A cozy home for your campground expeditions, the Coleman Skydome 6-Person Tent is a 3 season camping shelter for the whole family to enjoy. This tent stands out from the crowd thanks to its straightforward pitching system, compact packed size, and superior headroom, all of which make it a popular choice for weekend trips in the great outdoors.
Comfort and Space
The Coleman Skydome 6-Person Tent is the company’s small family-focused shelter for campground getaways where comfort is important. Here’s a quick look at its various livability-centric features.
Floor Space
Coleman designed this tent to have a spacious 10’ (305 cm) by 8’6” (259 cm) floor plan. With 85 square feet (7.9 sqm) of interior space, this Skydome model is large enough to accommodate 6 adult campers in their sleeping bags or 2 queen size air beds.
However, campers that plan to store a lot of equipment in their tent might find that this shelter is more comfortable for up to 4 adults or 2 adults and up to 4 children. That’s because the Skydome’s interior, while fairly spacious, simply doesn’t offer enough space for 6 adults and all of their gear.
Head/Shoulder Room
One area where the 6-Person Skydome impresses is in terms of its head and shoulder room. Even though this is a dome-style tent, the Skydome has a 6’ (183 cm) center height, which is tall enough to accommodate the bulk of campers.
Additionally, the Skydome features a set of near-vertical walls. These near-vertical walls mean that campers sitting on the side of the tent will have just as much headroom as a camper sitting in the middle of the shelter. As a result, the Skydome is a nice option for folks that prioritize head and shoulder room in their camping tents.
Rooms/Vestibules
When we talk about the Coleman Skydome 6-Person Tent, we have to keep in mind that there are actually 3 different 6-Person Skydome tents on the market. This includes the standard model with a partial-coverage rainfly, as well as a full-coverage rainfly version and a model with a screen porch.
Although all of these models have only 1 interior room, they each offer something different when it comes to vestibules and outdoor living spaces.
In terms of additional gear storage and living space, the standard model with a partial-coverage rainfly offers the least versatility for campers. It doesn’t provide any livable space outside its interior sleeping area. But it does have a small awning over the door for extra sun protection.
Meanwhile, the full-coverage rainfly version of this tent includes a massive 10’ (305 cm) by 4’ (122 cm) vestibule. This vestibule creates a covered entryway for your tent and provides plenty of gear storage space for the whole family.
The screen porch version of the Coleman Skydome 6-Person Tent doesn’t have a covered vestibule, but it does have a spacious screen porch. This screen porch is also 10’ (305 cm) by 4’ (122 cm) and Coleman advertises it as an additional sleeping space for up to 2 adults. But keep in mind that this screen porch isn’t waterproof, so it’s best for use on calm evenings.
Breathability and Ventilation
As is the case with other members of Coleman’s Skydome tent line-up, the 6-Person Skydome offers mixed results when it comes to ventilation.
All of the versions of this tent feature a full mesh canopy overhead on the tent body. This mesh canopy allows for plenty of airflow, especially if you pitch the tent without the rainfly on cloud-free nights. Additionally, all of these tent versions come with a zippered mesh window on the shelter door for breathability.
However, the 6-Person Skydome doesn’t include any built-in ground vents. In dry environments, this might not be a problem, but ground vents can be helpful in rainy conditions. Despite this shortcoming, the full-coverage rainfly version of this tent does have vents in its rainfly for improved airflow.
Weather Resistance
All of the versions of the 6-Person Skydome come with WeatherTec waterproofing technology. This technology includes a bathtub-style floor with taped and welded seams, as well as inverted corners. These features work together to prevent water from seeping into the tent at night.
Beyond this, the weather resistance of the 6-Person Skydome really depends on which version of the tent we’re talking about.
The full-coverage rainfly version of this tent provides the best possible protection from the elements. That’s because this rainfly protects all sides of the shelter from the rain and gives the tent extra stability in moderate winds. The partial-coverage rainfly and screen room versions, while comfortable and convenient, just don’t provide the same levels of weather resistance.
Regardless of which tent version you choose, however, note that the Skydome is not designed for use in high winds. Since this tent has a high center height and fiberglass poles, it’s at an increased risk of damage during periods of severe weather. So the Skydome is best used in sheltered campgrounds where the risk of a major storm is quite low.
Durability
All things considered, the 6-Person Skydome is a fairly durable tent. The fabrics used in this shelter include 75D polyester taffeta in the tent body and rainfly as well as 1000D polyethylene in the tent floor. These materials are tear-resistant and very common in car camping tents.
The durability concerns with this tent come when we look at the shelter’s poles. These poles are made from fiberglass, rather than aluminum. That means that they’re more prone to snapping in very high winds. For occasional family camping trips, this normally isn’t a problem, but it’s worth keeping in mind as you plan your adventures.
Also note that the screen porch version of this tent features very large mesh panels. Mesh is a fantastic material as far as breathability is concerned, but it’s not as durable as polyester or polyethylene. So if you choose the screen porch version of the Skydome, be prepared to take extra care when packing and pitching this tent to avoid rips and tears in the mesh.
Ease of Use
The Coleman Skydome 6-Person Tent features the company’s quick pitch system. With this system, the tent has a set of pre-attached poles, quick clips, and corner pockets to streamline the tent pitching process.
To pitch this tent, you’ll need to place the shelter on the ground and stake it down. Afterward, you’ll extend the tent poles and insert them into the pole pockets on the opposite side of the tent. The tent’s quick clips then snap into place along each of the 2 tent poles.
The final step of the pitching process is to attach the shelter’s rainfly. The full-coverage rainfly version has a color-coded system to help you correctly line up and orient the rainfly to the tent body. Once that’s done, you need to tighten the guylines on the tent, insert the vestibule pole, and then you’re good to go.
Coleman states that this tent takes less than 5 minutes to pitch, but most campers will likely find that it takes about 10 minutes to set up. This is particularly true if you’re on your own as the entire pitching process of this tent, while straightforward, is a bit more time-consuming than with the smaller versions of the Skydome.
Packed Size and Weight
Regardless of which version you buy, there’s no getting around the fact that the 6-Person Skydome is a heavy tent.
The partial-fly version weighs 15.4 lbs (7 kg), the full-fly version weighs 17.9 lbs (8.1 kg), and the screen room version weighs approximately 20 lbs (9.1 kg). These weights are all somewhat standard for car camping shelters, but they are not practical for backpacking. Some campers might also find that these tents are a bit too heavy to carry to a walk-in campsite at a campground.
Although this tent is heavy, it’s not that bulky when packed into its included stuff sack. All 3 versions of the 6-Person Skydome pack down to approximately 24 x 9 x 9” (61 x 23 x 23 cm), so it’s an appropriate size for packing in your car for the weekend.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Full-fly, partial-fly, and screen porch versions available
- High center height for added headspace
- Relatively portable packed size
- Uses WeatherTec for waterproofing
- Mesh canopy for breathability
- Rip-resistant floor and tent fly fabric
- Straightforward pitching system
Cons
- Heavy for a 6-person tent
- High center height isn’t great in strong wind
- Durability concerns with fiberglass poles
- Not a lot of interior space for gear storage
Rating
| Comfort and Space | 8 |
| Weather Resistance | 7 |
| Durability | 7 |
| Ease of Set Up | 7 |
| Size and Weight | 6 |
