tldr; Budget camping tent. Does the job, widely available. Entry level.
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Best praise vs top criticism for Coleman Sundome 4-Person Tent
“Really depends on the kind of camping. To start stay car camping. Get a cheap coleman 4 person tent and an ez-up canopy and two tarps that match its color. One close to tent footprint, one about twice as big as the canopy pitch the tent on top of the smaller tarp, fold it up under the tent if its sticking out. You want it 4" inside the tent footprint. Put the ez-up right in front, overlapping slightly if possible. Then attach the second tarp to that, and run it over the tent, staking it down behind the tent. In hot weather raise the back one up and move it around like a shade cloth to keep the tent cool. When the rain comes pull it tighter and lower on the back corners and put and high in the middle to make a roof. Use sticks to set levels and paracord to stake it out. Get a folding table. A big one. 6 footer. It goes under the canopy, with two coolers under it. One for food, one for drinks. Drink one gets salted crushed/cubed ice, but put a ziploc full of normal ice cubes in there for drinks. Food one gets block ice or frozen juice jugs. Cheap picnic tablecloth over the table to shade the coolers. On top goes a two burner propane stove. If it doesnt have legs, put it on top of a sheet of plywood or wood cutting board to not melt the table. Next to that a cutting board and one of those 5 gallon refillable water jugs for dishes and handwashing with a bucket underneath it. Get a closet hanging shoe organizer. Hang it off the canopy by/behind the table to put spices, oils, utensils, etc in. Keep a citronella candle bucket lit on the table. A roll of astroturf is nice under the canopy to keep it clean in the tent. Two zero-g camp chairs and throw blankets. Real pillows. Cots are better than air mattresses. Camp shoes. 12v rechargeable fans to circulate air in the tent and canopy. A small bluetooth speaker. Insulated tumblers for adult beverages. A shovel, a rake, an axe, and a broom. Multitool knife. Sunscreen. Bug repellent with deet. Board/card games of your choosing. A lantern. If you really wanna win points, get a camp shower and stall, and a bucket loo that you know how to use (hint, a little kitty litter in nested garbage bags, pull one out and tie it off and throw in another bucket with a sealing lid after every #2). They make toilet lids that snap on buckets. Get a floor grate so you don't stand in mud. I just use an old pallet that I nail the popup changing stall corners to with astroturf on top. My camp shower is a 5 gallon bucket with a little black garden hose, and a gardening soaker head with a shutoff valve. Little 12v pump inline. In the morning kick on a gallon of water on the stove to boil and mix with the other water in the shower bucket and start making coffee. If she wakes up and you're handing her coffee and pointing her to the shower, telling her that breakfast will be done after her hot shower... camping will live up to its nickname.”
“Coleman Sundome or Skydome. Check out an Ollie’s if you have one. The other Coleman tents will probably be just fine too. But I would avoid the instant up - sets up fast but leaks so badly they made an additional rainfly for it.”
77 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 2/24/2026