Coleman Instant Tent V.S. Skydome Tent (I’ve Got Them Both!)
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I have both the Coleman 4-Person Instant Tent and the 4-Person Skydome Tent, and in this blog post, I’ll go through all the differences between these tents.
The Coleman Instant Tent sets up and packs away in half the time of the Skydome, has more livable space and slightly higher quality materials. However, the Skydome has a much more user-friendly door, more storage options, is better in heavy rain, has better ventilation, and packs down smaller.
| Characteristics | Skydome Tent (4P) | Instant Tent (4P) |
|---|---|---|
| Set Up Timing | 9.5 minutes | 4.5 minutes |
| Take Down Timing | 10 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Pre-Attached Poles? | Yes (one end) | Yes |
| Pre-Attached Pole Clips? | No | Yes |
| Tent Shape | Dome | Cabin |
| Peak Height | 59 inches | 61 inches |
| Base Area | 54.2 square feet | 55.4 square feet |
| Single Pads | 4 | 4 |
| Queen Beds | 1 | 1 |
| Doors | 1 | 1 |
| Pockets | 2 | 2 |
| Gear Lofts | 1 | 0 |
| Rain Test | ~15 minutes | ~10 minutes |
| Mesh Walls/Vents | 3 | 0 |
| Windows | 1 | 4 |
| Fabric Material | 68/75D Polyester | 150D Polyester |
| Poles Material | Fiberglass | Alloy Steel |
| Packed Size | 25 by 9 by 9 inches | 40 by 11 by 8 inches |
| Weight | 10.4lbs | 20lbs |
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Check out the Coleman Skydome and Instant Tents:
Usage
Set Up Timing
Setting up a 4-Person Coleman Instant Tent takes just 4.5 minutes, while a 4-Person Skydome Tent takes 9.5 minutes, or about double the time.
Take Down Timing
Meanwhile, taking down and packing up the 4-Person Instant Tent takes just 5 minutes, while the 4-Person Skydome Tent takes 10 minutes, also double the time.
Poles
Coleman Instant Tent
This is mainly because all the poles of the Instant Tent are pre-attached via a central hub, and I didn’t have to insert a single pole through any pole sleeves.
All I had to do was prop the poles up, and extend all the poles upward.
Coleman Skydome Tent
On the other hand, the poles of the Skydome Tent are only pre-attached to the back of the tent, so you still have to put the entire pole together.
After putting the pole together, you’ve got to secure the fast-fitting feet at the other end into these pole pockets sewn to the corner of the tent.
Pole Clips
Coleman Instant Tent
Another big reason why the Instant Tent is much faster than a regular tent is because all the pole clips are pre-attached as well, so I didn’t have to clip them on.
Coleman Skydome Tent
On the other hand, for the Skydome Tent, I had to first pick up both poles, then bend down to pick up the 2 center pole clips and clip them to the tent poles.
After that, I still had to clip on 8 pole clips at the front of the tent, and another 6 pole clips at the back of the tent.
So, although the Skydome is supposed to be a quick pitch in 5 minutes, it actually sets up and packs up very much like a regular tent.
Tent Shape
Coleman Skydome Tent
Although the Skydome Tent is marketed to have 20% more headroom than a regular Sundome Tent, thanks to these pole clips that pull the tent body upward and outward, it’s still overall very much a dome-shaped tent, with the peak height only at the center of the tent.
Coleman Instant Tent
On the other hand, the Instant Tent has more of a cabin shape, with somewhat almost vertical side walls, giving it more livable space inside the tent than the Skydome. I could not only freely stretch my arms out, but I could also stand more upright in the corners.
Height and Base Area
Both the Skydome and Instant Tents have very similar peak heights, which is 59 inches and 61 inches respectively, and also very similar base areas, 54.2 and 55.4 square feet respectively.
Both tents can fit 4 regular sleeping pads with no leftover space, or 1 queen bed with some leftover space.
Door
Coleman Skydome Tent
When it comes to the user-friendliness of each tent’s door, I much prefer and I actually really love the extra big door in the Skydome Tent. The 4-Person Skydome Tent’s door is much bigger, making it really easy to walk in and out of the tent.
I also really love the door pocket here by the side, where I could stuff the door fabric in when the door is open.
Coleman Instant Tent
On the other hand, the 4-Person Instant Tent’s door is quite a bit smaller.
Also, instead of a door pocket, it has these 2 latches by the side to tie the door fabric up, which takes a lot more fumbling and a lot more time.
Storage
Pockets
While both the 4-Person Instant Tent and the 4-Person Skydome Tent have just 2 pockets each, the Skydome’s pockets are actually quite a bit bigger.
Gear Lofts
On top of that, the Skydome comes with this removable gear loft for more storage space if you need it.
Heavy Rain Test
For the heavy rain test, I found that the length of each Coleman tent’s rainfly really affects how long it stays dry under heavy rain.
