We’ve been blessed with unusually ideal summer weather for camping in the UK, which made my family and me pivot from going abroad in 2025. Instead, we decided to do a road trip around Wales, checking out the beautiful Welsh countryside and coast – not only an epic way to explore an otherwise brilliant area, but also rather budget-friendly.
With my teenage son in tow, we needed a tent that A) can be erected and dismantled quickly, B) has blackout functionality, C) has two rooms on opposite ends and D) is waterproof. The Coleman Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut ticked all the boxes, at least on paper, so I was excited to go on an adventure with it.
We spent five days travelling around the country, and the weather was glorious: neither too hot nor too warm. Well, it could have been a bit cooler in the evenings, but it certainly wasn’t the best, and, most importantly, there was no rain, which was my primary concern before setting out.
The Coleman Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut isn’t the first (and most certainly not the last) family tent I’ve tested, and even though it does have caveats, it’s an excellent option for the price. Is it the best tent for you, though? Let’s find out!
Coleman Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent review
Price and availability
In the UK, the Coleman Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent is widely available with prices from ~£299 to £410. The RRP on the Coleman UK site is displayed as £449.99, marked as the “Original price” even though the product is currently out of stock.
The official Coleman US site doesn’t seem to list this model under their 4‑person category; it may not be part of the US lineup. This latter is a bit strange, considering Coleman is an American brand. Appreciate that many outdoor companies offer different products in different regions, though.
The Coleman Australia website features 4-person tents under relevant categories, but the Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut model is not listed among them. As such, there is no RRP listed in Australia as the product appears to be absent from their official offerings.
Specifications
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
- Sleeps: 4 (in bedrooms)
- Tent shape: Vis-à-vis
- Headroom: up to 2.05 metres/ 6.6 feet
- Poles: aluminium
- Weight: 17.1 kg
- Seasons: 3 seasons
- Water resistance: 4,500 mm (water column)
- Fire retardant: Yes
- Pitched size: 14.8 m²
- Dimensions: 2.3 x 4.8 x 2 m/ 7.5 x 15.7 x 6.6 feet
- Pack size: 67 x 34 x 34 cm/ 26.4 x 13.4 x 13.4 in
Design
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
Coleman calls the Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut a vis-à-vis tent, meaning that the two bedrooms are located at either end of the tent instead of next to each other. It sleeps four people in the bedrooms, with potential to house a couple more in the communal space in case things get desperate.
The shelter weighs a hefty 17.1 kg and comes in its carry case, which includes the single sheet outer, the two detachable bedrooms, poles and tent pegs. The polyester tent material is interspersed with a large mesh front door and a window on the opposite end of the living area.
The brand says the pitch size is around 14.8 m², which translates to 2.3 x 4.8 metres. The headroom is quite generous: 205 cm in the middle of the tent, tapering off towards the outer edge of the bedrooms. You can comfortably stand around the living room even if you’re somewhat taller.
The polyester material has a 4,500 mm water column rating and is fire-retardant, although, as expected, Coleman added a few “no open fires inside” labels to ensure people don’t get the wrong idea and start cooking up a feast inside the tent.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
Instead, the non-mesh front door can be propped up using the poles provided in the carry case, creating a covered porch area for cooking and relaxing. The tent material is supposed to provide some sun protection, making the porch a dual-purpose area (rain and sun protection).
I found the storage options lacking in the Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent. There are only really two small pockets at the end of the bedrooms (two in each bedroom), which don’t even fit an iPad. There are hooks in all three rooms (two bedrooms + living room) for camping lanterns, but that really is it.
Considering that much smaller backpacking tents, such as the brilliant Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 XL, offer tons more storage space, I wasn’t impressed by this here. There are also larger tents like the Decathlon Quechua Air Seconds 5.2 Fresh & Black that offer more storage than the Coleman.
Pitching
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The Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent has a comparatively straightforward pitching process. The structure is held up using four aluminium poles, two going perpendicular to the long side of the tent on either end and two crossing over the middle of the tent/ living room.
