In search of a large camping tent under £1000? With the market awash with options, it’s hard to know where to begin but opting for established, well regarded brands such as Coleman is a wise place to start.
The Coleman model on test here is one of Coleman’s large, poled (not inflatable) family tents – the Meadowood 6L BlackOut.
Measuring a generous 6.25m x 4.1m and costing £700, the Meadowood 6L BlackOut is immediately eye-catching for its space-to-price ratio. But there needs to be more to it for the Meadowood 6L BlackOut to be a good family tent – living comfort, weather resistance, and practicality are key too.
We’ve been testing the Meadowood 6L BlackOut to find out whether it’s any good.
Pros
- Cavernous living space
- Affordable (and widely available discounted)
- High waterproof rating for flysheet
- Well lit and practical layout
Cons
- Overall quality isn't especially high
- Could have better eco credentials
Design and features
The Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent uses a conventional tunnel shape held up with fibreglass poles. At 6.25m long it wasn’t the longest family tent we tested but at over 4m across (4.1m to be exact) it was one of the widest. This gives the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent a squat, square stance not unlike an aircraft hangar.
Such generous width means that the rear located bedroom (with BlackOut light-blocking material and removable inner) can cater for up to six people sleeping side by side. That inner can be divided into three parts, depending on what sleeping arrangements you need.
The main living space has front and side access, and each wall panel has a large window. In terms of dedicated storage, six mesh storage pockets hang from the removable inner.
Pitching
Being a very large, poled tent the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent needs at least two people to pitch smoothly. We weren’t thrilled to see the use of mesh pole sleeves – they're liable to catching and tearing when feeding the poles through. Lo and behold, we experienced exactly that.
But the poles are colour-coded and the ends are easy to seat over the metal pins. You work front to back, raising the first pole, securing it with the front guy lines, clip the fly to the pole, and repeat for each. It’s not hard with two people, but does take a while – especially compared to air tents. Pitching the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent takes about 20 minutes give or take depending on how efficient you are.
A key thing to know (as with all tents) is to zip the doors shut before you square out the tent, otherwise you’ll find the doors may not close.
In terms of taking the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent down, it’s actually easier than an air tent because you don’t have to get the air out of the poles. You simply collapse the tent, fold and roll it up and stuff it back in the bag.
Living and comfort
The first thing we noticed about the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent is its massive living space. A wider, squarer room feels much more spacious than a long and narrow one. It’s over 11m2, which grows to over 16m2 when you include the open porch/vestibule space.
And in addition to a big footprint, the living space including the front porch has a full-height, 2.1m ceiling.
With the bedroom inner fitted, the sleeping quarters is 3.9m wide and 2.1m deep. This means each occupant (if filled to maximum capacity) gets 65cm across, which is slightly more width than many rivals, which usually offer 60cm. With the dividers in place, our Outwell double airbed fit exactly into the largest central bedroom.
Durability and weather resistance
On paper, the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent looks like it can stand up to bad weather rather well. Its flysheet has a waterproof rating of 4000mm HH, which will keep persistent rain at bay and is higher than many – if not most – rivals, which often have a rating of 3,000mm HH.
The Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent also has storm straps front and rear in addition to the standard guylines for extra stability.
However, we felt the overall construction of the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent was a little sub par. Materials and components felt a tad flimsy, certainly when compared to more premium-priced rivals but also compared to those of a similar price such as the Vango Castlewood Air 800XL we tested alongside the Coleman.
And if you buy this tent it definitely pays (as always) to pitch it as soon as possible after purchase and check for issues. Our tent, for example, had a mismatched clip and buckle for the bedroom inner.
Sustainability
In terms of materials, there’s little to shout about regarding sustainability with this tent. The fabrics aren’t recycled or claim to use less resource-intensive dope dyeing.
Coleman is owned by a larger conglomerate called Newell Brands, which also owns Campingaz, Contigo, Marmot, and many more. In Newell Brands’ 2023 ‘Corporate Citizenship Report’, the company has a strong focus on reducing its carbon emissions but makes little reference to using more sustainable materials and isn’t very detailed regarding labour practices.
On the plus side, Coleman partners with a number of businesses in the UK for repairs and spare parts, so you can have peace of mind that if you need a repair or replacement part you’ll be able to get one.
Price and competition
With an RRP of £700, the Meadowood 6L BlackOut is well priced for such a large tent. And if you shop around, the Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent is often discounted.
That said, there are rival brands that offer similar value, such as Vango, OLPRO, and Decathlon. It’s worth taking your time and assessing exactly what you need from your family tent regarding space, layout, features, and weatherproofing. The Coleman is a good option but by no means the only option.
Verdict
There are certain aspect of the Coleman Meadowood 6L BlackOut that we really like. The huge living space is fantastic for families, and the overall layout is well thought out and practical. We also like the better-than-average 4000mm HH waterproof rating the fly has.
But we weren’t super impressed by the overall build quality. It’s not bad by any means but we’ve used similarly priced rivals that do have a better quality of construction, and there is a very noticeable step up to the more premium £1000+ models.
How we tested
We tested the Coleman Meadowood 6L BlackOut Tent in mid spring alongside a selection of other family tents from rival brands in order to directly compare products and to use the tents in the primary conditions they were intended for.
The author of this review is Chris Williams who is a staff writer and gear tester for LFTO. He joined LFTO in 2021 and has several years of both journalistic and outdoor industry experience.