It’s that time of year when camping addicts across the country are booking time off work and reserving their favourite sites. Camping season is around the corner! Whether you are looking to upgrade or replacing old gear, let’s talk tents. More specifically, I’d like to share my go-to 3-season tent, the Coleman Grand Valley 6 person tent.
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Shopping for a tent can be overwhelming with so many options on the market. From small solo tents and hammock tents to massive family-style tents with separate rooms for privacy, there is something for everyone.
The truth is that you could have the most beautiful site and all the latest gear, but if your tent fails you, your entire experience can fall apart! For this reason, it is SO important to do your research and find the perfect tent for you and your family including size, portability, ease of use and features.
Shortly after my husband and I met each other back in 2010, we purchased a 4-person Coleman tent that was perfectly suited to our needs. I’m not going to say that we slacked on the research end of things, we simply ‘didn’t know what we didn’t know’ going into it.
What did I mean by that?
I grew up camping with my family and had long trusted the Coleman name. However, shopping for a solo camper is incredibly different than shopping for others. There were factors that never crossed my mind, such as the fact that my husband required extra space due to the fact that he’s over 6’ tall or that my dogs would need as much room as they do with 2 pups joining us on each trip.
Our tent was great, don’t get me wrong, but when we discovered an irreparable hole in 2018, we knew that it was the perfect time to upgrade.
Table of Contents
Our Solution? The Coleman Grand Valley 6 Person Tent
Size
Our camping journeys at this stage in our travels have been limited to car camping as I slowly introduce my husband to the joy of outdoor travel. This provides us with a few advantages, not the least of which is the additional packing room that comes with loading up the jeep versus having to carry our gear in. Knowing we had the room, we decided that a little extra room would add to our comfort.
While the tent is marketed as a 6 person, at 11’ x 9’, it would easily allow for 2 queen mattresses with room to move. Or, in our case, a queen-sized mattress, 2 dog bed and our suitcases. After all, the pups still need their own space (even if they spend almost every night in bed with us).
With the style of the Grand Valley design, the tent doesn’t immediately adopt the dome style. Instead, there are straight walls with a domed top. This provides the extra headroom needed for taller campers (like my husband). This may have been the biggest selling point for him…
Coleman WeatherTec
For those that are familiar with Coleman brand, they utilize their patented WeatherTec system, a unique set of features focused on keeping you safe, warm and dry regardless of the weather. This includes weather-resistant fabric, protected seams, waterproof floors, zipper cuffs and a frame capable of standing up against strong winds. Whatever Mother Nature throws your way, you are well protected!
Ease of Use
As with many of the Coleman dome-style tents, this specific tent is incredibly easy to set up. In fact, I have set it up solo in the past when we needed to put it up in the backyard to dry out after returning from a rainy vacation. With 2 people working together, we generally have it set up and ready to go in under 10 minutes without unnecessary headaches and hassle.
Performance
We have now camped with this tent for a total of 2 seasons, and there is no denying that it has held up beautifully. Last year we were POURED on day after day on one of our trips (check out my tips on how to survive camping in the rain HERE). However, we knew each night that we could crawl into a dry tent, and it didn’t let us down!
Another struggle felt by many camping enthusiasts is the impact that wear and tear can have on a tent. When selecting a lower cost tent (which this specific model was marketed as in the local big box stores), you are often significantly sacrificing the longevity of your tent. After 2 years of significant use, the tent is still holding strong. The only significant sign of use is that there is visible staining on the lighter grey portion of the tent’s exterior.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, I believe that this is a great choice for couples or small families. That being said, if you are looking for something smaller or if you require a little more room, Coleman has a wide variety of options!
Check out the latest from Coleman HERE!
Are you a tent camper, or do you prefer to spend the night in your trailer or RV? If you are a tent camper, what brand do you trust? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
This is so awesome!! We were just talking about going camping. I need to check this out!!
We LOVE camping. As of right now, we have 10 trips planned for 2020 spring/summer/fall lol
Camping is so fun no matter how you do it. Big tents make for great summer sleepovers too!
Yes! We don’t have any kids right now, but we’ve talked about when that time comes (as we’re debating adopting) there is the perfect spot in our back yard that we could set it up!
I would like to have a big tent for me and my family to go camping thank you very much for this review.
It’s so important to make sure that you have enough space if you’re going to be comfortable!
I am in the market for a new tent for the family as we have some camping trips planned this summer. This looks like a great tent!
