Coleman Fossil Creek vs. Kodiak Golden Bear3 Person Tent ChallengeTo find out how 3 person tents compared, I purchased a Coleman Fossil Creek tent and a Kodiak Golden Bear tent. On a recent camping trip, our old 6 person tent with many poles and challenges to assemble showed its age. During our assembly, one of the pieces that connects the flexible fiberglass poles to the larger aluminum poles broke off, making our tent look more like a homeless shelter. It was as good an excuse as any to finally separate the kids from the adults, and at the same time get smaller tents that are easier to carry and put up. So between our children's soccer games, I ventured to the local sporting goods store and purchased a Coleman Fossil Creek tent and a Kodiak Golden Bear tent with the intention of comparing the two. Both are three person tents of roughly the same size. Setting Up Compared to our previous 6 person tent, both of the 3 person tents were much easier to set up. The Coleman Fossil Creek went from box to assembled in about 6 minutes by myself. There are only two flexible fiberglass poles which easily slid through the seamless pole sleeves. What I liked most was the long continuous sleeves made it very easy for the poles to slide through without snagging or exiting the sleeve. The poles were easily inserted into the pin and ring system at the four corners of the tent and each corner had one hook that snapped to the pole to keep the tent from sagging. The rain fly took another 4 minutes to assemble with only one pole to insert in the fabric. The Kodiak Golden Bear took 9 minutes from box to set up. The design is very similar to the Coleman tent with a few differences. The pole sleeves on the Kodiak Golden Bear were not continuous and and took a little longer to thread the poles through. Again the poles were inserted into a pin and ring system at the four corners of the tent. Each corner of the tent had three hooks that snapped on the poles to give the tent its shape, so again it took a little longer. The rain fly had two pole to insert into the fabric, but this took only 5 minutes to assembe and attach to the tent. The poles for the Kodiak Golden Bear were a little longer than the poles for the Coleman Fossil Creek because the Golder Bear is quite a bit taller. This did make the poles a little more difficult to work with. One final comment on set up is the directions for the Coleman Fossil Creek tent are sewn into the carry bag, while the Kodiak Golden Bear instruction were on a loose sheet of paper, which kept blowing away. Set up advantage: The Coleman Fossil Creek Tent Dimensions The Coleman Fossil Creek tent is 8 feet by 7 feet and 52 inches tall. We found the floor space was adequate for two adults with a queen sized air mattress. The low tent height made standing and dressing a challenge, especially with the air mattress taking a few more inches. The Kodiak Golden Bear tent is 9 feet by 7 feet and at least a foot taller. The extra head room made the tent feel much larger than the Coleman tent. Both tents had comparable storage nets on the inside. The Kodiak Golden Bear has zippers on each of the window, while the Coleman Fossil Creek mesh ventilation windows on two sides that did not have zippers for privacy. Tent dimension advantage: The Kodiak Golden Bear Take Down and Storage Similar to the set up of both tents, the Coleman Fossil Creek was a little faster to take down. The poles and tent each fit neatly into a small storage case on the first try. The Kodial Golden Bear tent also fit neatly into a small storage bag on the first try. Both storage bags are lightweight and have straps for carrying. Take down and storage advantage: The Coleman Fossil Creek Overall, I would consider both tents very easy to set up and take down. They both store very well and are easy to carry, but I would give the edge to the Coleman Fossil Creek tent. Let me know your tent of choice and why it works for you, and I will share it on the website. Send your comments to support@youcancamp.com.
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