After a few practice setups and more importantly, take downs, I tested this tent (2P) camping this past weekend. IT does indeed go up very quickly and one could argue that is goes down just about as fast. However, because I was camping with others that made me show them how easy it was a few times it may have lost its speed advantage over other tents. People find it amazing and want to see it. The test also included it in both some mild wind and some rain. It handled both very well and did not leak a drop! The issues others have pointed out about the door being inset when open and water getting in that way are indeed true, but minor. Many tents get wet around the door in the rain as folks enter and exit. You just wipe it up. I might rig a tiny fly extension for it to prevent this when using it in the future. All of my other tents that get used frequently are Sierra Designs, two of which are four season tents. Is this one as good as those? No, no it is not. In “real weather,” or backpacking I’d use the Sierra Designs tents. But they take far more effort and time to setup and take down. In good weather the Pop Up has them beat! I also use a Sierra Designs Baffin Bivy and though not a tent, it is used for speed, i.e set up and take down camp fast. It is still faster than the Coleman Popup, but not by a lot and the Pop Up is certainly more comfortable and less of an issue in rain. Others have pointed out issues taking the tent down and folding it up, even broken polls while doing this. I did not have any issue. I watched the YouTube videos and made a point of being gentle. I practiced a lot. I can fold it up in well under a minute. I have folded it up maybe 40 times without any poll issues or failures. To those having issues, practice, never force it and watch the you tube videos of the folks who know how to do it. It is really, really, easy. Others have pointed out the door zipper can be difficult to zip. This is also true and more so when the tent is staked out. It is not a one handed operation, but to be just, on all three of my Sierra Designs tents, it is a two handed operation also, and mostly where the door corves when they are put up tight. The Coleman was the same, though it is slightly harder to zip up. I’d ding it for that, but I got used to it pretty fast. It is another thing where being gentle with it will have rewards. Some have pointed out the cloth floor as an issue. Though, many tents have fabric flows this one seems thin and may be a vulnerable spot. I used a small tarp under It (I use fitted ground cloths with my other tents). I sized the tarp so most of the water running off the tent hit dirt and not the tarp (so the water does not go under the tent). I did not have any problems. Finally, it comes down to how many stars. I could easily say my Sierra Designs, tents are 5 stars and therefore this must be something far less. However, the Sierra Designs tents cost three to five times as much! The ease of setup earns this tent a great score. For the price this Coleman Popup is 100% worth it. Five stars.
