Coleman tents · Vs review

Coleman Elite Sundome Tent V.S. Regular Sundome Tent (13 Differences!)

I bought both 6-person Sundomes and ran them through 10 side-by-side tests.

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My overall pick
The author's Coleman Sundome 6 Tent

Coleman Sundome 6The regular one

7.8/ 10
  • Set up11.5 min
  • Peak74.5 in
  • Base area92.6 sq ft
  • Weight16.0 lbs
AmazonDick’sColeman
Discontinued — more features
The author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent

Coleman Elite Sundome 6Discontinued

7.9/ 10
  • Set up16 min
  • Peak74.5 in
  • Base area110.0 sq ft
  • Weight21.4 lbs

The short answer

The Elite is the better tent. The regular Sundome is the one to buy.

The Elite Sundome 6 won on space, doors, windows and lighting, and scored 7.9 against 7.8. But Coleman has discontinued it, and I paid more than double for mine. So my money goes on the regular Coleman Sundome 6 — 5.4 lbs lighter, 4.5 minutes quicker to pitch, about $100.

Side by side

Where they actually differ

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
My score7.8 / 107.9 / 10Discontinued
Set up (1 person)11.5 minutes16 minutes
Take down10 minutes12 minutes
Length9 feet 8 inches11 feet 7 inches
Width9 feet 7 inches9 feet 6 inches
Base area92.6 square feet6 pads110.0 square feet17.4 sq ft more — 7 pads
Room dividerNoYes
Doors12One hinged
Windows22Auto-rolling
LightingNoYesLantern, power pack, switch
Vents3Incl. a ground vent2
Weight16.0 lbs21.4 lbs
Packed size27 x 12 x 9.5 inches30 x 13.5 x 10 inchesAbout 25% bigger
What I paidAbout $100More than double

✓ = the better result, from my own testing. Shared: 74.5 in peak height · 2 windows · the same WeatherTec rainfly system.

Which applies to you?

Get this one if…

Get the regular Sundome 6 if…

  • You want one that's still in production.
  • You want the quicker pitch — 11.5 minutes, not 16.
  • You're carrying it: 16.0 lbs, not 21.4.
  • You want the ground vent the Elite doesn't have.

Hunt down an Elite Sundome 6 if…

  • You want the space — 110.0 square feet, 7 pads plus gear.
  • You're splitting the tent: it's the only one with a room divider.
  • You want 2 doors and auto-rolling windows.
  • You've found a good second-hand one.
The author in her Coleman Sundome 6 Tent (left) and Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent (right).
My regular Sundome 6 (left), my Elite Sundome 6 (right).
Video: Coleman Elite Sundome vs regular Sundome

If you prefer watching to reading, check out my video here instead.

See the 10 tests
  1. Set Up
  2. Take Down & Carry Bag
  3. Length & Base Area
  4. Room Divider
  5. Doors
  6. Windows
  7. Pre-Attached Lighting
  8. Ventilation
  9. Weight & Packed Size
  10. Price

Set Up

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Set up (1 person)11.5 minutes16 minutes
Extra polesNone42 rainfly, 2 hinged door

Same job on both tents — the Elite just has more of it. Two extra poles hold its rainfly off the tent body, front and back, and two more go into the hinged door. That's the extra 4.5 minutes.

The author guying out her Coleman Sundome 6 Tent.
Guying out the regular Sundome.
The author securing the rainfly pole at the front of her Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
The Elite's front rainfly pole.

Take Down & Carry Bag

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Take down + pack up10 minutes12 minutes
Carry bagStandardThicker, expandable

The regular Sundome packs away two minutes quicker, but the Elite's bag is the better one — thicker material, and it unzips at the bottom to expand, so repacking isn't a fight. Even, in my book.

The carry bag of the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
The Elite's bag unzips to expand.

Length & Base Area

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Length9 feet 8 inches11 feet 7 inches
Width9 feet 7 inches9 feet 6 inches
Base area92.6 square feet110.0 square feet17.4 sq ft more
Sleeping pads that fit67Plus gear

The width is the same. All of the Elite's extra room is length — about two feet of it — and it bought me a seventh sleeping pad with space left over.

