Coleman
Coleman Skydome
No citable rating — see why we hide some.
The Skydome is the Sundome with the walls pushed out: Coleman quotes about 20 percent more headroom from the near-vertical profile, and the poles arrive pre-attached so the whole thing goes up in under five minutes without threading anything. It trades seven square feet against the Sundome 4 and adds four pounds. The 6-person at 85 square feet and 72 inches of height is the one that makes the most sense of the range — it is the only size in the family where an adult stands up.
Floor area per person
14.0 sq ft
Standard — 14 to 17 sq ft each — the normal two-pads-and-no-spare-room fit
Weight per person
3 lb 7 oz
from the packed weight of 13 lb 11 oz
Peak height
55 in
Approx. price
~$140
Pads: 21.0 in of floor width each — 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not.
Length: a 96 in floor leaves room for a sleeper up to about 7ft 6in once you allow six inches for a foot box and a pillow.
Best for
Campers who want the tent up before the car is unpacked and will not be out in real weather.
The size run
One design, 3 capacities. The numbers at the top of this page describe the 4-Person; every size has its own figures below.
| Size | Sleeps | Floor area | Sq ft each | Vestibule | Trail weight | Packed weight | Floor L × W | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-Person | 4 | 56 sq ft | 14.0 | 0 sq ft | — | 13 lb 11 oz | 96 × 84 in | ~$140 |
| 6-Person | 6 | 85 sq ft | 14.2 | 0 sq ft | — | 19 lb 5 oz | — | ~$150 |
| 8-Person | 8 | 108 sq ft | 13.5 | 0 sq ft | — | — | — | — |
Specifications
- Type
- Car camping
- Rated capacity
- 4-person
- Floor area per person(estimated)
- 14.0 sq ft (standard)
- Floor area
- 56 sq ft
- Vestibule area
- 0 sq ft
- Peak height
- 55 in
- Packed weight
- 13 lb 11 oz
- Weight per person(estimated)
- 3 lb 7 oz (packed weight)
- Interior floor width
- 84 in
- Pad fit(estimated)
- 4 × 20 in pads fit, 25 in pads do not
- Fits sleepers up to(estimated)
- 7ft 6in tall
- Doors
- 1
- Vestibules
- 0
- Freestanding
- freestanding
- Poles
- fiberglass
- Wall type
- double wall
- Season rating
- 3-season
- Floor fabric
- Polyethylene
- Approx. price
- ~$140
Features
- Pre-attached poles, sub-five-minute setup
- Near-vertical walls for roughly 20 percent more headroom than a classic dome
- WeatherTec welded corners and inverted seams
- Sold in 4, 6 and 8 person
- Screen-room and dark-room variants of the same shell
In its favour
- Genuinely fast: the poles never leave the tent, so setup is unfolding rather than assembling
- Near-vertical walls make the quoted floor area usable to the edges
- The 6-person at 72 in is the cheapest standing-height tent in this catalog
- WeatherTec welded floor corners are a real improvement over stitched seams at this price
- Screen-room, dark-room and full-fly variants share the shell, so you can buy for your weather
Against it
- Fibreglass poles, and pre-attached ones are harder to replace when one splinters
- No vestibule in any size
- Coleman publishes no hydrostatic head, and coleman.com blocks automated requests
- The 8-person's packed weight and price could not be sourced reliably and are left blank rather than guessed
Written from the published specification sheet, not from owner reports.
What owners report
Drawn from archived owner discussions, not from a test of our own.
What owners like
- A thrifted 4-person held up fine for about three years, which is the kind of report that matters at this price
- Owners describe it as a solid no-frills tent and only move on when they want more standing room
- The dark-room version gets recommended without hesitation by owners who camp in hot, bright places
- The full-fly vestibule variant solves the Sundome's biggest weakness and owners actively seek it out
- It discounts heavily — owners report picking up a lighted 4-person for $60 on clearance
Common complaints
- The standard version's rainfly is partial, and owners discovered water coming in through the windows during a home test
- Shock cord inside the main poles snapping is reported, and pre-attached poles make that awkward to fix
- Getting a replacement pole is described as difficult, and it is a vital part rather than a spare
- The 8-person did not hold up in wind for one owner and was a lot for one person to put together
- Sorting out which variant you are buying is genuinely confusing — screen room, dark room, vestibule and XL versions all share the name
The Skydome is the Sundome with the walls pushed out and the poles left attached, and that second part is what owners actually buy it for: it is up in a couple of minutes with nothing to thread. A thrifted one lasting three years, and owners describing it as a solid no-frills tent, are the typical reports.
The warning that matters is the fly. One owner tested theirs at home before a trip and found water entering through the windows because the standard rainfly is partial — and then went back to a Skydome variant that has a full fly. If you are buying one, buy the full-fly vestibule version; owners who did are noticeably happier.
The repair story is the weak point. Pre-attached poles are quick to pitch and awkward to fix: shock cord snapping inside a main pole is reported, and finding the replacement is described as difficult on a part that is not optional. The 8-person also failed to hold up in wind for one owner and was a handful to pitch alone.
Questions people ask about it
Does the rainfly cover the whole tent?
Not on the standard version. An owner testing theirs at home before a trip found water coming in through the windows because the fly does not reach them. The full-fly vestibule variant fixes it, and owners who want to camp in rain buy that one.
Which Skydome should I buy?
There are screen-room, dark-room, full-fly-vestibule and XL variants sharing the name. Dark room if you camp somewhere hot and bright; full-fly vestibule if you expect rain. Owners routinely get confused between them, so check what the fly actually covers.
How hard is it to fix a broken pole?
Harder than on a conventional tent, because the poles are pre-attached. The reported failure is the shock cord inside a main pole snapping, and owners describe struggling to source a replacement for what is a vital part.
Is the 8-person any good in wind?
One owner reports theirs not holding up in wind and being a lot to assemble alone. Large dome tents have a lot of sail area, and this is a budget pole set. In an exposed site, size down or pick a different shape.