How to Choose Tents for Camping

An excellent option for campers looking to get out no matter the weather, the Coleman PEAK1 4-person dome tent is spacious, rugged and built to stand up to wind and rain.
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Imported.
View all Coleman Camping TentsBest Use | Camping |
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Seasons | 3 - 4-season |
Sleeping Capacity | 4-person |
Minimum Trail Weight | 10 lbs. 5.1 oz. |
Packaged Weight | 12 lbs. 15.1 oz. |
Packed Size | 25.98 x 8.66 x 8.66 inches |
Floor Dimensions | 94 x 94 inches |
Floor Area | 61.3 square feet |
Peak Height | 70 inches |
Number of Doors | 1 door |
Number of Poles | 3 |
Pole Material | 7000-series aluminum |
Footprint Included | Yes |
Design Type | Freestanding |
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I used this tent for car camping. It was very easy to put up with the easy to follow instructions provided. The door is large which allows for gear to be moved in and out of the tent without any issues. The floor seams and general construction of the tent are very sturdy and spell quality and durability. This tent also has good ventilation for high humidity areas like and the footprint included with this tent was a nice feature. Plenty of stakes were provided which was wonderful as it seems many brands jip you there. I think the Peak1 is very romy which and could fit four very comfortably overall I would recommend this tent for car camping.
I've had this tent for about 3 weeks and have used it multiple times, and have set it up for camping and for cleaning; here's my thoughts. 1st: setup (less than 5 minutes) This tent is incredibly easy to set up with directions in the bag (if you need them) and it's color coded everywhere. The footprint has a red tab that matches with the red tab on the tent corner so you know how to match it and where the front is. The tent poles are 2 different colors that match the tabs on the tent body. And all of the main front zippers are red on the tent to help you know which side is the front. Setup with one person is possible, but 2 makes it a breeze. It comes with everything you need to car camp, or go backpacking. It has the footprint, tent body, rain fly, and nice aluminum stakes. Everything is pretty lightweight too. 2nd: my experience using the tent. I will start by saying I have only used this for car camping and only for 2 people. I love the height inside the tent as you can actually stand to get dressed. With oversized sleeping pads, you can really only fit 2 people in the tent, and most gear/bags would need to be kept outside or in the vestibule (the vestibule is not very large though). To use this as a 4 person tent you would need to sleep like sardines. The tent has a square floor so it is easy to rotate and sleep different directions depending on the ground/slant. The airflow was really good; I didn't wake up feeling like there was a lack of air, and the airflow kept down the moisture in the tent, but there wasn't a cold breeze either. The windows all roll up or down, and have loops that hold the rolled fabric, that is a nice feature. I can't speak to 2 features though; while the tent poles feel very sturdy, I didn't have any wind (literally none). So whether it holds up to 45 mph winds; I don't know. Also the rain never fell on my tent (maybe a sprinkle) but not enough to judge waterproof/resistance. Also I have only slept with the fly on, but it has lots of netting for air if you left the fly off. 3rd: overall thoughts If you taking this car camping; 2 adults is very comfortable. If you're going backpacking, split it between 3-4 people to carry (it's around 12 lbs). Make sure everyone is fine sleeping like sardines, and go. This tent is beautifully crafted, the zippers have yet to snag a single time. The door opens literally all the way, and I have loved this tent. 4th: my 1 negative that also doesn't matter. The star view window is kind of gimmicky. It's just a window that you can see the sky depending on hills and trees around you. In my opinion, most tents with windows could be considered star view. Almost forgot: repacking the tent is very easy because the bag is oversized and has a draw string so you don't have to be precise in folding/rolling everything up. I have not been disappointed at all with this tent.
