Hello there Gareth and welcome to UKCS. It's a bit quiet round here (musdt be all out doing Xmas stuff!)
Coleman are a good reliable make, so this should be fine in terms of quality. The only thing that occurs to me about this model ( having seen it on display in the summer) is that the main bedroom dome bit goes up inner first. This has the advantage of that bedroom area being fully sealed, but the slight dsiadvantage if you are putting up or taking down on the rain- as the inner could get wet (though the fabric is usually slightly showerproofed).
You will see as you look around this site that people have different preferences for either a full sewn in groundsheet (SIG) for the whole living and sleeping areas which usually goes up inner first. However, tent makers are now producing tents that go up outerfirst AND have full SIG - but these tend to be more expensive (E.g. Outwell Montana, Outwell Sun Valley). In outer first tents the bedroom pods are still fully enclosed but are put up inside after the outer is up. The groundsheet is loose and lies in the living area- the downside of this is that there can be drafts and bugs as the GS is not joined to the flysheet in the living rea. This can be minimised if the flysheet has mudflaps on it.
Other models have come to another solution, so that the tent goes up outer first, and the loose groundsheet has a lip on it so it rises up the sides and cuts down on drafts that way. The Vango Oregon is a good example of this.
The other thought that occured to me about the Coleman Canyon is that is may not be the most simple to put up. The dome inner goes up first, then you will need to put the remaining poles through the outer flysheet, attach this so it covers the dome, and then you will need to peg that out and finally put in the groundsheet for the living area and hang the 2nd bedroom up. So it depends on you being happy with that.
Personally I find tunnel shapes the easiest to manage, though I realise that the bedroom layout differs from model to model and may not suit your requirements. It is a good time of year to grab a bargain (though you can't see many tents in the flesh during winter). If this size and price is good for you, I would suggest that you also look at the Vango Oregon 4 berth, or the Vnago Ventrue 500 (though that does not have such good living space). Also, on this very site there are Outdoor Revolution tents which are building a good reputation. Their VRX 500S may be of interest here.
Or if your budget can go a wee but higher, the Gelert Vario 4 would be worth a look - this has bigger living space and better HH 3000 I think) and I know it is a very popular make. Check it out here
Post last edited on 16/12/2006 19:41:03
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Topic: Coleman Canyon
