ColemanPop-Up Instant Tent Sets Up in 10 Seconds, Portable & Lightweight 2/4 Person Tent with Adjustable Rainfly

This has been my son’s boyscout tent for over four years now and it honestly is an amazing tent. He used it this month and we realized at almost 6’ tall and 220lbs now, it’s a bit too small these days, so we’ve decided to buy the next size up. This one will be lovingly gifted to a cubbie in need. Granted, he only used it probably 2-3x a year so I can’t exactly say how it would hold up to heavy use, but for his needs it’s been fantastic. Every spring we set it up and coat it with waterproofer and use seam seal and Its never leaked.

After a few practice setups and more importantly, take downs, I tested this tent (2P) camping this past weekend. IT does indeed go up very quickly and one could argue that is goes down just about as fast. However, because I was camping with others that made me show them how easy it was a few times it may have lost its speed advantage over other tents. People find it amazing and want to see it.The test also included it in both some mild wind and some rain. It handled both very well and did not leak a drop! The issues others have pointed out about the door being inset when open and water getting in that way are indeed true, but minor. Many tents get wet around the door in the rain as folks enter and exit. You just wipe it up. I might rig a tiny fly extension for it to prevent this when using it in the future.All of my other tents that get used frequently are Sierra Designs, two of which are four season tents. Is this one as good as those? No, no it is not. In “real weather,” or backpacking I’d use the Sierra Designs tents. But they take far more effort and time to setup and take down. In good weather the Pop Up has them beat!I also use a Sierra Designs Baffin Bivy and though not a tent, it is used for speed, i.e set up and take down camp fast. It is still faster than the Coleman Popup, but not by a lot and the Pop Up is certainly more comfortable and less of an issue in rain.Others have pointed out issues taking the tent down and folding it up, even broken polls while doing this. I did not have any issue. I watched the YouTube videos and made a point of being gentle. I practiced a lot. I can fold it up in well under a minute. I have folded it up maybe 40 times without any poll issues or failures. To those having issues, practice, never force it and watch the you tube videos of the folks who know how to do it. It is really, really, easy.Others have pointed out the door zipper can be difficult to zip. This is also true and more so when the tent is staked out. It is not a one handed operation, but to be just, on all three of my Sierra Designs tents, it is a two handed operation also, and mostly where the door corves when they are put up tight. The Coleman was the same, though it is slightly harder to zip up. I’d ding it for that, but I got used to it pretty fast. It is another thing where being gentle with it will have rewards.Some have pointed out the cloth floor as an issue. Though, many tents have fabric flows this one seems thin and may be a vulnerable spot. I used a small tarp under It (I use fitted ground cloths with my other tents). I sized the tarp so most of the water running off the tent hit dirt and not the tarp (so the water does not go under the tent). I did not have any problems.Finally, it comes down to how many stars. I could easily say my Sierra Designs, tents are 5 stars and therefore this must be something far less. However, the Sierra Designs tents cost three to five times as much! The ease of setup earns this tent a great score. For the price this Coleman Popup is 100% worth it. Five stars.

First, this won’t/shouldn’t be your only tent. This thing is amazing for quick car camping overnights with the kids, when time is of the essence. We use it most for single nights on the lake when taking the time to set up & break down a full camp would be impractical, or for those overnight stops en route to a final destination. Its great on the beach as a sun shelter (you’d have to purchase sand anchors for it, but all serious campers looking for 5 star experiences from big-box stock tents should always upgrade stakes. It’s a given people. Don’t deduct stars because the stakes are flimsy. They’re all the same out of the box, in my experience).The other universal given is that all 4 person tents are actually 2 person tents. We’ve fit me & my husband (2 moderately large people) in here with our 4 year old reasonably comfortably when the (yes awkward) fly is off, with me only having one panic attack in there with the fly on. Not bad for the size of this thing. As for that panic attack I noted a few things:1. With 3 people in this thing and the rain fly on, I suspect it’s too tight for adequate ventilation. It’s a very tight fitting fly and there are no windows accessible on the inside, plus it’s a weird two layer door. If it were raining and I HAD to be in there with the rest of the family, I’d have been in the car. Or my hammock, my preferred camping mode. But we buy this thing is for the speed when hanging hammocks would be impractical. As for condensation, idk because we’ve only used it in mild weather, but all signs point to it being a nightmare.2. The floor will leak if you put it on a tarp. Like just about all tents with or without a bathtub bottom. Tarps should never be visible below your tent because the rain will puddle onto your tarp and pool below the tent, unable to seep into the ground. There are ways to place a tent on a tarp, but none of them should be visible once the tent is on it.3. I don’t know who’s knocking off stars because this thing doesn’t fit an air mattress, but yeah. There’s no way you want to try to put a Walmart-purchased air mattress in here. Use a sleeping pad. The hikenture double inflatable pad is amazing. Foam mats are fine enough. Not a 2 foot high mattress.4. I’m buying a second one to make a sort of small-tent compound for extended use as the main tent of the trip. The problem of the useless door in the rain is solved by placing either a tarp or a canopy over the door. We will flank a 10x10 ez up canopy with two of these tents, maybe a tarp too, thus comfortably sleeping 4 and protecting us from the rain, all while maintaining a 5 min set up time.5. After the third try I can fold this thing up perfectly the first time. Takes practice cause it’s huge.6. Don’t take this thing wildernesses camping. It’s tempting, I know, but just don’t. Wrong application here, it will fail you in every way.So as a car camping tool for speed and convenience, this thing gets a solid 4 stars, 4.5 if possible. As a primary family tent, I’d give it 3 stars because it can’t function on its own due to door/window/rain fly design issues & will require a canopy or tarp in less than ideal weather. As a backpacking tent, just no. Overall it is one of my most used outdoor items, next to my Hennessy expedition, but that’s mostly cause I can hang the Hennessy for a quick nap were I can see the house, but they can’t find me. This pop up tent gets a zero for stealth, lol.