I’m writing this review from the perspective of it’s intended user - it’s not a backpacker’s tent regardless of the name, unless that means walking from your car a couple of yards to a leveled impacted dirt flat of earth that has been bedded down by countless other folks. With that in mind, the tent is surprisingly suitable! I think I’m still getting over my childhood experience of the My prior Coleman tent experience; having to crawl into the dank, dark and musty canvas chasm, the lucky one chosen to raise that all important center main pole into tent, giving it it’s lift and life. It was an act of faith along with the spiders that called it home in the off season.. Wow have things changed with family tents!; aluminum rods in two different colors to help distinguish where and how they’re used to erect this “free standing” tent (more on that later). Thank goodness for using clips to secure the poles to the mesh tent body rather than fumbling trying to thread poles thru nylon/polyester sleeves while the elastic cords holding the pieces together fail to do their job of holding sections together. Place the ends into their accompanying recipient tabs on the body fore and aft, clip the tabs and POOF! There she stands, proud and plump. First time round was 10’, but trim that time with 2nd and 3rd set-ups; a one man/woman/them job! Fly was a little trickier for one person though snapping in the rear corners and dragging it over the top of the tent did the trick. Another 10’ of finessing the fly and its guy lines and you’re ready for business. As to freestanding; you can set this up without stakes and guy lines, pick it up and move about, but given it’s size and shape, you’re going to want to make sure it’s staked down and guyed out as to any type of wind it going to look like a sail, as nails are to hammers. Nevertheless I don’t doubt it’d stand up well to winds providing your lines are tight and secure. Those lines have a reflective “glow” thread to them that lights up when hit by a flashlight; helps to keep from tripping over them during your May Day celebrations. Overall I’m quite surprised by the quality and ease of setting up the tent. The thing is HUGE with a large rear window that’s accessible from within the inside, meaning you can unzip the flap, opening up to the mesh screen, which you can further unzip to open fully without having to leave the safety of your docile. With the massive front door open there’s enough breeze and room to fly a kite! They call this a star-gazing window, but unless you’re camped on a flat open prairie or mesa, I’m not sure how many stars are that low upon the horizon to be viewed. However, sleep with the fly off and the world opens up being most of the tent is mesh! Being a 4 person tent, you can cut any way you like between 2 people and a dog, or 2 people and 2 kids, or 3 actually, of 6 kids, or…. you get the idea; it’s huge! Stand up to change clothes; yoga - plenty of room. 2 cots and a small table between you and you’re staying at your own Ritz! Portable solar fridge; why go home! Didn’t get a chance to sleep in this through a rain storm, but what’s that these days? No doubt you’d be kept dry in a light rain but anything that’s going to pound for a night and a day is going to soak out the fly, which with the weight would eventually settle upon the mesh, causing contact and dripping into the main body; there’s just not enough tension between the mesh and fly to prevent it under those conditions. Not to worry; if there’s that much rain, you’re probably already ditched camp and checked into the nearest motel. Speaking of such a ditch, the bag it’s pack in accommodates rapid evacuations. Let’s be clear, the chances of you taking the time to fold and roll this thing out in the field, down to it’s virginal size it originally came in is zilch! Go home and do it on a clean floor. You’ll appreciate the stuff sack/duffle like bag! Overall it seems to be a great tent and one more than suitable for it’s intended purpose. Again, it’s not a backpacker’s tent, and it’s the last thing you’d want above tree line. Nevertheless, it’s a palace anywhere else that’s hoofing distance from the car. One note: I had received this tent with a small tear in the fly. Contacting Coleman customer service, they responded almost immediately via email and promptly sent out a new tent. In this day and age of companies skimping on such support, it’s refreshing to find some that still stand behind their products without question or trying to wiggle out of a “lifetime warranty” by telling you it’s the lifetime of the material, which they can’t give you a figure for as they don’t know, but in this instance it’s ultimate death just happens to correspond to the date of your warranty inquiry.
I have used the Coleman Peak1 4-person tent four times on two separate camp outs. For those who believe you can set the tent up in 10 minutes: you can't. It takes a while to set up any tent and this one is no exception. That bring said, the more you set it up the faster you are likely to go. The set up is straoght forward being all clips on aluminum poles and, thankfully, no sleves. Great flow through ventilation thanks to the huge screen door and a generous zippered window on the rear panel. I use this tent alone and it is perfect for a single car camping where a larger footprint could crowd a second tent. My former large tent was a Coleman Skydome 6 with full vestibule fly. That is also a great car camping tent and the vestibule is huge but I wanted something with a bit smaller footprint but still oner 5'6" of headroom. The Peak 1 fills the bill.
