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(More customer reviews)Note: This is a photocopy of the same review I gave on another site, going to try and post more of the pictures that I wasn't able to on that site here.
This has to be the best tent that I have had the opportunity to own. I own or have access to Coleman, Wenzel and various other brand tents but only Coleman tents seem to last the best for this class. Heck my last Coleman is now 25-30 years old and it is still usable, though it is now on the small side as that was the tent I grew up in. As for class I mean Family/Car camping tents.
Simple setup and take down. Took only half an hour to put up by myself, only needed a little help with the rainfly. As a side note though I do have to say that users may need to ignore the instructions to raise the poles up to the high or third hole after raising the tent up. At first setup mine was tight enough as it was. Rainfly coverage was excellent, but if there is a high wind and rain, the middle section may have some rain coming in from the screen on the top, the one that is a skylight without the rainfly on. No floor in the screened in area, but thats no big for me. Screens themselves are not no-see-um mesh so keep that in mind. A common comment on last years model was that the tent acted like a wind sock due the the fact the back section had no screen. This years model does have a screen window on the high side of the rear section. Just like the other windows this one can also be zipped shut. Self rolling windows are an interesting idea, though they took me down memory lane and the snap bracelets of the early nineties, mostly cause they function exactly the same way. The biggest difference is that these are not covered in fabric as the bracelets were, so when putting these in only an adult should do it. The supposed injuries due to the bracelets can also occur here but possibly more easily. If you can handle a 1" wide metal tape measure without a problem though I reckon you should be fine. Sleeping accommodations are a little relative, for me I feel this tent can sleep two or three comfortably, with cots or air-beds, a cooler and a chuck-box. If you just want to sleep in it the stated sleeping area is about right, but be prepared for waking everyone up if you have to get up in the middle of the night.
Now the most important part, for me at least, Waterproofness. Can't say how it will handle in a real rainstorm but I will tell you this, it held up good to the settings on my garden hose, with a friend standing inside. To give you an idea what settings I used, one was a fan setting (this puts out an arch that about 90 degrees on a flat plain, I like it cause it creates fairly realistic water droplets at a fairly low pressure). The other was a needle setting (this does just what is says creates a needle of water about the diameter of a wide grip pen, its high pressure). The fan one I used on the sides and the roof at a distance of about 6 feet from the tent for about 2 minutes on each section. Had no leaking issues other that the issue mentioned above were water came in through the middle section on top. Rain-fly worked great as well. The latter I used on the seams. For about thirty seconds to a minute I sprayed each seam to see if any leaks showed up, I thought something had to show up with this setting. To my amazement nothing did. So other than some rain coming in over the middle section there really wasn't an issue.
All in all this is a great all around tent, and in my opinion stays true to the Coleman name. Only time will tell if it holds up to my old Coleman. Edit as of July 28th 2009: After taking this tent out camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota I have a few things to add to the review. First I was out there for five nights and on each of those nights it rained. For the sake of honesty one leak did pop up and that was in the rear room at the base of the two large windows where the spring ends. Outside of that it performed flawlessly. We even had a few strong wind gusts that would have toppled my old dome tent. One of these rainstorms was strong enough that a mountain not 200-300 yards away could not be seen from the screen room. Also, all this was accomplished using only the original Coleman waterproofing. I haven't had to put any on myself yet. Another note dealing with the poles after all that rain I did find some rust on the poles as I was storing them after striking camp. However, for me I consider this normal wear and tear.
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Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 TentProduct Description: From the built-in lighting system to the hinged door and Auto-Roll window, the Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 screened tent is packed with features for comfort and convenience at the campsite. Hailing from Coleman's Elite line--which is designed to offer the ultimate luxury family camping experience--The WeatherMaster 6 sleeps six people comfortably, with an extra-large footprint of 17 by 9 feet and a center height of 6 feet 4 inches. The WeatherMaster 6 is outfitted with Coleman's exclusive WeatherTec system, a series of technical features intended to protect you from inclement weather and nasty storms.
