Coleman Backpacking Tent 4 Person

I purchased this tent based on many reviews to the positive. My purpose is short backpacking trips with my daughter and car camping. First, let me say that my 3 star review is NOT based on the quality of the product, shipping or packaging. Those are all excellent. The package was well packed, the product was the color I expected and all pieces were present and in good condition when I received it. 1. This tent is heavy. Tent, tarp, pole and stakes all together are 7 pounds. This makes it a great tent for car camping for 2 people. It makes it acceptable for packing for 2 people, yet still on the heavy side. I knew this when I made the purchase, it is stated in many reviews, but I want to let you know that is IS heavy. It really is heavy and if you are going to back pack with it, it will take a significant amount of both space and weight. It is also not very compressible, which I don't suppose most tents are MADE to be put in a compression sack. 2. Ventilation - air movement within the tent with the rain fly is not great, even with the doors and back window exposed to allow air in. I set up my tent last evening (7/24/16) and I couldn't even get IN the tent and be comfortable till 2am this morning because it was HOT. Yes, it was a horridly hot day all day, but I should have left the rain fly off so I could breath - but this is West Virginia and I didn't want to get wet in the middle of the night due to a summer storm coming up while I slept. Seriously consider taking a light weight tarp in place of the rain fly if you are camping where it will be really warm, since you need air flow to be comfortable and you can set up a tarp canopy to keep off the rain. However, this does indicate the tent will be good for 3 season camping and I anticipate using it once the weather cools off significantly this fall. 3. Quality - the tent is well constructed and the zippers work. The back window on the fly is a bit hard to zip and you need both hands to manipulate it. The window on the tent body is much easier to zip one handed. The seams are double stitched and they all appear to be secure, with no holes or gaping. The fabric of the fly is also double stitched and the seams are all well done with no skipped stitches or broken threads.The floor is heavy duty tarp material, so you shouldn't have to use a foot print, and it is bathtub style, meaning that there should be no leaking from ground water. We will find out presently as I just heard thunder. 4. Ease of set up/take down - this tent is very simple to set up and take down. Even one person can set this up in under 10 minutes. With practice, it would be under 5 minutes. 5. This tent is NOT free standing, which I also knew prior to purchase. You must stake the corners before you insert the one pole in the pole sheath. So you must have access to a way to secure this tent to the ground if you want to use it. I could see setting it up in a boulder field if you have climbing gear. 4 Friends or Camalots could be useful here. I am also noodling ways to MAKE this free standing, but that's a test for a different day and no relevant to this review. 6. Roominess - inside the tent, there is plenty of room for two women my size to sleep, albeit a little cozy. I'm short but heavy. This should be very comfortable for my daughter and I, however, and on solo car camping trips, it will be roomy enough to keep my gear. The rain fly does provide a small vestibule, but really not enough to comfortably store two back packs and still get out in the middle of the night without tripping all over them. I suggest you bring a light weight tarp or something to protect your backpack from the rain if you take this backpacking. The tent is not tall enough for my 5'1" self to stand up in the middle. To Recap Pros - Well Constructed, easily set up, solid once set up, roomy enough for two people Cons - inadequate ventilation, minuscule vestibule, not free standing, heavy Conclusion - This is a great tent for two people to start out backpacking with, and certainly a great tent to use for car camping. It lacks adequate ventilation for very hot climates if you have the rain fly on, but it is sturdy and well constructed. The tent itself is roomy enough for two campers, but the vestibule created by the fly is minimal at best. The reason I did not give this product a 5 star rating are based on the roominess of the vestibule and the lack of ventilation with the fly on.