Coleman tents · Vs review
Coleman Instant Tent V.S. Skydome Tent (I've Got Them Both!)
Both 4-person, both mine, run through 10 side-by-side tests.
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The short answer
Instant if you want it up fast. Skydome for everything after that.
Nearly identical on paper — 59 against 61 inches of peak, 54.2 against 55.4 square feet, four pads or a queen in either. The Instant halves both the set-up and the pack-up and has the roomier cabin shape and better materials. The Skydome has the much better door, bigger pockets, a gear loft, real ventilation, and it packs 70% smaller at half the weight. Neither is a rain tent until you seam-seal it.
Side by side
Where they actually differ
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| My score | 7.3 / 10 | 7.2 / 10 |
| Set up (1 person) | 9.5 minutes | 4.5 minutesAbout half |
| Take down | 10 minutes | 5 minutesAlso half |
| Pre-attached poles | One end only | Yes, via a central hub |
| Pre-attached pole clips | No16 to clip by hand | Yes |
| Tent shape | DomePeak only at the centre | CabinNear-vertical walls |
| Peak height | 59 inches | 61 inches |
| Base area | 54.2 square feet | 55.4 square feet |
| Sleeps | 4 pads or 1 queen | 4 pads or 1 queen |
| Door | Much bigger, plus a door pocket | Smaller, 2 tie-back latches |
| Pockets | 2Noticeably bigger | 2 |
| Gear lofts | 1Removable | 0 |
| Heavy rain test | About 15 minutes3 sides held over an hour | About 10 minutesDrenched by 15 |
| Mesh walls / vents | 3 | 0One small top vent |
| Windows | 1 | 4No mesh on the back wall |
| Fabric | 68 / 75D polyester | 150D polyester taffeta |
| Poles | Fiberglass | Alloy steel |
| Packed size | 25 by 9 by 9 inches | 40 by 11 by 8 inchesMore than 70% bigger |
| Weight | 10.4 lbs | 20 lbs18 lbs + ~2 lbs of fly and stakes |
| What I paid | About $100 | 20–30% morePlus $30 for the separate rainfly |
✓ = the better result, from my own testing of both tents. Both leak first through the un-taped bathtub flooring seam; seal it and the Skydome will take a few hours of heavy rain.
Which applies to you?
Get this one if…
Get the Skydome if…
- You want the door — it's much bigger, and the door pocket is a joy.
- You want ventilation: 3 mesh wall vents against none.
- You're carrying it: 10.4 lbs and 70% less packed bulk.
- You want the bigger pockets and a removable gear loft.
Get the Instant if…
- You want it up in 4.5 minutes and down in 5.
- You want the cabin shape — you can stand up in the corners.
- You want 150D fabric and steel poles.
- You're camping in fair weather and don't mind 20 lbs.
Set Up & Take Down
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Set up (1 person) | 9.5 minutes | 4.5 minutes |
| Take down | 10 minutes | 5 minutes |
Double the time, both ways round.
Poles & Pole Clips
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Poles pre-attached | At the back only | Fully, via a central hub |
| Pole assembly | Build the pole, then fight the fast-fitting feet into pockets | Prop up, extend upward |
| Pole clips to attach | 162 centre + 8 front + 6 back | 0All pre-attached |
This is the whole difference. The Instant's poles hang off a central hub and its clips are already on, so you prop and extend. The Skydome's are pre-attached at the back only, so you still assemble each pole, secure the fast-fitting feet into the corner pockets, then bend down for the two centre clips and work through eight more at the front and six at the back.
The Skydome is marketed as a 5-minute quick pitch. It sets up and packs up very much like a regular tent.
Tent Shape & Space
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | DomePeak only at the centre | CabinStand up in the corners |
| Peak height | 59 inches | 61 inches |
| Base area | 54.2 square feet | 55.4 square feet |
| Sleeps | 4 pads, no room spare | 4 pads, no room spare |
Two inches and one square foot apart, and the Instant still feels bigger. The Skydome's pole clips do pull its body up and out — Coleman's 20% more headroom claim — but it's a dome, so the height is only at the centre. The Instant's near-vertical walls let me stretch my arms out and stand more upright in the corners.
