A family or scout camping outing is a great way to connect with each other. Still, one thing you have to do is make sure that everyone is on the same page or staying close with each other to get the most out of the trip. That is why I decided to do a Coleman Skylodge 12 Person Tent review here which is one of the largest tents on the market overall for the number of people that it can hold. So without any further ado let us start on the review of the Coleman Skylodge here.
Features Of The Coleman Skylodge
- Is a tent that is rather large at 19×10.
- The tent has plenty of windows for light and ventilation.
- The floor is resistant to moisture from under the tent.
- The tent has a room divider that can Velcro closed or tied open.
- The screen porch provide a space to get away from the bugs at night.
Size Of The Skylodge Tent
As you can imagine since this is a cabin style tent and one that is meant to fit 12 people it is quite large. In fact, the tent from what we have seen online and not tested ourselves is able to hold up to 3 queen sized air beds.
As a side note if you know the size of the bedrooms in a mobile home, you may notice this tent is larger. So that makes it easier for you to have a tent that will be able to fit everyone easily when you are in the tent.
The dimensions that are being reported on multiple websites are coming in at 19 feet long, 10 feet wide, but also 89 inches tall. Now, on the downside a lot of reviewers have reported the size is a little bit smaller than what is reported, but not so small that the tent becomes cramped.
Plenty Of Ventilation And Light
Often when you are camping getting in as much natural light and air is key to keeping your tent smelling great, but also in recharging your own batteries. The Coleman Skylodge definitely addresses this issue with what all they have available in the way of windows in the tent.
The windows are large and for the most part extend the entire length of the tent. Now, the good news is these windows are also going to have the screens that can help to keep the bugs out and even with a rain fly on the tent are still open to air flow. The downside is with the tents being so open with the rain fly not fully covering the windows you could get blowing rain coming into the tent.
Another aspect of the tent that helps to improve ventilation is a ground vent. This makes it easier for you to get a better flow of air and actually promotes the air circulation in the tent. Now, it is important with the ground vent to not have it played to where water would run down into it, but make sure you have it located to get the breeze for most of the day.
With the main door on the tent you can rest easier in leaving the door to the tent open. This comes from the fact that the tent does have a screen porch available. This makes it easier for you to get the tent ventilated out properly.
Rain Does Not Cause Issues
Rain and even the ground moisture can definitely cause a lot of problems for the tent campers. However, Coleman has addressed that issue quite a bit and have ended up making the tent out of a durable 68-denier polyester for the walls. This is a durable material that is generally able to stand up to most of the weather and that includes the wind.
The rain flyer is going to have a 600 mm coating that will help to keep you dry. Now, as mentioned the rain fly does not fully cover the windows or the screen porch, but does cover the roof. So if it does start to pour rain when you are out you could have issues with the rain blowing into the windows.
With the floor you may not think about moisture coming up from the ground into your tent, but that does happen! Think about how wet the ground is when you move your tent to take it down. Well, getting water inside of the tent is never any fun, which is why you are sure to love the polyethylene sheet floor that is coated. This helps to keep the water from coming up from the ground and impacting your sleeping bag.
Sleeping in a tent one thing that can really impact your sleeping ability and even safety is the wind. The tents can tear from the wind or even worse lift off the ground if not properly secured. Well, the tent here has inverted seams and corner welds to help improve the waterproofing of the tent. At the same time this type of reinforcement makes it easier for the tent to withstand winds up to 35 miles per hour.
Can Be Split Into Rooms
One good thing about the larger cabin tents is the fact that they can be split up into different rooms. This makes it easier for you to maximize the amount of space in your tent, but also to provide some privacy. This is great if you have kids and the parents want to have some alone space or if you have a group that wants to be split up by sexes it will be easier.
A good example that I have seen done with this tent is to get the tent split up into a sitting type of area to a bedroom area. This makes it easier for you to have a place to go and hangout if the weather turns bad and not have to be worried about sitting on your sleeping bag.
The screened in porch is a comfortable area that you can enjoy as well. This makes it easier for you to have a space to retreat to if the mosquitoes start to get bad before the smoke for the fire gets up to keep the bugs away. Now, on the downside the screened porch does not have the full protection of the rain fly so you could end up getting wet if you retreat here for the weather.
