Skydome Camping Tent with Full-Fly Vestibule

Honestly I would say to just look at a 6p Coleman tent. I would not go too expensive for a starter tent. Personally I like tents that have a rainfly that goes almost to the ground. And a vestibule is always nice too. This is the style I am talking about. [https://www.rei.com/product/246477/coleman-skydome-6-person-tent-with-full-fly-vestibule](https://www.rei.com/product/246477/coleman-skydome-6-person-tent-with-full-fly-vestibule) or [https://www.rei.com/product/144789/mountainsmith-cottonwood-6-person-tent](https://www.rei.com/product/144789/mountainsmith-cottonwood-6-person-tent) Not a total fan of the rainfly on this one but I do like the screened in area...https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-6-Person-Steel-Creek-Fast-Pitch-Dome-Camping-Tent-with-Screen-Room-Green/43195781?classType=REGULAR

I stayed in a 8 person Skydome last week in absolutely torrential rain. We stayed dry, other than were the tent fabric "cupped" as a result of not being pulled taut.

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.

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.

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.

I am also in a family of 4 and have always appreciated a larger tent. This was especially the case when the kids were young. You might even want to consider 8-person tent. Plenty of room for the family and gear. Skydome is good but, IMO, not as durable as I would like. The Wawona is good. I have an REI Base Camp 6. It is easy to set up between two people very wind resistant.

We have the skydome...we are returning it. Leaked in moderate rain and ruined our week. I think the issue is at the manufacturing level. About half the reviews I've read are good and half say they leak or otherwise tear/rip at seams. So you are gambling with the quality.

I had an older version of the skydome and didn’t particularly care for it. The porch ceiling was low and it offered nearly no rain protection so you couldn’t keep gear there.