Field Report: Coleman Cloudview 2 Tent

Features:
• Cloudview™ skylight with zippered cover for privacy also acts as a gear loft
• 4 interior mesh pockets for gear storage
• Tent clips to frame for quick set-up and better air flow between tent body and fly
• Separate storage bags for tent, poles and stakes
• 3-season tent
• 32 square feet (3 sq m) of floor space
• 9 square foot (.8 sq m) vestibule includes dual-action zippers for high and low venting
• Ample mesh, 2 interior zip vents (with pockets), and a rear roof vent provide excellent ventilation
• Center height: 43.2" (110 cm)
• Pack weight: 5.0 lb (2.27 kg)
• Tent floor: 190T, 70-D Nylon/Taffeta, PU coated to 1500mm, taped seams
• Tent canopy: 190T Nylon/Ripstop
• Tent rainfly: 185T, Polyester/Taffeta, PU coated to 1500mm, taped seams
• Poles: 2-1/2 - 8.5 mm 7001-T6 Aluminum
• Made in China

Color: Green
Size: 2-Person
Total Packed Weight: 5 lb 8 oz (2.5 kg)
Tent & Poles Weight: 3 lb 4.5 oz(1.5 kg)
Rainfly Weight: 1 lb 14.5 oz (86 kg)
Stakes w/stuff sack Weight: 5 oz (142 g)

Features:

For an in depth description of the Coleman Cloudview 2 Tent, please refer to my Initial Report.

Field Conditions/Completed Test Results

Testing was primarily done on a recent trip to Cañon City, Colorado at an altitude of 5687 ft (1733 m) above sea level. The terrain is high desert. It's actually a 35 acre ranch parcel that my wife and I just purchased early this year and now we are in the process of adding infrastructure (driveway, electric, etc.). Surrounded by 30,000 acres of state and federal land, the nearest neighbor is 2 miles away and, seriously, there is no sound but that of wind, birds and coyotes. From everywhere on the ranch you cannot see or hear a soul. Anyway, a ground cloth was needed since the earth at the camp site was broken shale and sand. Some of the pieces can be pretty sharp, so I made sure to use protection. The Coleman Cloudview 2 went up quickly. I did not need to refer to directions having assembled the tent several times previously. In the desert at 98 F (37 C), the aluminum poles got very hot quickly in the sun. However, they still performed well at that temperature and snapped together firmly. The X pole arrangement made it easy to clip the tent to the supports and the entire assembly was up in less than 5 minutes.

At first, since the ground was rocky and hard, I thought that I would leave the Coleman Cloudview 2 in free-standing mode. The tent is solid and can easily be picked up with one hand. But the wind was blowing at about 13 mph (21 kph) and the Cloudview 2 would not stay still because it is so light. I didn't feel like seeing how far it would travel and where it would end up, so I staked it to the ground. The four corner stakes were all that was needed to keep it in place. However, a few of the stakes bent slightly when I pressed them into the ground. This was not solid rock here. It could be dug easily with a shovel. However, maybe due to the high temperature, 3 of the stakes did bend and I cannot bend them back with my hands. These are pretty thick aluminum stakes and I did not expect that since all I was using was my foot.

With no rain in sight for the 3 days I would be camping, I did not install the rain fly. That is until my son called just before sunset and told me that there were storm warnings and flash flood warnings. I could see the dark clouds on the horizon behind the mountain range to the North and lots of lightning, so I pulled the rain fly out. It's pretty simple to quickly get the Coleman Cloudview 2 covered. Just toss the fly over the tent (the hardest part is to get it oriented in the right direction), clip the corners to the female clips at the four corners of the tent and stake out the sides and vestibule. Worked great and was up and protecting the tent in about 1 minute. Of course the storm passed and I took it off shortly thereafter.

