Coleman Pop Up Tent V.S. Skydome Tent (I Tested Both Tents!)
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I have both the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent and the 4-Person Skydome Tent, and in this blog post, I’ll go through all the differences between these 2 tents.
While the Coleman Pop Up Tent sets up and packs up extremely quickly, in under 2 minutes, it lacks the peak height, storage options, rain protection and ventilation of the Skydome Tent. In addition, although the Skydome Tent is heavier, it packs down much smaller.
| Characteristics | Pop Up Tent (4P) | Skydome Tent (4P) |
|---|---|---|
| Set Up Timing | 1.5 minutes | 9.5 minutes |
| Pack Up Timing | 2 minutes | 7-10 minutes |
| Peak Height | 39 inches | 59 inches |
| Base Area | 60.6 square feet | 54.2 square feet |
| Door Length | 41 inches | 48 inches |
| Pockets | 1 | 2 |
| Gear Lofts | 0 | 1 |
| Lantern Loops | 0 | 1 |
| E-Port | 0 | 0 |
| Heavy Rain Test | ~10 minutes | ~15 minutes |
| Bathtub Flooring | No tub floors | 6.5 inches |
| Vents | 0 | 3 |
| Weight | 8.2 lbs | 10.4 lbs |
| Packed Size | 36 x 36 x 2.5 inches | 25 x 9 x 9 inches |
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Check out the Pop Up and Skydome Tents:
Set Up
Coleman Pop Up 4
The Pop Up Tent is, by far, the easiest Coleman tent to set up. Just take it out of the carry bag, remove the black strap holding the tent together, toss it away from you, and watch it pop open, with the rainfly pre-attached. This takes all of 15 seconds.
Guying out and staking down the tent takes just 1 minute and 15 seconds, for a total set up timing of just 1 and a half minutes.
Coleman Skydome 4
As for the Skydome Tent, the poles are pre-attached only to the back of the tent, like so:
So, you still have to put both poles together, and secure the other end of both poles, which have fast-fitting feet:
Then, you’ve got to clip the 14 pole clips around the tent, 8 at the front, and another 6 at the back. And after that, you’ve still got to attach the rainfly and guy it out.
Altogether, it takes 9 and a half minutes to set up the Skydome Tent, which is about the same time as a regular Sundome Tent, and is nowhere as quick as the Pop Up Tent.
Pack Up
Coleman Pop Up 4
The Coleman Pop Up Tent also packs up really quickly, by folding the tent until it looks like a taco, and then folding the taco down. I’m able to pack it up in just 2 minutes after getting used to it.
Coleman Skydome 4
As for the Skydome Tent, I had to fold the tent body in half about 3 times, roll it up, fold the rainfly, and then squeeze everything back into the carry bag.
This takes between 7 to 10 minutes, depending on whether you remove the strip at the bottom of the carry bag.
Peak Height
Coleman Pop Up 4
The peak height of the 4-Person Pop Up Tent is just 39 inches, so I could only sit up inside the tent. For this tent, I wouldn’t recommend fitting a camping mattress that’s more than 6 inches thick.
Coleman Skydome 4
The peak height of the Skydome 4-Person Tent is much higher, at about 59 inches, and I can almost stand up inside the tent.
Tent Base
Coleman Pop Up 4
The base area of both tents is about the same at about 55 square feet, but the 4-Person Pop Up Tent could fit at most 3 regular sleeping pads side by side. I couldn’t fit 4 pads because the base area is in an oval shape.
Coleman Skydome 4
The 4-Person Skydome could fit 4 pads nicely, like so, but there isn’t any space leftover for gear:
Both tents could fit a queen bed, with a decent amount of space leftover for gear. Here’s the Skydome 4:
And here’s the Coleman Pop Up 4 with the same queen bed (80 x 56 inches):
Door
Coleman Skydome 4
Both tents have just 1 door each, but I love the Skydome’s door for 2 reasons. First, it’s super huge, measuring a whopping 4 feet in length.
And second, I also really love the door pocket here by the side, where I could stuff the door fabric in when the door is open, so very user-friendly.