Door
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Door size | Much bigger | Quite a bit smaller |
| Open door stows via | Door pocket | 2 tie-back latchesMore fumbling, more time |
I really love the Skydome's door — big enough to walk through, with a pocket at the side to stuff the fabric into. The Instant makes you tie the fabric up with two latches instead, and I duck to get through it.
Storage
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 2Quite a bit bigger | 2 |
| Gear loft | 1Removable | 0 |
Same pocket count, but the Skydome's are noticeably bigger, and it adds a removable gear loft the Instant doesn't have.
Heavy Rain Test
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first leak | About 15 minutesAt the front only | About 10 minutes |
| Rainfly coverage | Long on 3 sides, short at the front | The very top only |
| The 3 long sides | No leak after an hour of pouring rain | — |
| After 15 minutes | Front seam weeping | Pretty drenched |
Rainfly length decides it. The Skydome's three long sides didn't leak after an hour of very heavy rain; only its short front let go, at 15 minutes, through the un-taped bathtub floor seam. Seal that and it will take a few hours.
The Instant's fly covers only the very top, so water runs straight down the body. By 15 minutes the floor-to-black-fabric seam was leaking noticeably, the black fabric itself was damp, and the tent was drenched overall.
Rainy Day Ventilation
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh wall vents | 3Each nearly the length of the tent | 0 |
| Windows usable in rain | 1The fly pole diverts water off it | 0All must be shut |
With the fly on and guyed out, the Skydome has three huge mesh wall vents, and its rainfly pole diverts rain off the window — so with no real wind I can even crack the window. The Instant has no vents at all, so once the windows shut, that's the end of the airflow.
Hot Day Ventilation
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh walls | 3Plus a window on the last wall | 0 |
| Windows | 1 | 43 big ones; nothing on the back wall |
| Ceiling mesh | Yes | NoJust a small top vent |
Fly off, the Skydome opens up into three huge mesh walls plus a window. The Instant has three big windows on three walls — and, for reasons I can't work out, no mesh on the back wall at all, no ceiling mesh, and only a small top vent that doesn't do much.
Materials
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Tent body | 68D polyester | 150D polyester taffetaDouble-thick fabric |
| Rainfly | 68 or 75D polyester | 150D polyester |
| Poles | Fiberglass | Alloy steel |
The Instant is the better-made tent, and that's where its 20 pounds comes from.
Weight, Packed Size & Price
| Measured (4-person) | Skydome | Instant |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 10.4 lbs | 20 lbs18 lbs + ~2 lbs of fly |
| Packed size | 25 by 9 by 9 inches | 40 by 11 by 8 inchesMore than 70% bigger |
| What I paid | About $100 | 20–30% morePlus $30 for the fly |
Nearly twice the weight, more than 70% more packed bulk, and more money — made worse by the rainfly being a separate $30 purchase, which I still find odd.
My recommendation
If you want a tent that goes up easily, the Instant Tent is the much better pick — the Skydome is not a quick pitch and sets up like a regular tent. The Instant also has more livable space thanks to the cabin shape, and slightly better materials. Use it in fair weather or in the backyard, though: it doesn't do well in rain, and it's really a summer tent.
For hot summer days I'd take the 10-Person Instant Cabin over the 4-person: windows on every wall, blackout fabric to keep you cool, I can stand up everywhere in it, and the rainfly is included rather than a separate purchase.
The Instant also went up against Coleman’s other quick-pitch style in my Instant vs Pop Up comparison.
If you don't need the instant mechanism or the cabin shape, go with the Skydome: that user-friendly door pocket, storage better than an average Coleman tent, far better ventilation, better rain performance, and a much smaller pack. Full reviews: the Skydome 4, the Instant 4 and the Instant Cabin 10.
Bonus: To see how the Instant and Skydome compare against more than 10 other Coleman tents, read the post where I bought and tested the best Coleman tents.
Every figure on this page comes from my own measurements of the tents I bought and tested.
