Skydome Dark Room 4-Person Tent

Here seems to be a decent tent (on sale) for around the price point: https://www.rei.com/product/201636/coleman-skydome-darkroom-4-person-tent It seems to bridge the gap between pop-ups and a standard tent.

This tent has really awful air circulation. We had to lift half of the rainfly to get any air to cool the tent down, which defeats the purpose of the rainfly and the darkroom effect of the tent

We have the [Coleman Northstar Darkroom](https://www.colemanaustralia.com.au/tents/tents-by-style/instant-tents/northstar-instant-up-darkroom-4-person-tent-with-led-lighting/SAP_1515009.html), not the style you're looking at, but it's the one I have experience with. I've only taken it out a few times as we got it recently, and I love the fact that it blocks the light. There is plenty of ventilation at ground level and above for airflow. However, I did have it set up in my backyard during summer in full sun - and it was HOT in there. It didn't take long to cool down once the sun moved away, but that is something to keep in mind for blockout/dark tents. I took it out at the start of winter and psychosomatic or not, but it felt like it retained heat moreso than a normal pop-up, so that was good for then at least.,

It's pretty much black with everything closed up during the day, I was using my phone torch to find things. Whilst it's specifically made to black out the sun, I couldn't say if it would be suitable for film handling etc as I'm not experienced in that area. Your local camping store should be able to set one up for you if you ask them..ours did so we could look at it.

We got a new 6P tent that turned out to be huge. It’s fine when we take 6 grandchildren but just cavernous for us as a couple. Camp Coleman Dark Room Skydome 4P is a very appealing tent. But I purchased the Eureka Space Camp 4P for the same price (on big sale) because it offered front/rear vestibules and formed metal poles providing more headroom and stability. We love the Eureka! (The Eureka brand has been discontinued by Johnson Outdoors. However, there seems to be plenty of inventory in the supply chain.)

I just finished my first cub scouts campout in a Coleman Skydome tent, the kind with the "Dark Room Technology" which I \*highly\* recommend if your child is on the younger side (mine is 7) because it really does stay nice and dark in there, great for kids being able to sleep even with late sunsets and early sunrises. We were not the only Coleman "Dark Room" tents in our pack. We have a 4-person and we fit two cots in there with some room in the middle, but if you go with [the 6-person version](https://www.coleman.com/camp-sports/tents-by-size/skydome-6-person-screen-room-camping-tent-with-dark-room-technology/SAP_2206907.html) you'd absolutely have plenty of room - it'll be downright spacious if you get the screen room. Setup is a breeze. I've only ever set this thing up by myself or with the help of my 7-year-old, which probably makes it take a few minutes longer but it's good for him to help. ;) I do have the one with the screen room, which is great for extra storage and keeping the sleeping area clean (our system is shoes don't go past the screen room), and the Skydome model has zip-up panels so the screen room stays dry even if it rains (which it did this past trip). The Coleman Carlsbad Dark Room has a fully mesh screen room which I'd imagine would basically trap water along the floor when it rained. Honestly the WeatherMaster pictured in your post looks like it would also let rain inside the screen room area, I'd make sure it has panels to zip up behind the mesh. I \*love\* having that extra screened in area though so I do recommend that.

I really like my Coleman Skydome, too. I have the 4-person "darkroom" model and rather than the vestibule I have the screen room and I'd be loathe to give up a screenroom feature now! I'd only consider it for a tent that had a good vestibule. It's just SO nice to have the extra space outside of the main sleeping area. I'd definitely go for a 6-person tent at least for a family of 4. Maybe even 8. My son and I are comfortable in our 4 person now, but he's only 7 yet and it would be really tight with two additional people in there.

I have the 4p and 6p and they definitely block out the light

Ok so I got the Coleman 4p instant up dark room tent and mate it’s a ripper it’s pretty easy to put up quite heavy but that might not be a problem for you? It’s very tall I think 190cm so can stand up in it this is the tent https://www.snowys.com.au/instant-up-4p-lighted-northstar-darkroom-tent I love it and you can fit a double and a single bed in it with a gap in the middle about 20cm so plenty wide and the foot room is amazing like 30-40cm  So I would recommend this one and I have heard that they are stronger than the oztrail ones 🤷. I