Coleman Sundome Camping Tent, 2 Person

My tent just arrived yesterday. I struggled on what to give this tent for a rating because I just got it. I was thinking about giving it a 3 for average which seemed fair to start with. But after seeing how it handled the wind without breaking or tearing, I decided to give it a 4 because it surpassed my expectations. I plan on using this tent quite a bit this summer so I will update my rating and review as I go. I found the assembly instructions to be very basic but adequate. Anyone who has put up a tent like this before will have no problem. It took me about 15 minutes. Anyway, I set my tent up in my back yard yesterday to see how it looked and how it took on the elements. My first test was wind. I have a weather station and the average wind speed was 7 to 8 mph with gusts up to 17 mph. The back of the tent was torward the wind and when the gusts would come, the back of the tent would bow it quite a bit. I have read the reviews some people have written and see some have had problems with the poles breaking. This is what I was afraid of as I watched the back of the tent bow in. I wish I had taken a picture because it was substantial. Anyway, the poles did not break and the tent returned to it’s original form when the gust passed every time. I have seen the video on Amazon of the testing process Coleman puts their tents through. Not sure how much wind this tent is rated for but I’m pretty sure 17 mph is close to it’s max. The tent looks to be made very well for the price I paid for it. There are only two guidelines that come off the rain fly on the sides of the tent. The tent is staked down on all four corners of the floor plus a floor vent in the back of the tent. In all, there are only 7 stake down points that I could see. I feel if the tent had some guidelines higher up on each of the four corners of the main body of the tent it could withstand more wind. The stakes are ok but bend fairly easily if the ground is too hard or you hit a rock when pounding them in. I will be buying some better ones before I go camping. I left the tent up over night and checked on it this morning. It held up very well and only one of the stakes for the rain fly guidelines had twisted in the ground causing the guideline to come loose. I left the tent up because it was going to rain today. I need to know if I have any leaks before I take it out camping. It has been raining lightly for two hours now and my weather station says I’m getting .05 inches of rain an hour with a light steady wind of 2 to 3 mph. Far from what I would consider a hard rain but it’s still rain. I went out and looked at just the outside and the water seems to be beading up and running off the rain fly and tent very well. It is supposed to rain until 9 or 10 o’clock tonight so I will check for water on the inside in the morning. I’m hoping not to see any with such a light rain. If there is, I will definitely be spraying the tent down with a waterproofing spray before I take it out camping. Now for the pro’s and con’s. Pro’s: 1). Great tent for the price. If your on a fixed budget or are looking for a good starter tent you will not beat this one. 2). Very roomy inside. I plan on using this for two people, a shepherd and, all our gear. 3) There is an eyelet at the top of the tent so you can attach a lantern and two side pockets for stowing smaller needed items like a headlamp, cell phone, keys and, so on. 4). There is a small zipper in the bottom front left side of the tent for running wires. See my picture. It is covered by a little yellow strip of material to protect the zipper from the rain. You do not see this feature on most tents. I plan on using it with my solar panel so I can charge my power core, headlamp, cell phone and, other gear from inside the tent out of direct sunlight. 5). I was surprised at how much give the tent had at 17 mph gusts and did not break any poles or tear. It bounced right back to it’s original form. Con’s: 1). You may want to consider buying stronger tent stakes. 2). I wish there was a high point on each of the four corners for attaching extra guidelines. Although it handled 17 mph gusts very well the tent did bow in quite a bit. If I had to guess, the tent was reduce by almost half it’s size. If I was inside the tent I know I would have been annoyed being hit by it every time a gust came. I really don’t feel the tent as is, could handle much more then that. I’m thinking about how to attach extra guidelines in the corners without effecting the structural stability and elasticity of the tent. Make sure you pitch this tent in a sheltered area out of the wind if your expecting bad weather. Update 04/30/18 I went out the next morning after the light rain and the inside was dry. The following day saw more rain showers with substantially more rain. Checked the tent again today and it is still dry. After reading some of the reviews I really thought this tent would leak. Because this tent has preformed better then expected I have changed my rating to a five. I am going to seal the seams and spray waterproofing on the tent anyway because I would rather be safe then sorry. For the size and price of this tent you will not find a better deal. Just remember to pitch your tent in a sheltered area in you are expecting winds and you will not be disappointed. I think I have figured out a way to put up extra guidelines on each of the four corners so the tent will preform better with heavy gusts of wind. I will test it out and take pictures. More to come. That is all for now and there will be more updates coming.