Coleman tents · Vs review
Coleman Skydome Tent V.S. Carlsbad Tent (I Have Both Tents!)
Both 4-person, both mine, run through 9 side-by-side tests.
This page contains affiliate links, and that means that I may earn a commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you. You can find my full disclosure policy here.
The short answer
Carlsbad for space and rain. Skydome for everything else.
The Carlsbad's screen room makes its total base area 60% bigger (86.1 against 54.2 square feet) and it held off my hose for 30 minutes against the Skydome's 15. That space costs 4 pounds, a bigger packed size and 1.5 minutes of set-up. The Skydome won six of my nine tests — roomier headroom, bigger door, better storage, better ventilation, lighter, smaller — but the Carlsbad is the one I scored higher.
Side by side
Where they actually differ
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| My score | 7.3 / 10 | 7.7 / 10 |
| Set up (1 person) | 9.5 minutes | 11 minutesExtra screen-room pole + 2 stake loops |
| Peak height | 59 inchesPole clips pull the walls out | 60 inches |
| Base area (tent) | 54.2 square feet | 58.5 square feet |
| Screen room | None | 27.6 square feetPeak height 54 inches |
| Total base area | 54.2 square feet | 86.1 square feet60% bigger |
| Door | 48 by 39 inchesPlus a door pocket | 47 by 35 inches2 tie-back latches instead |
| Dark Room tech | Optional — mine is the plain version | StandardMine arrived defective |
| Pockets | 2 | 2 |
| Gear lofts | 1 | 0 |
| Lantern loops | 1 | 2One inside, one out |
| E-port | 0 | 1 |
| Mesh walls / windows | 3 / 1 | 1 / 3 |
| Heavy rain test | About 15 minutesShort front rainfly | About 30 minutesFly covers a third of the body |
| Weight | 10.4 lbs | 14.4 lbsExactly 4 lbs more |
| Packed size | 25 x 9 x 9 inches | 26 x 11.5 x 8 inches20% bigger |
✓ = the better result, from my own testing of both tents. Both leak first through the un-taped bathtub flooring seam; with a little seam sealant both should manage a couple of hours of heavy rain.
Which applies to you?
Get this one if…
Get the Carlsbad if…
- You want the screen room — 27.6 sq ft, 60% more floor overall.
- You want Dark Room tech as standard.
- You want the longer rain hold: 30 minutes, not 15.
- You want windows you can see out of and an e-port.
Get the Skydome if…
- You're carrying it: 10.4 lbs and a 20% smaller pack.
- You want the quicker pitch — 9.5 minutes.
- You want the bigger door (48 by 39 in) and its door pocket.
- You want the ventilation — 3 mesh walls, plus a gear loft.
Set Up
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Set up (1 person) | 9.5 minutes | 11 minutes |
| Extra parts | None | 1 screen-room pole + 2 stake loops |
Both timings include staking and guying out the whole tent. The Carlsbad's extra 1.5 minutes is entirely its screen room — one more pole at the front and two more stake loops.
Headroom
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Peak height | 59 inches | 60 inches |
| Feels roomier | YesPole clips pull the body up and out | No |
An inch apart on paper, but the Skydome feels roomier — its pole clips pull the tent body upward and outward. Coleman markets that as 20% more headroom; I'm not sure it's that much, but the difference is real.
Base Area & Screen Room
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Marketed dimensions | 8 by 7 feet | 9 by 7 feet |
| Base area (tent) | 54.2 square feet | 58.5 square feet |
| Screen room | None | 27.6 square feet3 ft 10 in wide · 8 ft 8 in long · 54 in peak |
| Total | 54.2 square feet | 86.1 square feet60% bigger |
| Sleeps | 4 pads or 1 queen | 4 pads or 1 queenA little room to spare |
The Skydome is a foot shorter than the Carlsbad, but both took four regular sleeping pads or two doubles, or a single queen bed. The Carlsbad's extra inches show as gaps between the pads, so wider pads would still fit. Add the screen room and the gap stops being marginal.
Doors
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Door size | 48 by 39 inches | 47 by 35 inches |
| Open door stows via | Door pocket | 2 tie-back latchesSlower |
| Screen-room door | None | Almost the full screen-room length |
The Skydome's door is bigger and its door pocket is the better idea — stuff the fabric in and you're done. The Carlsbad makes you tie the fabric up with two latches, which takes longer every single time.
Dark Room Tech
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Room tech | Optional — mine is plain | Standard |
The Carlsbad only comes in Dark Room; the Skydome is sold both ways and I bought the plain one. Worth a warning though: the Dark Room fabric can be defective. Mine is — Coleman used a different fabric on the lower part of the tent and it isn't nearly as dark as the windows. Check yours.
Storage
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 2 | 2 |
| Gear loft | 1 | 0 |
| Lantern loops | 1Inside | 2One inside, one outside |
| E-port | 0 | 1 |
Two pockets each. The Skydome adds a gear loft; the Carlsbad adds a second lantern loop and an e-port. Overall the Skydome's storage is better than an average Coleman tent's, which is why I give it this one.
Mesh Walls & Windows
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh walls | 3 | 1 |
| Windows | 1 | 3 |
| Airflow with the fly off | More | Less |
| Can you see out with the fly on | No | YesAnd they zip open and shut |
A genuine trade-off. Mesh walls move far more air, and with the fly on they turn into big mesh wall vents — but you can't see out, and the only way to close them is to slacken a guyline from outside. Windows have finer mesh so less airflow, but you can look out and zip them shut. Three mesh walls beats one, so the Skydome takes it.
Heavy Rain Test
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first leak | About 15 minutes | About 30 minutes |
| Where it leaked | Bathtub floor seam, front wall | Bathtub floor seam |
| Rainfly coverage | Long on 3 sides, short at the front | About a third of the body |
I hose both tents down until they leak. The Carlsbad lasted about 30 minutes; the Skydome about 15, and it went at the front, where its rainfly is shortest. Both leaked through the same place — the inverted but un-taped bathtub flooring seam. Seal that seam and both should take a couple of hours of heavy rain.
Weight & Packed Size
| Measured | Skydome 4 | Carlsbad 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 10.4 lbs | 14.4 lbsExactly 4 lbs more |
| Packed size | 25 x 9 x 9 inches | 26 x 11.5 x 8 inches20% bigger |
The screen room costs four pounds and a fifth more packed volume. Packed, my 4-person Carlsbad is nearly the size of a 6-person Sundome.
My recommendation
Both have a lot going for them. The Carlsbad's screen room is genuinely generous — 60% more floor once you count it — and it held off my hose twice as long as the Skydome. But the screen room has no rain protection at all, so you'll want a tarp if rain is likely, and cleaning it out is a chore even with the mesh drainage.
The Skydome has more headroom, that very user-friendly door pocket, better storage and better ventilation than an average Coleman tent — at the cost of a smaller base area, no screen room and no e-port. Whichever you pick, seam-seal the bathtub flooring seam; that's where both of mine leaked first.
Full reviews: the Skydome 4 and the Carlsbad 4.
Bonus: Before you buy either, read the post where I compare both of these against more than 10 other Coleman tents.
Every figure on this page comes from my own measurements of the tents I bought and tested.
