Sundome 2

Look into how small a 1p tent is. Nothing wrong with getting a Coleman Sundome 2p to start, sturdy bottom and no need for a footprint. If you want to spend from the beginning the Marmot Limelight series is reliable and the 2p has a fun bumpout for gear inside instead of under the rain fly.

Any big 3 items from Facebook marketplace. I bought two huge synthetic Teton 0°F bags cheap from this guy that my partner and I will only use for car camping, because they're so heavy and big. I also honestly don't think they actually keep me warm because I don't know how old they are lol. I also bought a nearly new 2-person Coleman Sundome for like $20 from this guy that used it once, but now it's the "extra" tent if anyone joins us.

Clearly I didn't at the time lol. The most research I did was understanding temperature ratings, and I was convinced by the two bags zipping together. I had a glorified idea of camping back then, and got too influenced by how social media romanticized it (I was watching the wrong folks back then). So I just bought this whatever was cheap immediately. Can I still use the Coleman tent when I car camp? Yes, and I probably will if I expect it to rain hard because my lighter tent's fly is made of silnylon and sags in condensation. Now I'm getting into backpacking, and I can't carry a 6.5 lb Coleman tent with me and I can't depend on the 0°F bag because I was cold in it on a 27°F night.

Honestly for the durability and price I love my old Coleman sundomes, I have a 2 man and a 4 and they haven’t let me down in over a decade of use.

You won’t get “totally wet” The fly does a great job of sloughed the main water onto the sides, and the rest of the fabric is waterproof anyways. Seams have held for me in downpours, and the bottom is tarp so you won’t get wet through it. Just make sure like always that you don’t have sleeping bags touching the inside walls and you’ll stay dry!

I'm sorry that you were let down! I have had great luck with Colemans. High end companies need full flys because they have more mesh to be lighter, and they are able to withstand harsher conditions longer. No, I wouldn't take this tent backpacking for weeks on end. But it does the job on overnights.

I haven't ran into this problem with the 2-person model.

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.

For a kid I'd get a Coleman 2-person.

My parents got me a two-person Coleman tent when I was 10 and I used it for 18 years until I outgrew it, still have it in the garage!