The Coleman Weathermaster Tent Is A Great Addition To Our Family!

This is the first summer our family has tried camping. First came the required practicing in the backyard. My kids were subjected to the usual summer storms and came through like troopers. Next came a 2-night trip with the whole family. Finally, we took a 3 night long weekend up to the mountains. 

I finally feel I have enough information to review this tent. 

The Coleman Weathermaster tent is a great tent for families. When set up, it measures 17 feet by 9 feet with a center height of 76 inches. We manage to get a king-size air mattress, a double-size air mattress, and a portable crib in the tent with room to spare. 

There are two nylon room-dividers in the Coleman Weathermaster. This can be used to create two somewhat private bedrooms (how much privacy can you really get in a tent). During the day they can be tied back to give better air flow. 

The polyethylene floor is heavy-duty and keeps out water that runs under the tent. I use a floor-saver tarp so the tent is not resting directly on the ground, and I used seam-sealer around all of the canvas tabs for the stakes. This was the only spot I initially found leaks, and once I seam-sealed the canvas tabs, I didn't have a problem. Even at that, it wasn't a tremendous amount of water; just enough to use a towel on the floor the next day. The floor cleans up good as well. This last trip our site was on dirt, so a lot was tracked into the tent. After coming home, I first swept the floor, then mopped it and it looks as clean as new. 

The sides and roof of the Coleman Weathermaster are made of nylon taffeta. So far I have not had a single problem with leaking through the walls despite several storms. Sure, there is the morning dew I will find on the walls, but no leaks. 

There are four screened windows around the tent which contain shades that zip up from the bottom. If it's raining lightly and I still want to let air in, I can just zipper up the shades enough to keep the rain out. 

The rainfly that goes over the Coleman Weathermaster is the biggest help in the rain. There is no need for an additional tarp that I've seen so many people stretching over their tents. The rainfly attaches to the shock-corded steel poles which hold the tent up and guides water away from the tent. This gives a bit of room over the windows where I can keep them open when it rains. 

There is also an awning that stretches out from the door. Actually, there are two doors; one is just a screen and the other is nylon. One or both can be closed. This gives a little area to stand and towel off if it's raining before going into the tent. In our case, I put down a mat and used it to keep our shoes to prevent bringing in so much dirt. 

The Coleman Weathermaster holds up fantastically in the rain. However, the wind is another story, at least when it's fully set-up. The day after our nice thunderstorm in the mountains, we had some very string wind conditions. The first thing that had to be taken down was the awning. The wind actually pulled the poles completely out of the ground and one of the rubber stoppers off of the top (I found it nearby). As my youngest was taking a nap, I watched the gusts keep lifting up the poles that held up either end of the tent. 

Finally, I decided to remove the rainfly. After that, I had no more troubles with theColeman Weathermaster. It stayed up perfectly throughout the rest of our wind-storm. When it finally blew itself out, I simply put the rainfly back on and the awning back up. 

One thing that surprised me was how well the Coleman Weathermaster held in the heat through the night. That's not to say it was warm and cozy, but with the windows and door closed, I found it to stay warmer a bit longer than I had expected it to. 

Camping by myself with three kids, I found the Coleman Weathermaster easy to assemble. It went up in less than half an hour. First would be staking out the tent. Coleman supplies the plastic stakes for the ground. I staked out the corners, then raised the center poles, followed by the side poles, then finished staking out the floor. 

The poles are color-coded. There are four pole placements for the tent and two for the awning. The tent poles come in three pieces of shock-corded steel poles. The awning poles are one shock-corded steel pole each. 

I saw a great many tents that use plastic poles. I honestly don't know which one is better; both have their good an bad points. The plastic-poled tents seemed to stay up better in the wind and they did not have to remove their rainflys. However, I did find a snapped plastic pole at the back of my sight, and discussions with my fellow campers confirmed that of the two, the plastic poles are more likely to snap than the steel. 

This tent is big enough for a fairly large family, and provides the weather resistance needed. The only trouble I could see is if there were both rain and a prolonged windy condition.