Coleman Pop Up 4
As for the 4-Person Pop Up Tent, it’s quite a few inches smaller, with a longest length of just 41 inches.
To keep the door open, I had to tie it up with these latches at the top, which takes a lot more fumbling and a lot more time.
Storage Options
Coleman Skydome 4
My 4-Person Skydome tent came with not only a pocket behind the door pocket, another pocket that’s been split into 4 (measuring 24 by 7 inches), but even a gear loft at the top of the tent, plus a lantern loop on top of the gear loft.
Coleman Pop Up 4
On the other hand, the 4-Person Pop Up Tent came with only 1 pocket, which is split into 2 (measuring 17 by 8 inches), no gear lofts, and not even a lantern loop.
So, I had to hang a lantern up using the door latch attachment.
Hot Day Ventilation
Coleman Skydome 4
My Skydome Tent came with not 1, not 2, but 3 humongous mesh walls, plus a window on the last wall, which makes hot day ventilation without the rainfly pretty awesome.
Coleman Pop Up 4
In contrast, the Pop Up Tent has just 1 small window that’s part of the door, and some ceiling mesh at the top of the tent.
Rainy Day Ventilation
Coleman Skydome 4
With the rainfly on for rainy days, my Skydome Tent has 3 humongous mesh wall vents, for a decent amount of ventilation even in heavy rain.
I could even crack the window open if there’s no wind.
Coleman Pop Up 4
As for my Pop Up Tent, it has minimal ventilation because no windows can be opened, and there are also no vents at all.
Heavy Rain Test
Coleman Pop Up 2
In fact, when I put my Coleman Pop Up 2-Person Tent through just 15 minutes of heavy rain, because the rainfly is just so small, the entire tent was completely soaked through.
Not only did the door leak tons of water into the tent (pictured above), the taped seam between the flooring and the tent body was also leaking, all the fabric in the tent had been soaked through, and even the underside of the rainfly was wet.
Coleman Pop Up 4
When I put my Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent through a little light to moderate rain (5-10 minutes), that’s when the first drop of water leaked into the tent, through the taped seam.
Coleman Skydome 4
As for the Skydome Tent, even though 3 sides of the tent have a decently long rainfly length, the front of the tent has a much shorter rainfly length, which doesn’t offer quite as much rain protection.
As such, the first drop of water started seeping into the flooring seam (inverted, not seam taped) at the front of the tent after 15 minutes.
But if you use a little seam sealant for this seam, this tent will be able to last at least a couple of hours in super heavy rain, if not more.
Tub Floors
Also, the Skydome Tent has a bathtub flooring extending up about 6 and a half inches, while the Coleman Pop Up Tent doesn’t have any bathtub feature.
Portability
The Skydome 4-Person Tent weighs 10.4 lbs, while the 4-Person Pop Up Tent is slightly lighter, weighing 8.2 lbs.
However, the Pop Up Tent is 50% bulkier, because it comes in this huge circle (pictured below), while the Skydome has a normal packed size (pictured above).
Recommendation
Overall, while I love how quickly the Pop Up Tent sets up as well as packs up, which I was able to do in just 1 to 2 minutes, tops, there’s nothing else that’s too great about this tent.
In fact, the peak height is much lower, storage options are lacking for sure, ventilation is not that great, it’s bulky, and it’s my weakest Coleman tent in the heavy rain.
On the other hand, while the Skydome isn’t exactly a quick-pitch of 5 minutes, the set up and pack up is still pretty simple, the door is super user-friendly, storage is better than your average Coleman tent, ventilation is pretty great, and it can do well in heavy rain if you add a little seam sealant.
If you’re looking for a quick set up for fair-weather backyard camping, the Coleman Pop Up Tent will do just fine. But otherwise, you’re probably better off the Coleman Skydome Tent, which has more pros than cons, and is a pretty decent Coleman tent.
Check out the Skydome and Pop Up Tents:
Bonus: Must Read!
But before you buy anything, I highly recommend that you read this blog post where I compare not just the Skydome Tent, but also the Pop Up Tent, against more than 10 other Coleman tents.
