Coleman tents · Guide
What Are Coleman Tents Made Of? (REAL Pictures!)
I went over all 14 of the Coleman tents I own, part by part: fabric, floor, poles, mesh, zippers and the flame retardant nobody mentions. Here are the actual materials.
- 14 tents inspected
- 6 parts covered
- $0 sponsored
- ~4 min read
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The short answer
68D / 75D polyester
Never nylon. Polyester is cheaper. Instant tents jump to 150D “double-thick”.
The fabric ↓1000D polyethylene
The same material as a cheap tarp, despite the impressive-sounding denier.
The floor ↓Fiberglass or alloy steel
Fiberglass on the small tents, steel on the big ones and every Instant.
The poles ↓Everything at a glance
The full materials list
| Part | Coleman | Higher-end tents |
|---|---|---|
| Tent body | 68D polyester | Nylon, or even canvas |
| Rainfly | 75D polyester (thicker: takes the UV) | Nylon |
| Instant tent fabric | 150D polyester (“double-thick”) | — |
| Flooring | 1000D polyethylene | 150D polyester, sometimes crunch-free |
| Bathtub floor | 4-10 in (none on Pop Ups) | Standard |
| Poles | Fiberglass, or alloy steel on big tents | Aluminum, or DAC aluminum |
| Mesh | Regular mosquito netting | No-see-um / micro mesh |
| Zippers | Unbranded, Coleman’s own | YKK or SBS |
| Flame retardant | TDCPP | Varies |
Part 1 of 6
Polyester, not nylon
All 14 of my Coleman tents have polyester bodies, not one is nylon, because nylon costs more. The standard, on tents like my Skydome 4, is 68D polyester for the body and a slightly thicker 75D for the rainfly, which makes sense: the rainfly takes the most UV and degrades fastest.
The exception is the Instant tents (like my Instant 4), which use 150D polyester, Coleman’s “double-thick fabric”. My guess is it has to be twice as thick to take the weight and tension of the pre-attached poles.
Part 2 of 6
The floor is tarp material
Most Coleman floors are 1000D polyethylene. The denier rating sounds impressive, but polyethylene is a very inexpensive material. It’s the same stuff as the tarps in your garage. Higher-end tents use 150D polyester instead, which is better quality and sometimes crunch-free.
One exceptionThe Pop Up tents don’t use polyethylene. Coleman doesn’t say what it is, but it behaves like 75D polyester: smooth, thin, and translucent enough that I could see grass through it.
Part 3 of 6
Bathtub flooring: 4 to 10 inches
Bathtub flooring is where the floor fabric carries up the sides of the tent, so there’s no seam sitting flat on the ground to leak in minor flooding. Most Coleman tents have between 4 and 10 inches of it. I couldn’t find a reason for the variation. I put it down to manufacturing differences.
The Pop Up tents are the exception again: no bathtub feature at all. I suspect it would get in the way of how they fold.
Part 4 of 6
Two pole materials, and only two
Across 14 tents I’ve only ever found fiberglass or alloy steel.
Fiberglass
- + On most of the smaller tents: Sundome, Skydome
- − Thinner, and the first thing to snap
Alloy steel
- + On the big tents: WeatherMaster 10, Instant Cabin 10
- + On every Instant tent, it has to hold the instant frame
- + Much thicker, and higher quality
Higher-end tents use aluminum, and the really high-end ones use DAC aluminum, which is extremely rugged and snaps together easily. That’s what came with my North Face Wawona 6, and it cost me a pretty penny. More on that trade-off in why Coleman tents are so cheap.
Part 5 of 6
Mesh and zippers
Coleman tents are summer tents, so there’s a fair amount of mesh wall and window mesh. Running my hand over it, it isn’t especially smooth and the holes aren’t small. This is regular mosquito netting, not no-see-um mesh. Higher-end tents use no-see-um or micro mesh.
Does that matter?
- Do you camp where there are no-see-ums? I don’t, so it’s never mattered to me. I’ve never been ravaged by mosquitoes in a Coleman either.
- Would you trade ventilation for it? Mosquito netting’s bigger holes let more air through. No-see-um mesh blocks more air and ventilates worse.
The zippers are unbranded. Branded zippers like YKK or SBS print their name on the side; mine don’t, so Coleman appears to make their own. They aren’t the smoothest I’ve used, but they were perfectly functional on every tent.
Part 6 of 6
The flame retardant nobody advertises
Most Coleman tents are treated with a flame retardant, specifically Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP). It’s there to slow the spread of fire, which matters because tent fabric can be flammable.
Worth knowingColeman is quiet about this on their own site, because the chemicals involved have been found to potentially cause cancer. You’ll see it at the retailers instead: Walmart shows the “California Proposition 65” warning and REI Co-Op shows an “Important WARNING for California residents”. Amazon doesn’t. Worth a look before you buy.
The bottom line
Polyester body and rainfly, polyethylene floor, fiberglass or steel poles, mosquito netting, unbranded zippers, and a TDCPP flame-retardant treatment. Cost-effective rather than premium, which is exactly why the tents are as cheap as they are, and why they still last 5 years if you look after them →
Quick questions
FAQ
Are Coleman tents nylon or polyester?
Polyester. All 14 of mine have polyester bodies: 68D for the body, 75D for the rainfly, and 150D “double-thick” on the Instant tents. Nylon costs more, so Coleman doesn’t use it.
Do Coleman tents have bathtub flooring?
Most do, between 4 and 10 inches of it, depending on the tent. The Pop Up tents are the exception and have none.
Do Coleman tents contain flame retardants?
Yes, most are treated with TDCPP. That’s why Walmart and REI Co-Op show a California Proposition 65 warning on their Coleman tent pages.
Keep going
Where to next
Why it’s cheap
Why Are Coleman Tents So Cheap?
The four real reasons: materials, labour, scale, and reach.
Rain performance
How Waterproof Are Coleman Tents?
What those coatings and untaped seams actually do under a hose.
Every material and measurement on this page comes from inspecting the 14 Coleman tents I bought myself.
