Head to head
REI Co-op Base Camp vs Coleman Sundome
The Coleman Sundome gives each person more floor — 15.8 sq ft against 14.8, which is the difference between standard and standard. The Coleman Sundome is the lighter carry at 9 lb 11 oz, and the Coleman Sundome is the cheaper of the two at ~$118.
 REI Co-op REI Co-op Base Camp |  Coleman Coleman Sundome | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Car camping | Car camping |
| Rated capacity | 4-person | 4-person |
| Floor area per personestimated | 14.8 sq ft (standard) | 15.8 sq ft (standard) |
| Floor area | 59 sq ft | 63 sq ft |
| Vestibule area | 38.5 sq ft | 0 sq ft |
| Peak height | 63 in | 59 in |
| Minimum trail weight | 15 lb 1 oz | — |
| Packed weight | 17 lb 6 oz | 9 lb 11 oz |
| Weight per personestimated | 3 lb 12 oz (trail weight) | 38.8 oz (packed weight) |
| Pad fitestimated | 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not | 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not |
| Fits sleepers up toestimated | 7ft 10in tall | 8ft 6in tall |
| Doors | 2 | 1 |
| Freestanding | freestanding | freestanding |
| Poles | aluminum | fiberglass |
| Wall type | double wall | double wall |
| Season rating | 3+-season | 3-season |
| Packed size | 9.8 x 20.3 in | 23.8 x 4.5 in |
| Approx. price | ~$489 | ~$118 |
REI Co-op Base Camp
The Base Camp is the car tent people buy when the weather is the problem. It is a geodesic dome — more pole crossings than a standard three-pole camping tent — which is why it stays up in wind that flattens vertical-wall cabins, and why it gives up the standing height those cabins offer. Sixty-three inches in the 4-person means you sit, kneel or stoop. Seventeen pounds, two doors, two vestibules, and a shape that is still standing in the morning.
Best for
Exposed, windy or shoulder-season car camping where a cabin tent would be the wrong shape.
Coleman Sundome
The Sundome has been the default American camping tent for decades, and the reason is the per-person floor: 63 square feet across four people is 15.75 each, more than most $400 backpacking tents manage, for about $118. It is a fair-weather tent — a partial fly rather than a full one, fibreglass poles, a polyethylene floor, and nothing covered outside the door. In settled weather none of that matters. In a two-day storm all of it does. Coleman's own site blocks automated requests, so the dimensions here come from retailer and review listings.
Best for
Settled-weather campground trips and a first tent that nobody will be precious about.
Rows where the two differ are tinted. Specs are the makers’ own; floor area per person, weight per person and pad fit are our arithmetic on them.