Columbia Cougar Flats II 15-Foot by 10-Foot 8 Person 2 Room Family Cabin Dome Tent

No - not Jack-n-the-beanstalk giants, but I'm over 6' and my kids are taking after me. I've been looking for a tent that will fit the growing family of 6. Here's the high and low points for this tent.

Sizing.
My wife and I use twin air mattresses (no sense risking discomfort there). On the 'non-door' side we fit well with our smallest beside us, a space heater (ya - 34 was a bit too cool to go without) and gear. On the 'vestibule' side slept my other mini-giants with all their stuff (waaay too much stuff - gear is an over-simplification). We still had enough room at one of the doors to take off wet shoes w/o messing up the sleeping bags.

H2O.
Enough for a refreshing drink. Amazing what moisture comes about when a cloud moves in over the campsite. During a heavy rain, the tent leaked in 4 places (without any seam sealer - didn't have instructions, so I bypassed this. NorthPole recommends Kenyon 3 or Seam Grip and NO spray for the fabric). Both bay windows collected a bit of water then dripped onto MY sleeping bag through the interior pocket. Pulling out the stakes farther would have solved the dripping. Most of the water came in just beside the doors. Water runs off of the fly and drips halfway down the arch (about 1/2 a cup in 4 hours of the storm). We played a nice game of Carcassonne inside during the deluge, until we noticed the pool collecting on the fly! Yikes - make sure you stake out the fly to avoid this. Even so, I'm the only one who got soaked as I pulled the cords and received the waterfall.

Extras.
The gear loft works well, and I could still stand up with stuff in it. The drink holders are OK, but the shelves are completely gimmicky and a hazard. Only took once to have everything drop on my head to take it down.

Customer Service.
Not by Columbia. I called for 2 different problems. NorthPole sent out the missing part immediately. Very friendly, some wait time. If they are out you get a message and need to call back.

Overall.
Awesome. Look forward to using the bay windows and cyclone vents in warmer weather. Now if we could just get on a slim-fast stuff reduction program...

We needed to purchase a larger tent to accommodate 2 extra large cots. We were honestly looking for a 2 room tent with a removable divider. This tent had many features we liked so we decided to go with the Cougar Flats II 8 person tent.

We set it up in the backyard yesterday and set up was very easy. We have been using a Cabela's Alaskan Guide tent for years and found the Cougar Flats directions very clear and the color coding was very helpful.

We put the 2 extra large cots in one room and they had to extend just a bit over the divider. We set up 2 regular - sized cots in the main entry room. Last night 4 of us slept comfortably. What a night to test the tent! 3 thunderstorms with torrential rain. The air circulation was great with the bay windows and cyclone vents. A little rain came in - very little. I think it was actually from the kids rolling against the tent when they slept. (We always put a huge tarp over our tents anyway so I'm not too worried about the rain)

We're now ready for our 12 day camping trip along the coast of Maine. We're very pleased with this tent. We'll enjoy having the 5 x 7.5 space of the main entry room. (the kids will have their own tent) It's roomy enough to set up 2 chairs and a small table, but for us will make an excellent space for our clothes and for changing comfortably.

Thus far, we have gone on 3 trips and due to rainy summer, encountered rain each trip. Tent was steadfast through some torential downpours with a very small bit of water on floor (we did not waterproof); nothing to complain about! We have two Intek twins and 1 Queen air mattress. The electric port was very convenient, the loft is great for holding pillows to keep clean. We even brought a regular box fan along last time; wonderful! Locker could be a bit deeper, as most items fall out. Most folks, including myself, did not find the instructions well-written. I've taken the liberty of typing up my own, adjusting as I've gained experience as my upcoming trip will be sans husband, like the first and I needed help as I'm a bit too short, so the order of directions is done with that in mind (along with 2 children helpers!). All are welcome to download my version of the Columbia Cougar Flats II instructions http://www.rocketlaunchers.org/documents/columbiacougarflatsii.pdf

This is an excellent purchase. Plenty of room for a family. We used one side for a king sized air mattress and had plenty of room on the sides to stand and get out of the bed. The other side we used as a sitting/storage/dressing area and had a small table and two camp chairs set up and still had lots of room to move about. The tent was outside for about a week and did experience some pretty heavy rain a couple of days. We only got one small persistent leak in front of the door around the zipper. I did not waterproof the tent prior to using so this tiny puddle was acceptable. One side of the tent had to be readjusted after the rains but that was due to the ground getting soft and making the pole sink in a little too much. There were three of us and a large dog in the tent and never felt crowded. Very well ventilated and never got hot even with a few hot and humid days. Easy set up due to the color coding not the directions. I set up by myself and took about 45min. but would have been much easier with a helper. Very happy with the tent. Would have been nice to see how the remote lights work but they are no longer included with the tent as with the previous model.

I bought this tent after much research. I turn 60 this year, and am returning to camping after several years. We have owned and worn out a tent trailer.

I read all the reviews from the last year's Cougar Flats Model. I had several criteria: spacious tent in which I could stand up, good protection during rain, and ability to put it up myself. The reviews and the bay windows were the tipping point in buying this tent.

I first put the tent up in my yard, as suggested. I was able to do it by myself. I am not very technically minded, but the directions are clear and the poles are color coded. Everything fit back into the sturdy, wheeled storage bag.

My wife and i just returned from our first real outing with the new tent: a two-week camping trip in which we endured torrential rains, two tornado warnings, and otherwise really crappy weather. We had a few days of sun.

The tent got a real test, and it was everything we wanted it to be. We stayed dry. A little water dripped in at a couple of seams - around the bay window. This was after hours of rain. A dab of waterproofing as recommended by the manufacturer should solve that problem. Meanwhile, as the rain poured outside, we could keep air moving inside because of the bay windows. We sat there reading, sort of enjoying the sound of the rain. When the wind blew the rain sideways, we zipped up the bay windows. The rain fly gave excellent protection. Oh, and we did take appropriate shelter during the tornado warnings.

The two rooms made for the spaciousness I wanted - we could put a small table inside. We slept on a king sized blow up bed.

We had a marvelous trip, the tent performed really well, and we are excited about the next trip in August.