You will need plenty of space around the tent, as the poles are quite long when assembled. Not to mention that you need at least two people to erect the shelter due to its size. On a positive note, the poles and sleeves are colour-coded, which reduces the time spent trying to figure out where each part of the tent goes.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
As is often the case with such large tents, I found it hard to figure out how to release the tension on one side of the shelter so the bottom of the tent isn’t in the mid-air, held taut by the poles. We tried moving the poles in the sleeves and tightening the straps, but nothing seemed to work.
You’ll find plenty of guy lines around the exterior, but unless it’s super windy, you’ll be able to use the pegs around the perimeter of the tent only. One area you might want to stake out is the upper ventilation windows, but you’ll have to pull the guy line all the way from the tent to let in some air.
The infamous skylight cover
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
Another peculiar design feature is the skylight cover. This is permanently attached to the top of the tent and flaps around even in light wind. I initially let it open to let in more air via the skylight, but decided to close it when I realised it would just flap around all night.
Trouble is, the tent is quite tall, which makes it incredibly difficult to clip in the other sides of the cover when the structure is fully erected. I was fiddling around with it, trying to throw the flimsy sheet over to the other side, then running over to catch it before it fell back. I’d recommend doing it up before you insert the poles.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
The bedrooms are detachable, although you can leave them clipped in if you wish. The clips are easy to locate, but due to the darkness in the tent, it can be a bit challenging to do them all up. I had to lie down on the ground with my headtorch on to see what I was doing.
Dismantling the tent is as straightforward as it is to erect: zip up the doors, undo the pegs, pull out the poles from the sleeves and fold it up – job done. I found this to be the case with the Quechua Inflatable Camping Tent Air Seconds 4.1 F&B 4 Person 1 Bedroom, but the Coleman Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent is impossible to get back into its carry case after first use. It owls be so much better if the bags were a bit more stretchy.
Performance
Sorry for the terrible photos of the room – it’s not easy to take a picture of a dark, empty space
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
We spent two consecutive nights in the Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent before renting a wooden lodge, followed by one last night in the tent. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the rooms being on opposite sides, even though – and as expected – it didn’t help with the noise.
The rooms are big enough for two camping mats and sleeping bags, and taper sharply, so using an elevated camping bed is not the best option. Since you’re sharing the space with at least one but possibly three more campers on camping mats, there will be a considerable amount of noise in the tent.
(Nothing a good pair of earplugs can’t help.)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
The rooms have windows, which can let in more air but compromise the darkness of the space. Coleman claims the blackout technology helps keep the temperature down, but air flow is a different story. Two bodies breathing and moving around in the bedroom can make things toasty quickly during summer.
It’s nice to have such a large living room. We fit three camping chairs as well as all our bags in the space and still had enough room to enter and exit the bedrooms without trouble. The window on the opposite side lets in plenty of light and can be closed if you’ve had enough of the sun for the day.
The front door with the convertible flap is a good idea. You can have the awning up and still have the mesh door closed to keep the critters out. The mesh door could be clipped up if you want to keep it open; however, the loop is on the other side of the front flap, which means if the awning is up, you’ll have to get creative to keep the mesh door rolled up.
I appreciate that technically, you can convert the Coleman tent into a 2-person tent with a huge living area by removing one of the bedrooms. Granted, it would be a heavy and bulky shelter for two, but the option is there, should you need it.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
I would have appreciated even more ventilation options. The top flaps I mentioned already, but it would have been great to have more air moving around the bottom of the tent, too. Adding more flaps might compromise the heat retention of the bedrooms in bad weather, but some Velcro openings around the lower edge of the tent could have worked.
Verdict
(Image credit: Matt Kollat)
Generally speaking, Coleman’s Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent is a decent shelter for small families or groups of friends who appreciate sleeping in the dark and like ample ground storage inside their tents.
It’s not the perfect family tent: off-ground storage is limited, air flow could be better, and there are other minor grievances with the setup. Personally, I would rather camp using two small backpacking tents (one for my wife and me and another for my son) rather than hauling around the Coleman, if given the option.
That said, I can see the appeal, especially considering the price of the Spruce Falls 4 BlackOut Tent. You get a lot of good features for around £300, not to mention the layout is ideal for people with older kids. Just make sure you pack your earplugs.
