question about a tent

hey everyone, im brand new here and am gonna start hiking this spring. i was wondering if anyone had any expierence with a coleman dakota 1 tent. i cant really find too many reviews about it.

Hello, welcome to the forum.

I think that it's a discontinued model, as it's not on the Coleman website. Never heard of it myself.

Looking at specs I found on other websites on the google hit list, I would say that at 3 pounds it's not a lightweight tent. There are tents with more space and headroom that weigh less. Of course, they aren't going to cost less than $60.

I suspect that this is cheaply made and probably a condensation trap, as the majority of the cheap tents I've seen have been. But that's just a guess on my part. It's certainly heavier than it has to be.

I would suggest you look at a couple of other brands, like Sierra Designs and Big Agnes, and at Tarptent, for tents of similar dimensions so you can see the differences. Also think about where and in what conditions you'll be using it - seasonal weather, environment and how you'll be using a shelter need to be considered, especially if you're going to use it more than a few nights a year. If you post back on details of where and when you're going I bet you'll get some good feedback on what other people in your area have used successfully.

7 reviews here.

Never owned one, never used one, never even seen one in person. I can only speak in generalities, and in general you get what you pay for.

You didn't really say what kind of conditions you expect this tent to withstand. From what I can see online, if you only take it out in fair weather with minimal wind and you don't mind carrying the weight you should be fine with it. Then again fair weather is never a guarantee. Don't expect much from a $60 tent. I still use a cheap Coleman 7x7 dome tent that I bought 14 years ago. But I leave it at home when I know it's going to be windy or wet. I know the tent's limitations.

If money is a factor and you don't need the tent right away (you said spring) I would advise you to wait and save for something more substantial.

You might also start checking the clearance sales at some of the gear shops listed on this website: REI, Backcountry Gear, and Moosejaw are three that I've had good luck with. All of them are offering some good sales on tents - in particular, I saw an MSR Skinny One tent on sale at Backcountry Gear the other day for $89; it would probably be a better value, have more room, and be more durable, than the Coleman tent you're asking about (but I don't have any direct experience with either tent - that's pure bias speaking.) I think there are some reviews of the Skinny One at BackPackGearTest.org.

-Geartrade
-Craigslist
-Gear forums

Are all good places to look for used tents and shelters.

Welcome, Skysail!

You could also consider a tarp, a plastic ground sheet a bug net rigged up from some netting fabric. That would certainly be the most economical shelter.

As stated, we can give you better advice if you tell us where and in what conditions you'll be backpacking.

Have you read the articles on the home page of this site (left-hand column)? They have lots of helpful info for people getting started in backpacking.

hey thanks for all the feedback. im gonna do a section of the AT in may starting in damascus. my friend has that tent and has been using it for several years so far and loves it. i know its not lightweight.. but my pack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and that tent together weigh 10 pounds. i already bought it but i can always return it. the biggest thing im intersted in other than how much it weighs is how small it packs.
I set the tent up in my yard the other day and it seems nice. it has a nice vestibule where i can keep my pack/cook when its raining. and yeah it was only like $60.
this is my first year hiking and i would love to just use my poncho as a shelter, but i have to do some test runs first.

You might want to set the tent up in a heavy rainstorm to make sure it keeps the rain out!

I've had good luck with Coleman products. I started out camping and hiking with a $60 coleman tent. It stood up to years of abuse, and more then its fair share of midwestern thuderstorms.

I would set it up and let it ride out differant weather conditions so you know if you have to adjust the way its setup in bad weather. I would also leave it setup for a couple days then give it a treatment with a good weatherproofer.

You really don't need to go out and spend a ton of money to do casual backpacking. As long as your careful with what take you can easily get your pack to weight less then 30 pounds for a week on trail.

yeah thanks, thats what im going to do. What kind of weather proofer do you think i should use? and how about seam sealers?

I use this for the my gear Nixwax waterproofing

This is the seam sealer I've used seam sealer

Just follow the directions

I have used many of the less expensive tents before. Coleman is usually one of the better lower end manufacturers for purposes of functional quality. (i.e. seams are sewn well, windows don't usually leak, they have decent ventilation, the zippers don't break the first time they are used, etc.)
So they are at least functional. To improve the weather resistance set up the tent at home in the back yard and give it a good spray coating of Camp Dry or Scotch Guard. Give special attention to all of the seams. You only need to spray the outside of the tent.
Once this dries, put on a 2nd coat and, again, give special attention to the seams. You don't have to soak them but make certain that all of the seams get covered to minimize the risk of a leak.
For less than $5 you can make your $60 Coleman tent just as leak-proof as a much more expensive model.
I will spray my tents at the beginning of each year. This also allows me to practice setting them up, and helps keep me familiar with tents I don't use very often.

The Coleman 7x7s we had a couple years back for the Scout troop were good out of the box - no seam sealer required. Blew my mind... and it RAINS in the tropics. Reviews Trailrunner posted indicated otherwise for this tent. Commercial seamsealer (available at Dicks) is probably your best bet.

At three pounds you are at the point of diminishing returns (comparing cost vs weight) for a single shelter if you want to stay inside a $60 investment, and assuming you want bug protection and a bottom.

Tarptent's super light Moment is just short of 2lbs (19.75 ozs, according to the website, and note the restriction on rain). You can do better weight wise with a Tarp, but then you sacrifice bug protection unless you can sew. Eureka Solitare and Spitfire are options you can look at in a sporting goods store, but you haven't saved yourself much weight, and you'll have spent more. Plus, you MUST seamseal Eureka tents, or you'll get wet.

Alternately, you can try something like this (someone else here tipped me off about this; I haven't tried it yet, but I'm experimenting)

http://www.imrisk.com/hammock/ultraquarterweight.htm

Good luck, don't sweat it too much, and enjoy the trail.

Hi Skysail,

This is my first post here, I'm more of a lurker. I purchased the Coleman Dakota 1 from Dick's Sporting Goods last year. I think it compares well with tents like the Eureka Spitfire 1. At 6'2" and 225 pounds I found it tight, but it worked well for a couple of nights in the field. I ended up selling it to a smaller friend who loves it.

This is not a typical Coleman tent, but part of thier Exponent lineup. It is seam sealed and has quality aluminum poles. The vestibule is tiny, but you could squeeze a small pack inside. At 3lb. 6oz it's not the lightest solo tent, but for $60 bucks you can't go wrong. (The side entry is nice too.)

By comparison, my go to "solo" tent is my Tarptent Squall 2 at 34 oz.

Cheers,

TrailManny

If I'm not mistaken, the Dakota 1 is a rebadged Kraz 1 tent made exclusively for Dick's.

TrailManny