Adventure with family, friends, and loved ones creates unforgettable memories. If you paint a portrait inside your mind with an exquisite view at night while opening a can of beer and grilling some barbecues whether it might be on a beach or even on mountainous places, surely an idea will ping. A thought of “Let’s go camping!” sounds exciting.
When you talk about camping, the first thing that comes to our minds is a tent. But first, let’s ask what kind of tents do you need? Are you going with friends? A multi-room tent will do. How about hiking? Go for backpacking tents. But what if you need waterproof tents with unique features? The Coleman Dark Room Sundome 6 is just the right one for you.
Continue reading to see our in-depth review where we discuss the comfort, weather resistance, weight, set-up, and durability of this camping tent.
The heart of your campsite is your tent. If you want to ensure that you’ll have a good camping experience, you need to invest in good quality equipment. We’ve been camping for years now and we know what to look for in a tent. Read our “Best Tents for Camping” article to see our top recommendations.
Verdict
The Coleman Dark Room Sundome 6 is a waterproof dome-type tent with a unique darkroom technology that is best to counter sunlight and can even diffuse heat from the outside. With its lightweight and easy to set up features, it is widely used by campers wherein they can wake up late without minding any interference, but after we tested the product on a recent trip, the space is quite limited on the insides due to one-way entrance and exit feature. The quality is just fair for its reasonable price.
Comfort
This dome tent possesses vast space that can cater to 6 persons. If you are planning to camp with a group, this can be a possible prospect when picking a tent. Not only can it shelter numerous people, but you can also fit 2 queen air beds inside. When we tried to do this, we felt that it’s too compressed from the inside because it bears only one door.
With the 100 square feet flooring with 6 feet height, it is highly recommended for a smaller number of people from its maximum capacity if all of the campers are adults. We noticed that, with such a situation, it will make the tent more constricted which results in insufficient space for your extra gears to rest since there is no vestibule porch in this tent. This is one of the disadvantages we experienced.
Weather Resistance
What we like about Coleman Dark Room Sundome 6 is the special feature that you may not be able to see with other tents. Based on its name, darkroom, this tent can transport you to a dark dimension even under direct sunlight. Aside from hampering about 90 percent of light, it also blocks the heat from the outside which is an advantage compared to other tents.
Coleman has specialized a WeatherTec system for their tents. From the aforementioned darkroom technology to weather-friendly features, we can say that Sundome is a must-have product if you prefer night and rainy adventures.
The WeatherTec system ensures that you will all be dry even after rainstorms. However, we noticed that the shape of the tent tends to avoid the water on the ground. This seems to have opposing effects from the rain falling. It can shove off small floods but the drops of water can leak from the seams between the walls and flooring.
If you’re looking for more ways to make your tent and campsite more comfortable, check out our article on how to set up a comfy camping tent for tips and tricks on how to set up the most comfortable campsite. We have mastered the art of being comfortable outdoors and we’re more than happy to share what we know with you.
Weight
From its 16.1 pounds overall weight, we can say this is part of the lightweight group only if you and your accompany will split the gears when backpacking. Not to consider the lightest tent but if you are going to gamble for a tent that can fit many people, this can be a tent to your purse.
Ease of Set-Up and Packed Size
It comes with an easy setup feature in which it projects a huge advantage if you like to go camping from one place to another. In a span of 10 minutes, you can immediately rest inside after a day of traveling, bonding on a beach, or even camping on concerts. The tent has a carry bag for traveling which comes in handy for travelers.
As per evaluation, there are a lot of cons when we set-up the tent. The tent has four storage pockets inside but, for the size, unfortunately, it is small. On the other hand, what’s great is the sufficient mesh packs built on the tent. So if you pull out the rainfly, it won’t be a concern if it’s wide open since it is bound with a mesh pack that can protect you from intruding insects inside the tent.
Durability
If we talk about the endurance of Sundome, we perceived that it is equal and fair or even has higher quality for its price. Similar to other gears, if you continue to have thorough proper maintenance, it will last longer.
We commend its taped seams and polyester flooring that makes the tent packed with durable materials to prevent damage in any rough grounds it interacts with. As for the fiberglass poles, it may not have the identical capability compared to aluminum-made poles but, as what we can assess, Coleman has been producing these tents for a long time. That makes them confident with the people who used their product in the past until the present times.
Pros
From dissecting the system and parts of the tent, what we can only praise is the special components. These are the following:
- The darkroom technology
- Easy set-up features
- The quality of the product is good for its price. Reasonable as we say.
- There may be minor faults on the wholeness of Sundome but overall rating, it is ahead contrasting to other expensive tents.
Setting up a tent in dry weather is preferable, but sometimes, you may be forced to set one up in the rain. This will make pitching your tent a little bit more challenging than usual. Follow our guide to setting up your tent in the rain to make sure that the inside of your tent will stay dry.
Cons
As we said on the aforementioned pros, Sundome has a few disadvantages:
- The fiberglass poles. If you bend these types of poles, we cannot assure its safety and durability. It may result in cracks or breaks that can cripple the position of the tent when you set-up.
Conclusion
Always create your checklist when looking for tents. Whether you’re into hiking, trekking, or just an adventure, the specifications of the tents you’ll be utilizing matters. For example, if you’re going to hike to your campsite, it’s better to choose a tent that is lightweight, but if you’re going car camping, you can bring any tent that you want as long as it fits in your vehicle.
As for the Coleman Dark Room Sundome 6, we recommend this for people who mostly want to hang out with friends and families outside on a nightly basis. This tent’s darkroom technology is perfect for those who crave undisturbed sleep and the tent can also protect you from rain due to its WeatherTec system. Alongside these, this dome tent has unique features and good quality for its price.
