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We have had this tent for a few months now - spent about 20 nights in it already.

The tent is fantastic.  I am not sure how long it will last compared to older Coleman tents - the fabric seems a bit on the thin side.  We will see.  At less than 150quid it is amazing value - probably knocked together in a sweat shop somewhere in Asia ;-(

It is quick to put up (sub 15minutes) and seems weather proof.  Does not over heat in the summer thanks to the ventilation features.  When it rains we fold the internal groundsheet away from the door and you have to make sure to put in the middle peg on the door - otherwise puddles can flood onto the groundsheet and right across the tent! It is also relatively light and compact - you can actually get it back in the bag!!

Just be careful when pushing the poles in - I put all three poles into the eyelets on the LHS of the tent and then went to the RHS of the tent to push them in.  This requires a lot of pressure and when I did the second pole it had (unknown to me) popped out of the eyelet and I pushed the pole through the side of the tent!  Luckily there is a repair kit and the sun shone all weekend.  We now have it fixed and it is OK again - although it cost about 40quid (mostly postage).

BTW - if you need a tent repaired Lancashire Sports Repairs are great - friendly and efficient and careful (www.lsr.gb.com)

Let me know what you think when you get it.

Cheers,

Matt

could one person put up this tent?

sjro

I have put it up on my own.  If it is windy then it could be tricky.  Just be careful with the poles though... I peg the back of the tent with a couple of pegs.  I then push all the poles in while it is lying down.  You then have to lift the front pole up.  With one person this can be tricky - the key is to stand at the front of the tent facing inwards and hold the pole in the centre - if you open the doors first it stops a vacuum developing.  Also make sure you have a couple of pegs and the mallet in you pocket.  You can then just grab the front guys and peg them out.  Then run round the back and peg the back two guys.  You are then sorted!!

Good luck.

Matt

I know it's a different model (although from the same range), but we have just bought and had our first trip away in a Coleman Columbus 8.

Looking at the Columbus 4 it seems made in the same way as the 8, and if this is the case then I wouldn't hesitate to buy one.

I found the 8 simple enough to put up on my own whilst the missus played with the kids and kept them occupied, and equally simple to pack down and get back in the bag!

(took about 20 mins to put up and similar to take down and pack into the bag.)

I know the beginning of this thread is over 3 years old, but having just bought a columbus 4 I have a few q's. I have taken it out for a couple of days in the Malverns as our first camping trip. I have also pitched it in the back garden as practice. My first question would be about the pole at the back (the third of the main poles). Is it meant to slop slightly away from the main part of the tent, more towards the rear? It's only a bit, but on all the pics I have viewed on the net it looks perpendicular to the ground. The other two main poles are completely upright.

Also, has anyone used the Coleman exponent awning with the tent successfully?

Thankyou!

Love from a newbie!

Fi

Hi there, we have used this tent on many occassions and really like it ~ simple and quick to put up and take down...and easy enough to put up and take down. A section of one of our poles has split after three years but I think that this was down to a manufacturing defect in that the metal sleeve on the end of the pole hadn't been glued on straight so was putting pressure on the pole. Other than that, and dropping a fork through the built-in groundsheet (too eager to eat my pasta) it has been spot on.

As for your question, fifidi, yes, the third pole does lean back from the main part of the tent when pitched correctly so don't worry about that. I think it is all part of the design!

Haven't tried an awning with it so cannot help there.

Goodluck,

Steve G

Can anyone with this tent confirm whether the flysheet is attached to the ground sheet?  Is this just at the living area, or is the round the bedrooms too?

Thanks

It is fully attached - essentially the tent is like a sock!

Our tent - that I raved about in an earlier post! - leaked like a sieve last year - it was quite a heavy thunderstorm but the water just poured through - any idea how to reproof the tent? 

Steve G - is that you from Exmouth?

Matt G!

Matt G - is that you from Salisbury?

Steve G!