Coleman Cobra

"The Golden Rule -- always test your camping equipment, new or old, before going on holiday".

So said the notice pinned up just by the checkout. That sounded like pretty good advice to me, so, having bought my Coleman Cobra 2 RS tent for £69.99 from Camping & General, I decided to sleep in it that very first night. And what a night I chose. The worst summer storms for years, apparently, with gale force winds and torrential rain. By the time I started pitching the tent, the wind had dropped and besides, I was well sheltered by a seven-foot-high privet hedge. However, that did nothing to shelter me from the rain. It chucked it down and part way through the pegging out of the inner tent, I went indoors for my Goretex coat (that was also this coat's first proper testing in 2 years' ownership). By the time I got the flysheet over the inner, it wasn't so much a tent but more of a paddling pool. That proved one thing: the groundsheet didn't leak because none of the accumulated rain water seemed to be dispersing.

I took advantage of the fact that I was still at home and mopped the tent out with 3 bath towels. The first one was sopping but the other two were not too bad. Indeed, I used them as a pillow later in the night. I was not sure whether the rain was finding its way through the 5000mm hydrostatic head flysheet, but it certainly appeared to be. There was a time, with the old canvas tents of my youth, that you had to make sure that you did not touch the tent in wet weather else it leaked at the point of contact. Is this the case with PU-coated polyester? I could not help but touch the fly-sheet when I was pitching the tent.

There were some really attractive features to this tent. The elasticated duralumin hoop poles for one thing as well as the reasonably clear pitching instructions printed on a sheet of some plastic material which I initially mistook for paper and which is firmly attached to the outer carrying bag. The last tent I bought was in 1988 and it would appear that technology has come a long way since then. Also the quality of the tent pegs. No bendy mild steel meat skewers these days, but lightweight alloy pegs that keeps their shape and thrust firmly through the soil. Once I was in it and trying to sleep, the sky threw all it could at me, but I kept considerably drier than I expected. To begin with, the levels of moisture in the tent were so high that my glasses were misting over, but gradually my body heat seemed to help the mists disperse. My sleeping bag stayed dry as did the sleeping mat but I still didn't see the night right through: after turning in around midnight, I slept fitfully, due partly to the noise of the rain but, as the night wore on, due more to the fact that my 18 stone is more accustomed to a comfortable bed rather than a lumpy lawn thinly disguised by a centimetre or so of polyurethane foam. By 4.30, the sun was rising, the birds were singing and I had had enough. I was warm enough and dry enough, and that was all I could reasonably have expected from the tent.

There were definitely some drawbacks. There is no alternative to pitching this tent "inner first" so if it's raining when you want to pitch it, you would be well advised to wait for at least a lull before getting started. Secondly, although it is described as a 2-man tent, you just could not get two men in there, at least not if they were my size. With even two moderately small people in there, there would not be enough space for rucksacks. However, there is ample floor space for one large person plus luggage, and there was room for my shoes and a few other items on the ground between the inner and the fly.

The sloping nature of the tent also means that there is not much room for your knees. I found that if I bent my legs while lying on my back, my knees would touch the roof and, I felt sure, the fly-sheet. This was concerning, and would certainly cramp the style of any amorous couple who want to mix a little passion with their camping. However, I discovered in the cold light of day that there may have been a particular reason for the fact that the roof was so low. The tent looked a little lop-sided and I could not account for this other than that I erected it so hastily and under such unpleasant conditions. When I came to dismantle the tent later in the day, I discovered at least part of the reason for this: the pressure on the poles had caused then to sink into the soil by quite some way. This could perhaps be remedied by placing the poles on plastic discs or, possibly, coins or beer bottle tops. It would not add a great deal to the production costs of the tent so perhaps Coleman could put their minds to this. Also, there was one particularly puzzling point in the instructions. An extra peg and guy were depicted, attached somewhere to the foot end of the tent, but these were not supplied and were certainly not shown anywhere on internet images of the tent.

The verdict? A pretty good tent for only £70. Clearly I have discovered some drawbacks but they were as a result of pretty freakish weather conditions for England in July. I'll probably take it backpacking in the not too distant future.

I have paid very little for this one and it work out very well. The price was very impressive and the the tent itself was part of the Coleman Peak-1 Series. I would rate it in the same categories of those more expensive ones like Kelty or North Face brands. The only problem was that during the rain the water created pools in the rainfly; and it could hold two, only if you have no other thing, but people in it. Overrall, it was an awesome tent though. My hat's off to this one!

I love this tent. It does sleep two, but uncomfortably unless it's with your significant other. I have yet to test it in heavy rain.

My favorite aspect of it besides its small pack size and weight is the no see-um mesh star screen. It has the best view I have ever seen from any tent. Almost as if the tent isn't there when the stars are bright. I also like the single aluminum pole that has a nice smooth orange gunmetal finish.

This is a very light tent that's easy to set up. Plenty of room for one person with gear. I cut a cheap tarp into a footprint and it still fit in the bag. I traded it for a tent that more realistically fit 2 people and is free standing. I miss the light weight...

Very good tent for the money, the only problem i had is in heavy rain the fly tends to sag and touch the tent by the bottom, by your feet causing it to get wet. to avoid this i just prop the fly with a small stick and walla, fairly bombproof shelter.