Fairly Easy To Assemble
Coleman knows putting a tent together can be a major challenge. However, with a little bit of practice the Coleman Skylodge 12 person tent is able to be put together rather easily and often can be done by single person. Now, one thing that you need to note that is in ideal weather conditions.
If the weather conditions are not ideal then you could have some problems putting the tent up. That comes from the fact that the sides are large and can easily pick up the wind and become a big sail if you are not careful.
Coleman did take into account that people want to have something easy to set up. That is why the tent has the preattached fiberglass poles on the pole frame. However, the pole sleeves are very easy to find and get put into the tent. At the asme time if you do get lost in the tent and are trying to put it together the poles and everything is color coded.
The stakes are another aspect of the tent that you are going to want to consider as well. The tent stakes are actually very easy to use and are important to have properly installed on your tent. If you do not have them properly installed then their is a good chance that you could have issues with your tent blowing off or moving when you are out of it.
Mud Mat Keeps Tent Clean
Have you ever had an experience in camping when you have a lot of mud in the tent? If you have then you know what I am talking about here. The tent does have a mud mat that you can have staked outside of the door. This makes it easier for you to clean your shoes off and then crawl into the tent and not have to worry about the tent being filled with mud.
Whats In The Box
The box is going to come with everything that you need to get the tent set up. The box is going to include the tent, the rain fly, the stakes, poles, and in this instance the screened porch as well. Which is everything needed to get the tent set up quickly and easily.
Additional Accessories To Consider
I have to say that with any of the tents you are going to find something extra that you need to have. For me here is a short list and explanation of why you would need to have these items.
- Extra stakes – The tent does come with enough stakes, but they are the smaller thin metal body tent stakes. In my experience these do okay, but can bend and break if you are not careful and that means you have to use a stick to help hold your tent down.
- Tent Sealant – This is the sealant or rain proofing liquid that you can put on the tent seams. Yes, I know the tent says it has reinforced seams and such, but if you are using the tent on a regular basis over time the seams can get worn out and the extra coating can help reinforce the manufacturers sealant.
Pros And Cons
- The tent is large enough for 3 queen sized air beds.
- The tent has plenty of windows and can double as a screen room.
- With this tent it has a screen porch for comfort away from pest.
- A room divider helps to provide privacy in the tent.
- The materials on the tent make it easier to keep the tent dry in rain.
- The rain fly does not extend down fully to cover the windows.
- The tent may require more than a single person to set up.
Who Would Like The Tent The Most
This is a good question because a lot of people are going to want to know if they would benefit from the Coleman Skylodge tent or not. Well, that is why I have this section here to make it easier for you to know if you are getting the right tent for your needs.
The people that would mainly want to use this tent would be those with a large family or wanting to have extra space as a family. This makes it easier for you to get the tent and know that everyone is going to have plenty of sleeping space.
The other group and one that would really benefit with this tent would be those that are in charge of a scout troop. These people may want to have a large tent that they can have all the kids in a single tent. Remember if you have kids in the tent you can put more in the tent and have your own chaperone tent set up by the door of the bigger tent so no kids can get out without you knowing about it.
Who Would Not Like This Tent
As you can imagine their are people who are not going to be able to use a tent or would not like the tent. Well, with the cabin style tent that holds true in this case as well and here are some of the people that would not really benefit from the tent.
People who are camping by themselves or in a smaller group would not really benefit from the tent here. This is because the tent is rather large and it will give plenty of space for people to spread out in, but it could be a little bit odd to see a smaller family in a large tent.
Backpackers would not really benefit from this tent either. That often means you are going to have a tent that can weigh a lot of weight, but also going to be rather large to have set up next to a hiking trail.
My Final Thoughts On The Coleman Skylodge 12 Person Tent
Finding the right size tent is key to having a good camping trip. The problem for a lot of people is they either pick one that is too small or too large. Well, the cabin style tent from Coleman here definitely is one that is on the larger side. That makes it easier for you to have a good time as an entire family. With that being the case, if you want a decent tent that does not bust the budget the Coleman Skylodge 12 Person tent is one that is decent and a good option.
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