WeatherTec tents are built with a coated polyester fabric combined with anti-wicking thread, webbing, and zippers, all designed to keep you dry when the rain comes down. The tent's welded waterproof floor and inverted floor seams, meanwhile, dramatically increase the water resistance by hiding the needle holes inside the tent and away from the elements. And in addition to offering fully taped rainfly seams, the included rainfly covers the doors and windows tightly and incorporates easy-to-use Velcro frame attachments. Add in a strong, wind-responsive frame--which uses redesigned poles and guy-out triangles to anchor the tent--and you have a shelter that performs like a brick house during a storm. In fact, Coleman is so confident in its WeatherTec system that it exposes its WeatherTec tents to a rain room that simulates nasty downpours, and to a wind machine capable of blowing hurricane force gusts. The results? Even after the tests, Coleman guarantees its WeatherTec tents will keep you dry.
The WeatherMaster 6 is designed to offer the ultimate luxury camping experience. The WeatherMaster 6 is extremely spacious compared to most other tents, giving you plenty of room to wander around or pack family members inside. The three rooms can function as individual bedrooms, living spaces, or gear-storage units, with a special screened room that's ideal for sleeping under the stars or relaxing in the daytime during a mosquito-heavy sunset. Campers will also love the hinged door, which includes a rigid doorframe that's easy to install and take down (the overlapping door flap also helps keep insects out when closed). Perhaps the tent's coolest feature, however, is the integrated lighting system, which features a replaceable 15-watt spiral fluorescent tube powered by a D-cell battery pack (eight D-cells required). No more relying on a clumsy lantern for nighttime reading, or fumbling for a flashlight when you need to make a trip outside. The light isn't blinding, but it's plenty bright enough to read by at night. Plus, you can turn the light on and off using a pushbutton remote control from up to 50 feet away, or by using the backlit switches on the light fixture and the battery pack. The light offers two brightness settings and runs for 22 hours on the low setting and 12 to 14 hours on the high.
The WeatherMaster 6 is even built to keep you cool during the summertime, with Coleman's Comfort System letting you control the airflow in conjunction with the vented Cooler Port. Other features include an easy-to-set-up design with color-coded steel poles, continuous pole sleeves, InstaClip attachments, and an exclusive pin-and-ring design; self-rolling windows that let you instantly or partially roll the windows up or down to your liking; an interior gear pocket; an electrical access port; and easy-to-follow instructions sewn into the durable carrying bag, which comes with extra storage bags for the poles and stakes.
The tent's long-lasting lighting system offers 2 brightness settings. Specifications:
Center height: 76 inches
Flysheet: Polyester taffeta 75 denier with 450mm polyurethane coating
Tent material: 75-denier polyester with 450mm coating on inner tent
Mesh: 68-denier polyester - Floor: 1,000-denier floor, 140 g/m2
Base dimensions: 17 by 9 feet
Poles: 9.5mm and 11mm fiberglass and 19mm steel
Country of origin: Made in China
Warranty: Limited 1 year
About Coleman More than 100 years ago, a young man with an entrepreneurial spirit and a better idea began manufacturing lanterns in Wichita, Kansas. His name was W.C. Coleman, and the company he founded would change life in America. A man plagued with such poor vision he sometimes had to ask classmates to read aloud to him, Coleman saw a brilliant light in 1900 in a drugstore window that stopped him in his tracks. He inquired about the light inside and discovered he was able to read even the small print on a medicine bottle by the illumination. The lamps had mantles, not wicks, and were fueled by gasoline under pressure instead of coal oil. Soon afterward, Coleman started a lighting service that offered a "no light, no pay" clause--a big step forward for merchants who were burned by inferior products that rarely worked--and drew substantial interest from businesses that wanted to keep their lights on after dark.
In the ensuing years, Coleman expanded its product line well beyond lanterns. The company's current catalog is thick with products that make spending time outdoors a pleasure. There are coolers that keep food and drinks cold for days on end, comfortable airbeds that won't deflate during the night, a complete line of LED lights that last for years, powerful portable grills that cook with an authentic open-grill flame, and much, much more. Coleman has truly fashioned much of our outdoor camping experience, and expects to do so for generations to come.
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