Well, for my two cents, I would not buy a tent from either brand unless it was for camping the back yard, in ideal weather, and not too far from the back door...

I bought a coleman instant dome 6 at the wife's request earlier this year. Heavy, leaked in the rain, lots of condensation when it didn't rain. But it worked okay. Plenty of room, and went up quick. For a fairweather tent it will do. I guess I got my money's worth, more or less.

Hey guys, I'm obviously new to the forum. I've been building a tent review resource that I'm proud of and want to share my info with other enthusiasts. If it's not for this forum I'll politely leave. Happy Trails!

I purchased one of these for a trip to South Dakota (Custer State Park). I used it for a week, we had one rainstorm (very short), but I had the rainfly on so I was spared. I think it's a "decent" tent, but it's very heavy. It's not a backpackers tent by any means.

I trust Coleman to give me something that meets the minimum requirements. I've given up being "wowed" by them a long, long time ago.

If I am not mistaken, the poles in both of these tents are fiberglass/plastic or some such stuff - a sure sign of mediocrity. Better tents will have aluminum poles, among other features.

Backyard use is about right.

Do those of you with the really large family camping tents find it more difficult to locate a suitable leveled spot to put it up? Sometimes I have a bit of trouble finding a good spot even for my smaller tents.

With a family, I think I'd rather have two smaller tents than one jumbo, multi-room tent anyway. It would give the parents some space, older kids some privacy, and little kids a bit of on-their-own adventure. It's also less hassle when the whole crew isn't going.

My wife and I have used a Coleman brand tent for several years when car-camping. It's easy enough to erect or strike, roomy enough for full airbeds and dogs, and nothing has ever torn, ripped or broken on it. The only problem was that the original stuffsack was way too small to ever get the tent back in once removed for the first time. Also, the tent never seen a serious rain or wind storm, and I have enough doubts about it to always bring along a small mountaineering tent, just in case.