P is very meshy which helps with ventilation but still a lack of fly vents. If you can stretch the budget or find a good sale, the Kelty Rumpus 4 is a killer deal. Lots of ventilation, vented fly, and a great vestibule that you can keep wide open to help with ventilation. The Teton looks fine. I like the look of the higher denier fabric and vented fly. Teton has historically been a cheap crap brand but they've really made some improvements in the last few years. I don't love that their "lifetime warranty" explicitly mentions that things like bent poles are considered normal wear. The marmot is an excellent option if you can get it at a good price and you're genuinely okay with a 2p.

Skydome is a worthy upgrade over the sundome and flatwoods. Several different variations of skydome so you should be able to find one on sale somewhere. 6 person is usually the minimum person size to get standing height.