The reason I wanted the rainfly off was because the camp site has wonderful 360 degree views and with no ambient light, the stars were amazing. The Coleman Cloudview 2 is designed so that the entire upper portion is fine mesh netting ... 360 degrees of viewing to enjoy the scenery. So I was able to lay on my sleeping bag at night and enjoy the stars and almost full moon while drifting off to sleep. The two stash pockets also unzip and fold down to allow for additional cooling. With the breeze blowing all evening at 13 to 15 mph (21 to 24 kph) the Coleman Cloudview 2 moved around, but it was not noisy. Coleman configured tie-backs for all the vent flaps. Tied back correctly nothing made noise but the actual tent sides and the sound they made blended right into the wind blowing through the juniper and pinion pine.

When I tested this tent in Michigan I had issues with humidity and condensation. However the Coleman Cloudview 2 tent did not exhibit any condensation at all on this trip. Of course the humidity is extremely low (see the daily chart below). I left the tent erected in 100 F (38 C) direct sunlight during the day. I know that is not the way to treat a tent, but I wanted to see if heating the Coleman Cloudview 2 tent up all day and then taking it down to 63 F (17 C) at night would cause the Cloudview 2 to collect condensation. It did not.

This is "no-see-um" season in Cañon City. When the wind stops, the little buggers can find your nose and ears quickly. (Deet worked though.) It was a relief to know that the mesh screening on the Coleman Cloudview 2 did not allow ONE ... not a single bug of any type ... into the tent.

When my stay was ending, packing down was quick. Pulled up the stakes (they all came out with a single pull using my hands). Grabbed the tent support frame and lifted the entire tent so it was upside down with the door facing downward. Shook and all the fine shale and dust that accumulated on the tent floor shook right out. Removed the supports by unclipping the tent, folded them back up and packed them into their separate nylon bag. Put the stakes in their little bag. AND I got the tent and rainfly back into the single stuff sack on the first try. Done.

WEATHER CHART FOR CAÑON CITY TRIP

Summary to date

I like this tent. It's light. Easy to use. Has a lot of mesh screening and vents well. It's like sleeping under a mosquito net. It's not for tall people though. I'm 5ft 9in (1.7 m) and my pillow (the stuff sack from my sleeping bag) will touch one end and my feet will touch the other. Two people can use this tent though because there is plenty of width as long as not too much gear is brought into the tent. I was able to use my laptop easily and keep the laptop bag in the tent next to me along with headlamp and water bottle. So far, the Coleman Cloudview 2 tent is a keeper.

Continuing Test Plan

My tentative plans for the next 2 months include several 2 - 3 day hikes in Michigan at various locations such as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Beaver Island. I will also be doing miles of bushwhacking back-country hiking though the 18,000 acres of BLM in the Cooper Mountain range north of Cañon City, Colorado for a week in August and then again in mid-September.

Rain, high humidity, low humidity, sandy soil, rocky ground, high altitude and low altitude will all probably be encountered during the rest of the testing period. I will be continuing testing through the summer in the high, humid temperatures of a Michigan summer, and through early fall in Michigan which will likely be wet and cooler. The two planned trips to Colorado in mid-August, and mid-September should find both hot and cool but dry conditions. Temperatures could range from 30 F to 90 F in the desert areas of Colorado (-1 C to 32 C), giving an opportunity to test over a wide temperature range and a variety of conditions. Michigan temperatures will vary pretty much the same. I will also be testing in variety elevations, from the sandy lakeshores of Michigan at 177 ft (54 m) above sea level, to a high of 12,360 ft (3767 m) in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains of Colorado.

Questions still to be answered include:

Will the seams remain tightly stitched?
Will the seams remain sealed?
Does the floor of the tent dimple, tear or puncture after normal use?
If a hole/tear does develop, can it be fixed easily on the trail?
Do the stash pockets retain their shape or do they stretch out?
Do the stash pockets easily tear or puncture?
Is there any fading or staining of the fabric?
Does the tent develop musty odors?

I will also report any other issues that arise during the testing period.

Thank you to Coleman and BGT for the opportunity to test this product!

John R. Waters

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