Hopefully you and your family are enjoying plenty of state and national parks this summer, as in the US, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our parks.
- Durable Double-Thick Polyguard 2X™ Material.
- UV Guard Finish For UPF 50+ Protection.
- Dome Shape Helps Block Long-Angle Sun.
- 2 Shade Walls Are Removable.
- Taped Seams.
- Sets Up In Approximately 10 Minutes.
Coleman is getting in on the action, with some made-in-the-USA gear designed specifically for the #FindYourPark anniversary. You can read about them here.
The Mountain View Screen Dome Shelter is not a limited edition product, but one you should definitely add to your outdoor travel arsenal, whether you plan to use it camping or for day trips to the lake, an outdoor concert, a family reunion, or a sporting event.
The 100 square foot shade dome is more versatile than others offered by Coleman, in that it can convert from a fully-enclosed screen dome to a free-standing shade canopy with just a few zips (or un-zips, as the case may be).
The shelter is 12’x 12′, and you get 7 feet, 6 inches of headroom at the peak of the dome, which means there won’t be any stooping for almost all of us. The four walls can be zipped up for bug-free lounging or zipped down for access.
We’ve been keeping it fully zipped during camping trips, so we had a place to go for mosquito-free meals and card games, but have also used it zippered down at soccer matches, so the team could escape the sun but still come and go easily.
Either way, the UVGuard material offers 50+ UPF protection and there are vents in the roof so it never gets too stuffy inside. R
Right out of the box (or rather, carry bag), the dome feels pretty darn heavy (shipping weight is 29 pounds), and I was surprised to learn it’s actually 40% lighter than Coleman’s standard instant sun shelter.
You don’t typically need to carry the dome far, but I do wish the carrying case had wheels so it could be rolled behind you.
Set up takes about 15 minutes, in my experience, and is fairly labor-intensive. Still, I set it up solo, so with a partner or two, you could cut the set up time in half.
It’s pretty easy to figure out how it goes up–no detailed instructions are needed–and once erect, the shelter is very stable, yet still easy enough to move from point to point.
You get two extra fabric panels that work as removable shade walls for extra sun protection, and reflective guy lines to stake the shelter down in case of wind (which you can see glowing at night to help prevent tripping over the lines).
The seams are taped to help keep water out, which is not as secure as welded seams, but still worked quite well in our experience in a minor rain storm. In cases of prolonged rain, I imagine the dome would start leaking, but in a minor shower, we stayed completely dry.
- Durable Double-Thick Polyguard 2X™ Material.
- UV Guard Finish For UPF 50+ Protection.
- Dome Shape Helps Block Long-Angle Sun.
- 2 Shade Walls Are Removable.
- Taped Seams.
- Sets Up In Approximately 10 Minutes.
The shelter breaks down and stores in the included bag, which is about the size of a standard car camping tent (though heavier). We like to keep it in the back of our car as we adventure throughout the summer, setting it up when needed for day trips and camping trips.
For $199, it’s a solid summer travel accessory we’re glad to have at the ready. We also found it on Amazon for the same price.