Coleman Instant Tent
The Coleman Instant Tent has a really tiny rainfly, covering only the very top of the tent, so a lot of water ran over the tent body.
After just 15 minutes of heavy rain, I found quite a bit of leaking from the seam connecting the bathtub flooring to the black tent fabric.
On top of that, the black fabric itself was damp, and the tent was overall pretty drenched.
Coleman Skydome Tent
On the other hand, my Skydome Tent has a really long rainfly length at 3 sides of the tent, and these sides didn’t leak even after an hour of super heavy pouring rain.
However, the front of the Skydome has a really short rainfly length though, which looks like this:
So, after 15 minutes of heavy rain, I saw the first droplet of water entering the tent from the un-taped bathtub flooring seam.
With a little seam sealant though, the Skydome will be able to last a few hours under heavy rain.
Rainy Day Ventilation
Coleman Skydome Tent
On a rainy day, with the rainfly in place and guyed out, the Skydome Tent has 3 massive mesh wall vents, each spanning almost the entire length of the tent.
On top of that, I also found the rainfly pole pretty useful in kind of like diverting the rainfall away from the window.
So, if there’s not too much wind, no water will get into my tent through the vents, and I can even crack the window open.
Coleman Instant Tent
On the other hand, I needed to close all my windows in the Coleman Instant Tent, and there are no vents inside the tent. So, on a rainy day, ventilation is limited.
Hot Day Ventilation
Coleman Skydome Tent
On a hot day without the rainfly, the Skydome Tent comes with not 1, not 2, but 3 humongous mesh walls, plus a window on the last wall.
Coleman Instant Tent
On the other hand, while the 4-Person Instant Tent has 3 pretty big windows on 3 walls of the tent, I’m not sure why there’s no mesh on the back wall.
There’s also a small vent at the top of the tent, which doesn’t do that much for ventilation, and there’s also no ceiling mesh.
Materials
Coleman Skydome Tent
The materials used in the Skydome Tent is polyester, I think it’s 68D polyester for the tent body and either 68 or 75D polyester for the rainfly.
Also, the tent poles are made of fiberglass.
Coleman Instant Tent
In contrast, the Coleman instant tent is made of 150D polyester taffeta, which is what Coleman calls “double-thick fabric”.
On top of that, the poles are made of alloy steel, so overall higher quality materials.
Portability
Coleman Skydome Tent
This Skydome 4-Person Tent has a packed size of 25 by 9 by 9 inches, and it weighs about 10.4 pounds.
Coleman Instant Tent
On the other hand, the 4-Person Instant Tent has a packed size of 40 by 11 by 8 inches, which is more than 70% bigger than the Skydome.
It also weighs 18 pounds, and with the rainfly and the extra rainfly stakes, that’s an additional 2 pounds.
Pricing
I paid only about $100 bucks for the 4-Person Skydome and the 4-Person Instant Tent was maybe 20 to 30% more expensive, I think that’s because of the slightly higher quality materials.
But the weird thing is that I had to buy the Instant Tent rainfly separately, which cost me another $30 bucks, so the price of the Instant Tent overall was quite a bit more expensive.
Recommendation #1
Overall, if you’re here looking for a tent that sets up easily, I think the Coleman Instant Tent is a much better pick for you. After all, the Skydome is definitely not a quick pitch and sets up more like a regular tent.
On top of that, this Instant Tent also has more livable space inside the tent compared to the Skydome, thanks to the cabin shape, and it’s also made of slightly higher quality materials.
However, I recommend using the Coleman Instant Tent if you’re camping only in fair weather, or in your backyard or something. It doesn’t do very well in rain, and is definitely more of a summer tent.
Recommendation #2
Also, I’d recommend the 10-Person Coleman Instant Tent for hot summer days instead, because it seriously has tons of hot day ventilation, with windows on every wall, plus blackout fabric to keep you cool in the summer heat.
I could also stand up everywhere inside the tent, and I didn’t have to pay for a separate rainfly, because the rainfly was included in my purchase.
Recommendation #3
On the other hand, I think it’s better to go with the Coleman Skydome Tent, if you don’t need the instant set up mechanism and the cabin shape.
Here are all the advantages of the Skydome compared to the Instant Tent:
- The door pocket is super user-friendly.
- The storage options are better than your average Coleman tent.
- It will be great in heavy rain with just a little seam sealant.
- The ventilation inside the tent is one of the best when compared to the rest of my Coleman tents.
- It packs down pretty small.
- It’s less expensive.
And the set-up is actually pretty simple once you get used to it.
Bonus: Must Read!
To find out how the Skydome and Instant tents compare against more than 10 other Coleman tents, I highly recommend that you read this blog post: I Tested the 14 BEST Coleman Tents!
Or, check out the Coleman Skydome and Instant Tents:
