Coleman PEAK1 2 Tent Review (Bought & Tested!)

This is my review of the Coleman PEAK1 2-person tent.

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Quick Summary

I bought Coleman’s premium range of tents – specifically, the Coleman PEAK1 2-Person Tent – and found that it’s much better than Coleman’s regular budget-friendly range (think: Sundome).

However, I found that it was not quite as good as some of the other budget backpacking tents that I’ve tested. Read on to find out why.

RELATED: Best Budget Backpacking Tents

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Check out Coleman PEAK1 2:

1. In the Box

Out of the box, this is what I got:

• Carry bag
• Instructions
• Tent body
• Footprint
• Rainfly (with pre-attached guylines)
• Poles x 3 (long x 2, short x 1)
• Stakes x 10

2. Set Up & Pack Away

Very briefly, here’s how to set up the Coleman PEAK1:

1. Lay down tent body and footprint.
2. Secure the 2 long poles into the 4 grommets in tent body and footprint.
3. Secure 13 pole clips.
4. Secure ridge pole above long poles with 2 top grommets.
5. Secure color-coded rainfly.
6. Stake tent down (corners x 4, vestibules x 2, guylines x 4).

For more details, I have a separate video with loads of instructions and tips to help you set up your tent more easily:

Altogether, the entire setup takes about 7 minutes, while the pack away takes 6.25 minutes.

3. Peak Height

The peak height in this 2-person Coleman tent comes in at 40.5 inches.

On top of that, this tent also comes with an extra ridge pole at the top, giving you an extreme right width of 33.5 inches and extreme left width of 34.5 inches.

4. Base Area

For the base area, here’s what I measured:

• Length: 88 inches
• Width: 50.5 inches
• Inner base area: 30.9 square feet

5. Pad Sizing

As for the pad sizing, here’s my Exped MegaMat Duo, it fit nicely, with leftover width of about 7 inches.

If you want to fit wider 25-inch pads, it’ll be a very, very snug fit, all the way to the edges of the tent. Anything bigger will not fit because the width of the tent (50.5in) is the limitation.

6. Vestibules

The PEAK1’s 2-person version comes with 2 vestibules, and here are all the dimensions:

• Width: 26 inches
• Length: 88 inches
• Area of 1 vestibule: 7.94 sq. ft.
• Area of 2 vestibules: 15.88 sq. ft.

7. Star-View Window

This Coleman PEAK1 tent has 1 window at the back.

Here are all the details you need for this window:

• Layers: 2 (mesh + fabric)
• Toggles: 2 (1 for each layer)
• Shape: Triangle
• Dimensions: 24 x 22 inches
• Zippers: 2 (1 for each layer)
• Zipper branding: None
• Zipping experience: Not snaggy

8. Window Vent

When you shut the window, you can turn it into a rainfly vent that’s held open with a kickstand.

9. Doors

Under each vestibule, you’ll find one door each, so 2 doors altogether.

Each door has 2 zippers (these are the same small and non-branded zippers we saw in the vestibules and window).

10. Storage

Here are the storage options in the Coleman PEAK1 2:

• Pockets: 2 (triangle, 12 x 10 inches)
• Gear loft: 1 (13 x 11 inches)
• Loops: 3 (Used to hang up gear loft)

11. Seam Taping

Here are all the seams that are taped:

• All rainfly seams
• All flooring seams (corners, etc.)
• Gap in tent body that isn’t covered by rainfly

Everything else apart from these were not taped because they’re covered by the rainfly.

12. Tub-Like Floor

Now, we have what Coleman calls this ‘tub-like floor’ that runs all around the entire tent.

13. Rain Tests

I put the Coleman PEAK1 through several rain tests:

• 1 hour light rain: No leaks
• 1 hour heavy rain: No leaks

14. Amount of Mesh

This is what the PEAK1 looks like without its rainfly:

15. Materials

Here are all the materials of Coleman PEAK1:

• Flooring: 68D polyester
• Footprint: 68D polyester
• Rainfly: 68D polyester
• Tent body/canopy: 68D polyester
• Poles: 7,000 aluminum
• Mesh: Micro mesh
• Guylines: Shockcord
• Stakes: Y-stakes

16. Portability

Here are the packed dimensions of the 2-person Coleman PEAK1:

• Packed size: 22.5 x 9 x 6.5 in
• Pole length: 21.75 inches

As for weight, here’s a breakdown of all the components:

• Poles: 17.8oz
• Stakes: 5.2oz (for 10)
• Rainfly: 29.9oz
• Tent body: 31.7oz
• Footprint: 7.8oz
• Carry bag: 2.5oz
• Total: 94.9oz/5.93lbs/2.7kg

Then, the buckle becomes a handle for easy carry. There’s another handle at the bottom too.

17. PEAK1 V.S. Other Coleman Tents (Pros)

Now, how does this Coleman PEAK1 compare to other Coleman tents, like their most popular Sundome?

Pro #1: Higher waterproof rating

First, waterproofing is much better, here’s the info you need:

Tests	PEAK1	Sundome
HH Rating	2,000mm	450-1,000mm
Rain Test	>1 hour	15-30 minutes

Pro #2: Better seam taping

I also noticed the seam taping in the Peak1 was also much better, while the rest of the budget Coleman tents don’t tend to have very many taped seams.

Pro #3: Better quality flooring

Third, the flooring is better quality too, they used 68D polyester in the PEAK1, compared to polyethylene in the rest of the tents.

Pro #4: Comes with footprint

On top of a better flooring, the Peak1 also comes with a free footprint for added durability. Other budget Coleman tents do not have these footprints.

Pro #5: Better quality poles

The poles in the PEAK1 are made of 7,000 series aluminum, instead of fiberglass, which most Coleman tents are made of.

Pro #6: Better stakes

Even the stakes are higher quality, they’re these beefier Y-stakes, while the rest of the tents come with these thin shepherd-hook stakes.

Pro #7: Better carry bag

I also liked the carry bag of the Peak1, it’s a roll-top dry bag, it helps to compress everything down nicely.

Pro #8: Much longer warranty

The warranty for the Peak1 also comes in at a whopping 5 years, which is much longer than the 1-year warranty for other Coleman tents.

Pro #9: Roomier

And compared to a similar-sized 2-person Sundome, the Peak1 is much roomier thanks to the ridge pole on top. Most of Coleman’s smaller dome tents do not have this ridge pole.

Pro #10: Much more mesh

There’s also a ton more mesh on the PEAK1 than the rest of the tents.

Basically, almost everything in the Coleman Peak1 is better than the Coleman’s budget range of tents.

18. What Can Still be Improved (Cons)

However, here are some cons that I noticed as well.

Con #1: Not enough storage

First, the pockets and loops are still very small and don’t hold a lot of things.

Con #2: Cheap zippers

Second, the zippers are still small and fairly cheaply made.

Con #3: Rainfly can be better

Third, the PEAK1 doesn’t really have a full-coverage rainfly; there’s a weird triangle gap at the back.

Also, at the front, the rainfly cannot be pulled away from the tent body, which isn’t great for ventilation.

Con #4: Very long poles

And the poles pack down super long, so not exactly a backpacking tent.

But overall, if you swear by the Coleman brand, the Coleman PEAK1 is a perfectional functional tent – much better than the other budget options you may be used to.

19. Bonus – MUST Read!

Now, this Peak1 may be better than Coleman’s regular budget-friendly range, but how does it compare to other tents? Check out my best budget backpacking tents article to find out.

Check out Coleman PEAK1 2: