Review of Columbia Bugaboo Dome Tents  

People have different reasons for choosing tents.  Some like them extra light, without needing to be extra protective.  There are also those that like a fully closable tent for more privacy.  The Bugaboo is not for these people.  Campers that should think about this Columbia piece of outdoor gear are those that like a good degree of ventilation.  See, this tent was made in such a way that it uses a lot of mesh.  Mesh windows, mesh skylight, mesh everywhere; it’s really great for spring or summer weather.  It’s like a big screen tent with a very effective rain fly.  If that sounds good, then read on, happy camper.

 

 

Other than fantastic breezes floating through, Columbia’s Bugaboo does a great job against some random thunderstorms.  You can never fully trust the weatherman, as a dark cloud or two can just pop out of nowhere. Chalk it up to Columbia R & D to produce the GoBe dry system.  Excellently sealed seams and coated material will repel water for a few trips.  One should still be advised to do additional seal work though as little drips here and there can still occur.  Really sturdy fiberglass tent poles also stand up well against relatively strong winds.  The same can’t be said about its pegs.  Those easily bend like Beckham’s free kicks.  That counts as a minus point to the overall package, but luckily for you, very sturdy stakes can be bought for cheap.  One suggests using those from the start, unless you want your tent to double as a kite.

Unless you’ve got a trophy case of Mr. Universe titles, it would be pretty obvious from the start that this is not a hiking tent.   At 21 pounds, you can definitely throw this in the heavyweight category.  You probably want to bring the car anyway, if you’re bringing your better half and three kids.  That’s how Columbia probably calculated the five person capacity, by the way, mentioned in the specs.  Five adults will not be comfortable at all, although the tent is actually quite tall at 74 inches.  Those that like to change clothing comfortably, while standing up, will enjoy this feature.

You already know that this tent will not find itself at the top of the Rockies.  Excellent ventilation acts as a double edged sword, because its windows cannot be closed.  One would instantly trade its faulty night lights, and other useless extras, for the added comfort of privacy and cold protection.  Despite all its faults though, it’s still a pretty easy tent to Pitch.  With practice, one person will have only a little trouble pitching the Bugaboo dome.  If you’ve got extra hands though, accept the help.

As a car camping tent in the summer, you can find little wrong with the Columbia Bugaboo dome.  It’s the best tent you can get for weather above 40 degrees, and it’s affordable too as you can find this for less than $150 now.  If you’ve got kids along on the trip, you’ll all have fun saying “Bugaboo Dome” over and over as well. You can buy it online here. 

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