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I'm debating picking up a second tent to use at roo.
Currently, I have an awesome EMS tent that has served me well over the years - never leaked, even when there was a lake under the tent. The problem is, it's a 3 season, and by that they mean do not use in summer. I'm thinking of buying an inexpensive Coleman tent (on sale at BJ's right now with a coupon) that has better ventilation. I'm pretty sure it has screens on two openings that are not covered by a rainfly. There is a rainfly, but it just is in an arch over those openings - allowing for more ventilation.
Now, Coleman is a popular brand, so many of you probably have had experience with them. How has your experience been? Any tips/tricks I should be aware of?
I have a Coleman Sleepy Owl tent (I think it's called), and it has worked great the few times I have used it. It has a cross-ventilation system and, sans rain tarp, an entirely mesh top.
coleman tents are fine if it don't rain or get too windy but if it does their not worth shit even if you seal the seems i've had them leak .. get a kelty trail dome 6 not super expense but well worth it good ventilation and super light to carry check campmor.com
Post by nitetimeritetime on May 4, 2009 14:06:56 GMT -5
I have a Coleman tent that was new for Roo last year, and it leaked during the Friday night storms. It wasn't the mesh stuff that leaked though; it was a busted seam. I sent it back to them and they sent a new one within 2 weeks. Hopefully this one will work...
I will say that the mesh and all the windows made it a whole lot easier to sleep in than our old tent, fwiw.
We go camping pretty regularly in it, and it's never leaked on us (maybe a few spots in the corner where gear was touching the sides). It made it through the lovely Sunday night storm at Rothbury last year with no problem either. We seam seal/waterproof it every year, and although it looks pretty ugly right now we've never has any problems with it.
I also like it because it fits my queen size air mattress perfectly.
Post by questionablesanity on May 6, 2009 19:00:28 GMT -5
I've had a 6man Coleman since 2004 roo. It poured that year and we stayed dry. I've used it camping at Deer Creek countless times and it has never failed me once. It is still in amazing shape. Coleman is a popular brand for a reason.
A Thieve's Parade 2/24 Conspirator 2/26 Kevin Smith 3/11 Keller 3/17 Papadosio 3/18 JJ Grey 3/25 Bela Fleck/Edgar Meyer 3/26 Toubab Krewe 3/27 O'Death 4/11 Budos Band 4/22 EOTO 4/28 Summer Camp 5/6-29 All Good
we just got the sleepy owl from coleman's website for about $60 on clearance. i am going to go over it with some seam sealer just to be safe and maybe some scochguard stuff (we bought a screen house that per reviews isnt that waterproof but we liked the zip-out sides so we will have it laying around yknow) but it seems pretty sturdy and we love it.
it was set up in the living room for a few days and we slept in it two nights in a row, the first night just me and kiddo, and the second night all three of us. it is surprisingly roomy. we had one of the dogs in there with us... pretty funny - he would come in and out of the door (partially unzipped) and the little cooler-window. i really coudln't believe how big it was, it seemed small in the box and we were hoping we could all fit in there. all three of us were comfy on our own sleeping bags and not touching at all. no one got kicked all night and we are not the most peaceful sleepers. very well ventilated, even with the rainfly on.
going to set it up and sleep outside saturday night to give it a real run for its money. cross fingers and hope for rain so we can give it a real test drive! i will report back sunday. :-)
we just got the sleepy owl from coleman's website for about $60 on clearance.
I bought a sleepy owl last year to replace my other tent that had failing zippers on the door. It worked really well for me. I didn't seam seal it last year and had no problems with leakage during the shower at 'roo or any of the other times I took it out. I did seal it up this week though just for good measure.
I've really liked this tent so far, easy to set up by yourself and yes quite roomy.
update: slept outside saturday night. no rain, although it was very dewy/humid (as it always is) but its still up outside so i might still simulate rain if it stays dry.
there was plenty of space inside... for all three of us, three sleeping bags, pillows, blanket, scrabble/monopoly deal/uno/, a paper lantern, two other lanterns, three big reusable water bottles, and snacks. with everything stowed against the sides there was no real condensation coming through from the morning so that's a big plus.
we slept with the rainfly on, because its completely mesh on top and it would be a very unwelcome surprise to get rained on at night roo, but the space between rainfly and mesh top makes for good airflow, especially when coupled with open windows.
we fell asleep about 4 which i can assume is probably right for roo, and by 830 it was ungodly hot and we all staggered zombie-like back indoors for four more hours of sleep (which we will NOT get at roo, haha).
tennessee is pretty far north of SwFL, so one can safely assume that we are experiencing weather down here that is at the very least similar to what will go on up there next month. check out this link: www.weather.com/weather/pastweather/hourly/33909?stn=0&when=051009 4am was around 74deg and by 830 was climbing steadily toward 79. hothhothot. gotta love FL. ;-) from what i hear it will actually be cooler at night there so it will be a refreshing change for us.
both our backs were pretty wrecked, but im pretty sure that is from sitting cross legged in the tent playing board games. at roo, i doubt we will be playing many board games, and any sitting we do at camp will be on camp chairs at a folding table. yay. it is sort of making us rethink all those hours at shows sitting on bamboo mats, thinking we don't need to drag along our low chairs (not camp chairs, but other, lower ones). will probably bring them now just in case. we should have room in the car.
i digress. the tent was awesome, just as we had expected, the weather met expectations, and it was watertight against a very humid night. yay, coleman.
Post by moonshine3 on May 11, 2009 18:58:40 GMT -5
bought a coleman kvika backpackers tent because i am going solo this year. the tent we normally bring to Bonnaroo is too big and heavy for me to carry alone. i think that it will work fine for me this year.
I've got a Coleman tent I bought off the Wally World clearance aisle several years ago. I think it gets rained on every time I use it and it has never leaked. I don't remember the name of the tent itself, but it has the "Weathertec" system. I don't know what it means, but it must work. The worst thing that happened to it was when I loaned it to my dad and he broke a pole. Grrr.... That is why you don't loan tents! (Unless it's to an Eagle Scout... my cousin is trustworthy :-) I replaced it, but it was a hassle. Hooray for the old hippie in Sports Authority who helped me immensely.
Anyway... my Coleman = good tent. It has served me well. And it wasn't overpriced. I only camp 1-2 times/year though... so it doesn't see a lot of wear.
We bought a Coleman Ara 4-person tent last year for $50. Like everyone else is saying, it held up pretty well and was pretty well ventilated with windows on both ends allowing air to move across and a mesh top under the rainfly to allow some heat to escape through the top.
The only problems that we encoutered was the heat in the morning (which is going to be universal for any tent that's not in the shade) and we did have a little leakage the night that it rained. But, we didn't do anything in preparation for water like seam sealing or spraying it down with the water resistant stuff. I'm sure if we had done that (and we will before heading to 'roo this year), we would have been fine through the rain.
Since you've got a coupon and everything already, I'm sure you're just looking for reviews so you can buy the one from BJ's, but if you're ever looking again, Target runs sales on this tent almost non-stop. Like I said, we bought it for $50 last year when it was on sale, and it's on sale at the moment for $79.99 (only eight dollars off, but you get the idea).
