Coleman - Skydome™ 12-Person Camping Tent XL

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.

Hot take, but one big tent is the right choice. The tent I grew up camping with was a 10 person dome tent from Cabela's. It was huge, a pain to set up and tear down, and indestructible. Fond memories of putting that tent up with my dad from a very young age, and it was very novel to sleep in one giant space with my parents, brother, dog, and whichever friends came along. It definitely taught me how to set up basically any tent without instructions and with an abundance of patience. Pick a dome tent without pole sleeves, only clips. The hardest part of large tents is getting the poles through any sleeves at the top of then tent, then making sure nothing snags as you're lifting it. Clip pole attachments don't have that problem, and you can lift the bulk of the tent in stages, which is convenient if you're setting up alone or with a tiny helper. The Coleman Skydome 12 person tent is currently available at Sierra for a good price and only has clips.

We went with Coleman 12 person as a family of 5 We can fit three queen size air mattresses, a pack and play and still have some room left over. The biggest reason we went with the Coleman over the Costco is the base. The Coleman has a thick water proof tub whereas the Costco does not. And since the Coleman was $100 off it was a little cheaper than the Costco.

Look and see if there is an Ollie's discount warehouse near you. You can get a Coleman Skydome for half that price.

Well Coleman Skydome is a tried and true tent you should have no trouble with.

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.

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.

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.

I love my Skydome. There are fancier tents out there, but it was affordable and has stood up to rain and wind, as well as being pretty breathable on hot nights. On clear nights (and in less crowded campgrounds) you can remove the rain fly and look at the stars through the fully mesh top.

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.

Coleman Sundome and Skydome are both super easy

Try a Coleman Sundome or Skydome from Ollie’s, blackout if you can get it. I’ve bought both to festivals with multiple severe thunderstorms and was much dryer than people who brought much more expensive tents. The bathtub floor will be much better in bad weather than this tent. Sometimes you can get a dud Coleman that leaks in one spot, but that’s only happened to me once. Just set it up and test it in rain before your event. I will say avoid the instant tent, that thing is so bad they sell an aftermarket rainfly to fix it.

I didn’t bother to buy it after testing the instant tent in the rain. But my Sundome and Skydome are great in bad weather

Poor design. The Sundome and Skydome don’t leak like that

Go with a darkroom Coleman Sundome or Skydome

I have had excellent luck with Coleman Sundome and Skydome. The “Instant Up” leaked so badly that there is now an add on Instant Up rainfly sold separately. I had one Sundome that leaked in one corner. After that, I set up my new tent before a thunderstorm without guying it out to see if it will leak or not. They haven’t leaked. I’ve left one set up in the backyard all year; after over a year and almost 3 inches of water in one day, there was a small bit of water in that one. Ollie’s has Coleman on deep discount right now. At that price you could get two or three for the same price as other people’s suggestions.

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.