I HIGHLY recommend exploring the options available through Coleman, whether it’s this specific style or one of the other family-friendly options. For small families, I’m a huge fan of the Weathermaster or the Elite Montana (it actually has built-in LED lighting).
This looks like a perfect tent. I love that it is so roomy. There would be nothing worse than feeling cramped inside a small tent. It’s great that it stood up to such heavy rain too.
Yes! That’s why we opted to go for a larger size this time – it gave us the room to make it comfortable if it’s pouring rain and we’re going to opt to stay inside with the pups and read/play card games vs braving the weather outside lol
Coleman products never disappoint and are always of the highest quality. I have a Coleman tent that I’ve used for probably 5-7 years and it is still in great condition. I have also found them very easy to set up which was an issue with the older tents. We’ve been through quite a few rainy nights in our Coleman tent and we’re always bone dry. The extra “cover” that goes over the top of the tent really helps to funnel rain away.
They really are great quality! We camp A LOT, I’ve already planned 10+ camping trips for the 2020 camping season, and our Coleman products stand up to that kind of constant use!
This is a great, quick way to get a head start on our plans of trying a camp out! Thanks!
The right gear can make your break your experience!
The “easy to set up” is the most attractive thing about this tent! Our last one was a nightmare!
I find that the companies are moving towards making the set up easier for all tents that have been rolling out as of late. They have come to realize that ‘ease of use’ is a key deciding factor!
I love camping but need a new tent desperately. Thanks for sharing the candid review!
It’s definitely worth checking out what Coleman has to offer. They’ve earned their reputation in the camping community after YEARS of high-quality camping gear 🙂
Looks like a really nice one.
It is! We are definitely happy with our investment on that one!
Certainly sounds like you’re on to a winner there! The last time I camped was in a 2 man tent at a festival in Europe. That tent was no where near as good as yours!
If we’re backpacking or just hitting a festival, I take a smaller tent. When it comes to car camping, however, I’m all about splurging a little and enjoying ourselves!
Looks great! very nice and detailed review. makes me want to buy a new tent this season and spend more time
Getting a new tent definitely inspired us to get out and use it more! That little nudge in the right direction lol
I’m not really a camping person but I have to admit this tent looks great! I could definitely see myself using this. Thanks for sharing!
xoxo Simone | https://beautymone.com
It offers so much room – depending on the rest of your gear, it could be used for everything from a super rustic and traditional camping experience to a glamping getaway!
This lovely tent inspires me to go camping. I have planned many a times for an accommodation like this in the hills but my better half’s hesitation has kept us away. Probably I need to do a solo trip sometime in a place where there are options like this.
A solo trip is a great plan. The other option might be to explore the ‘glamping’ idea as a transition phase – introduce your partner to the idea without it being too different from a hotel getaway and then slowly introduce to more aspects of camping from there.
I went camping with a buddy and his girlfriend last season, and they had just purchased this tent. The amount of room inside is insane! Plus you are so right when you talk about how easy it was to set up. She and I watched my buddy set it up himself in probably a max of 15 minutes, and in the sand. It is the perfect tent for a couple and two dogs. The price isn’t terrible either, especially with the amount of room there is.
I think a big part of why it’s SO roomy is the way that there are straight walls. With a full dome tent, you can’t really use the edges of the tent. However, this style allows you full use of the entire floorspace.
Sounds like a wonderful tent to get for camping with the family. Definitely a nice product with great features too.
From my experience, you can always trust Coleman to take care of you!
We are mostly RVers now. We used to backpack a lot but we each carried a small one or two person tent. This looks great for a small family though. Thanks.
When we backpack we use a much smaller tent that we own, but when car camping we like to ‘live it up’ a little lol
Is the tent roof mesh? And then the rain cover comes over that? Or it the roof solid fabric?
The tent itself is all mesh, then there is a solid rainfly that goes over top to stop the rain.
Hi,
Thank you for the review, it has encouraged me to buy the tent for our next camping trip next weekend. Do you have any recommendations for air mattress or cots for camping as I need to buy one too?
Regards,
B
We use a Coleman double-high airbed and love it. The double high feature makes us feel as though we are sleeping on an actual bed to some degree vs sleeping on the ground.
Just bought one! But we’re having trouble putting the straight pole in on top, any tips? Thanks!
It takes a little ‘force’. We find that having one of us put it in and then hold it (to make sure it doesn’t accidentally come out) while the other takes care of the other side. Try not to worry too much about breaking it, we haven’t yet! It’s pretty durable!