Six regular sleeping pads laid out inside the author's Coleman Sundome 6 Tent.
Six pads fill the regular Sundome.
Seven regular sleeping pads laid out inside the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
Seven fit in the Elite.

Room Divider

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Room dividerNone1
Each side fits—3 pads or 1 queen bedQueen measured 80 by 59 inches

Elite only. It hangs across the middle, and each half took three pads or a full queen.

The author putting up the room divider of her Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
Putting the divider up.
A queen bed measuring 80 by 59 inches inside one room of the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
One queen bed per side.

Doors

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Doors12Front and back
Hinged doorNoYes

Two doors gets the Elite proper cross ventilation and a second way out, and one of them is hinged — far easier than unzipping and stepping over a sill every time.

The back door and the front door of the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
Both of the Elite's doors.
The author ducking through the hinged door of her Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
The hinged door.

Windows

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Windows22
Auto-rollingNoYes

Same count, different mechanism. The Elite's roll their own fabric up as you unzip; on the regular Sundome I roll and tie them myself.

The author opening the window at the back of her Coleman Sundome 6 Tent.
Rolling the regular Sundome's by hand.
The front window of the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
The Elite's rolls itself.

Pre-Attached Lighting

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
LightingNonePre-attachedLantern, power pack, wall switch

The Elite comes wired, with a switch by the hinged door that has separate night and day settings. Nothing like it on the regular Sundome.

The wiring of the pre-attached lighting inside the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent.
Wired into the ceiling.
The lighting switch of the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent, with night and day settings.
Night left, day right.

Ventilation

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Total vents32
Mesh wall vents22
Ground vent1At the backNone

Both get the two big mesh wall vents, which are the ones doing the real work. The regular Sundome adds a small ground vent at the back — not big, but it's one more than the Elite has.

A mesh wall vent in the author's Coleman Sundome 6 Tent, in the rain.
The regular Sundome's wall vent.
A mesh wall vent in the author's Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent, in the rain.
The Elite's, same weather.
The author staking down the ground vent of her Coleman Sundome 6 Tent.
The ground vent — regular Sundome only.

Weight & Packed Size

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
Weight16.0 lbs21.4 lbs5.4 lbs heavier
Packed size27 x 12 x 9.5 inches30 x 13.5 x 10 inchesAbout 25% bigger

Those features cost 5.4 pounds and a quarter more packed volume. Nothing if the tent lives in a car boot; a lot if you're carrying it.

The author's packed Coleman Sundome 6 Tent beside her Coleman Sundome 2 Tent and a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle.
Sundome 6, Sundome 2, Nalgene for scale.
The author's packed Coleman Elite Sundome 6 Tent beside her Coleman Sundome 2 Tent and a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle.
Elite Sundome 6, same references.

Price

MeasuredSundome 6Elite Sundome 6
What I paidAbout $100More than double
Still sold newYesNoDiscontinued

I liked the Elite's features, especially the base area, the two doors and the auto-rolling windows — but I always found it a little pricey. Now that Coleman has discontinued it, the question answers itself.

My recommendation

When you could still buy both, my advice was to compare prices: if the Elite wasn't much dearer and you wanted the extra features, it was worth it. It won five of my ten tests and scored 7.9 to 7.8.

There’s a blackout version of the Sundome too, and I’ve put the Dark Room version of the Sundome through the same tests.

Coleman has since discontinued the Elite Sundome, so I no longer recommend it — my full review is still there if you're eyeing a second-hand one. The one I'd buy today is the regular Coleman Sundome 6: quicker to pitch, 5.4 lbs lighter, extra ground vent, about $100. My full Coleman Sundome 6 review.

Bonus: I put these two up against 12 more Coleman tents — set-up timings, rain tests, the lot — in the post where I bought and tested the best Coleman tents.

See all my Coleman tents

Every figure on this page comes from my own measurements of the tents I bought and tested.

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