I’ve been using this tent in Wyoming during the month of April for an extended fishing trip. Pros: affordable compared to the alternatives, easy to setup, has withstood 40mph wind gusts. Very roomy with a high ceiling. Perfect for truck camping in Temps between 40-70 degrees. Cons: components are cheaper than my REI ASL 2 branded 3 season tent, this is definitely not a 4 season tent and I do require a heater inside the tent. Stakes are cheap and have already started to break. I would buy again but… if I were Coleman I would get rid of the double door and utilize the savings on better components including zippers and stakes(seems simple). I would also develop a separate / additional shell tarp so that this thing is more comfortable in 20-35 degree temps.
Nice tent that will last a long time, spacious, and like that the footprint is included. Bad things- the stakes are cheap and why is the zipper for the window on the outside? That’s a huge flaw.
I bought this for regular car camping. Easy to put up myself. It has proved to be waterproof in a steady rain. Vestibule is nice, but isn't as large as it looks in the pictures. It does allow for a good space to put a tarp down and provides shelter for tracking less into the tent (important when camping with dogs). Had plenty of room for a queen size air mattress and additional space. Even in temperatures dipping below freezing in early fall I felt well-sheltered. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the stakes don't hold up well. DO NOT use a rock to pound them into hard soil as depicted in the video. The tops of the stakes can break off easily rendering them useless. After two camping trips, I've broken two of them.
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I am not the most avid camper, and leave the tent set up to my family, but I can tell you that I did not hear a lot of complaining with this PEAK1 tent from Coleman. First, it is pretty light and packs nicely into a compact container-bag that it comes with. It is roomy, and has a star view window, which is a nice little bonus. The door is very accommodating - nice and wide. I also like that it is pretty tall, and you don't have to crawl on your knees the entire time. It accommodates 4 people very generously - plenty of additional room to go around. A great experience for my entire family.
We purchased this tent for beach camping, and it worked great for us. One night we had steady 25mph winds with higher gusts, and the tent did not move. We used special stakes for sand rather than the included stakes though. Although it does not have a lower vent like some other Coleman tents, this was perfect for the beach because sand would blow through it on other tents. We had no issues with condensation or water from a brief rain shower. It is listed as a 4 person tent, but I think the most for just adults to be comfortable would be 3. Possible 2 adults and 2 kids could be comfortable. We had room for our 2 person air mattress, sleeping pad for our dog, and space for a few personal belongings.
My friend bought one since the Big Agnes Mt Glow 4P is not longer available. After studying tents for several weeks/months, this looked like the next best thing. I'm reviewing it here because I aided with the initial setup just before we went on a motorcycle camping trip. We put it up together for its first time in my back yard. It was a bear, taking maybe 20 - 30 minutes with some failed attempts. Referring to the including diagrams helped, once we figured out that the 2 poles cross at the top, but nothing to hold the cross stable until the tent is clipped to them it became easier. A tie wrap where they cross might help to keep the crossed poles from moving around during setup. It's so tall, that putting the rain cover over the arched poles wasn't easy, either. (I must say, I like the outer skeleton of the Big Agnes much better; especially if pitching the tent in the rain). We're both 6' tall or so, but the rain cover must be oriented right and then pulled up and over the arched poles. Not horrible; just not easy. Finally, we succeeded together and the tent was up. But I must say, even though it is POSSIBLE with only one person, it's much, much easier with two that are experienced. It could take less that 10 minutes with an experienced crew. Once up, it's marvelous. Plenty tall for a 6' tall person to not bump his/her head. Walk in and out with ease. Floor space is very adequate for one person and a lot of gear. (we motorcycle camp, so gear stowage is important. We can't leave it on the motor). Sometimes we break camp every morning and set up again in the evening in a new location. We're a little worried about the effort required if it must be set up anew each day. Time will tell. At least, he'll get plenty of experience. I describe the tent as difficult to set up, considering that it will usually be a one-person job for my friend. It has so many cables and tie-downs, it might survive a hurricane. A typical mountain wind isn't going to blow it away. It only has one door. That's fine with me . . . my friend wishes it had two. He camped in it for 5 nights in RMNP in September. One couldn't ask for a better tent for the conditions. It was down to 31 degrees and it rained a couple of times. DRY! Just remember that it pitches and breaks down much quicker and easier with 2 people. The height, weight, and age are of my friend.