Pitched at the campsite

A great weekend tent for a family with one or two kids

Coleman Castle Pines 4 BlackOut Tent

The Coleman Castle Pines 4 Blackout is a great family tent for weekend camping. Ideal for a family with one or two smaller kids.

Review Score

The Coleman Castle Pines 4 BlackOut is packed with features and comes in a bag that's easy to store, easy to transport, and easy to pitch. We recommend this is an ideal tent for weekend camping for a family with one or two kids.

Our Score: 9.3/10

Value for MoneyFeaturesFamily FriendlyQualityPracticality

The good

  • Packed full of features (See the Specification)
  • Darkened Bedrooms
  • Lay-flat Entrance
  • Zip-up blinds
  • Good tent material with SPF50 to help keep UV off you and your family

The not so good

  • None found so far.

Price Guide

Coleman Castle Pines 4 BlackOut Tent has a recommended retail price of £429.99.

The best price we've found so far is £387.11. That's £42.88 off the RRP of £429.99.

Coleman Castle Pines 4 BlackOut Tent Videos

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Coleman Castle Pines 4 BlackOut Tent Photos

Pitched at the campsite

Coleman Castle Pines 4 BlackOut Pitched

Castle Pines 4 BlackOut

Castle Pines 4 BlackOut

Darkened Bedrooms

Darkened Bedrooms

At the campsite

At the campsite

Castle Pines 4 Tent Layout

Castle Pines 4 Tent Layout

Lay-flat entrance

Lay-flat entrance

At the campsite

At the campsite

Our Review

This tent comes packed with features without being a massive tent to store, transport, or set up.

Let's take a closer look.

Tent Layout

The Coleman Castle Pines 4 uses an excellent tent layout for family camping, with two bedrooms at the back, a living space, and a large sheltered front entrance. There's no need to crawl in and out of this tent ;-)

Castle Pines 4 Tent Layout

A sheltered entrance, a living space, and two slightly longer bedrooms that sleep up to four people

Tent Bedrooms

Let's start with the tent's bedrooms.

These use Coleman's BlackOut feature, which not only makes them darker for a better night's sleep, but Coleman also says that the design helps keep the bedrooms warmer at night and cooler during the day.

The divider between the bedroom can be unzipped, making it easy to get to your kids if they wake up at night. The divider also zips all the way around, so young kids can't crawl underneath the divider and wake you at 5 am! :-)

Either way, the BlackOut bedrooms should help keep them sleeping when the sun rises early in the summer.

The bedrooms also have useful storage pockets for bits and pieces.

Darkened Bedrooms

The Coleman BlackOut bedrooms are not only dark for a better night's sleep but also help regulate the temperature

Living Areas

Being a weekend tent, it doesn't have a huge living space, but it's large enough for bags and getting kids sorted.

You have a choice of a large front entrance or a side door.  Typically, we would only use the side door on warm and dry summer days.

All doors have a bug-free mesh, so the side door can be left open, but with the mesh in place.  This gives extra light and helps cool down the tent in summer but helps keep the flies out.

All the windows have blinds, which zip up.  Many tents use toggles for blinds, but zips are less hassle. The zips also enable you to have the blinds half up. This is ideal if you are changing young kids in the living space as it gives you privacy but still plenty of light coming in.

Lay-flat entrance

The lay-flat entrance makes it easy to go in and out of the tent without tripping

The groundsheet at the big front door lays flat. This is an excellent feature to look for.

Without it, young kids typically trip over the tent entrance at some point (and adults, too!), so it's great to see the lay-flat entrance on this tent.

The small shelter outside the tent helps get in and out of the tent if there's a rain shower.

Pitching

This is a light tent to get in and out of your car at just over 16 kg and with a relatively small pack size, making it ideal for last-minute decisions to go camping when a sunny weekend comes.

Pitching is with flexible poles that slot together. These are colour-coded and slot into sleeves on the tent that match the colour of the pole.

If you know what you are doing, one person can pitch this type of tent. Two adults aren't always free to pitch the tent when looking after young kids. However, you would find it easier with two people, but the second person only needs to provide an occasional hand.

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Accessories

You can get a carpet and a tent footprint.

Both are useful accessories, but I recommend getting the carpet over the footprint if your budget is tight. However, some retailers are doing tent bundles that include the carpet and footprint cheaper than buying them individually.

Alternatives

If you are looking for a similar spec tent but inflatable, look at the Coleman Weathermaster 4 Air.

If you like this tent but want a slightly large one, look at the Coleman Castle Pines 4L.

Details

AttributeColeman Castle Pines 4 BlackOut Tent
RRP£429.99
Best Price£387.11
Product InfoBrand Web Page
Height (cm)200
Width (cm)300
Length (cm)470
Weight (kg)16.8
Pack Size (cm)72x32x32
Year Introduced2021
Dimensions
Height (cm)200
Length (cm)470
Width (cm)300
Tent Details
Recommended Tent UseIdeal for Weekend Camping
SleepsSleeps 4
Bedrooms2 Bedrooms
Frame TypeFlexible Poles
Tent AccessoriesTent Carpet, Tent Footprint
Tent Construction
Flysheet FabricColeman WeatherTec™ 6000 mm
Fly Hydrostatic Head6000 mm
Taped SeamsYes
Sewn-in GroundsheetYes
Groundsheet Hydrostatic Head (mm)Not Applicable (PE Fully Waterproof)
Sun ProtectionSPF50
Wind Rating7 (High Wind: 32-38mph/50-61kph)
Tent Windows
Window BlindsYes, zip up
Tinted WindowsNo
Tent Doors
Additional Tent DoorsYes, on one side
No Trip EntranceYes, at main door
Rain-Safe EntryYes, at main door
Bug-Free MeshOn all exterior and bedroom doors
Door converts to sunshadeNo
Tent Bedrooms
Bedroom DividerRemovable, fully zipped (no gaps)
Darkened BedroomsYes
Larger BedroomsYes, 210 cm depth
Bedroom Partially RemovableEntire inner tent
Storage Pockets in BedroomYes
Auto-seal Bedroom DoorsNo
Cable entry to BedroomsYes, one bedroom
Tent Living Space
Inner Living Space Size1 section (e.g. bag space)
Living Area Storage PocketsYes
Cable EntryYes, both sides
Wet-Dry ZoneNo
Built-in PorchNo, but small shelter
Porch Storage PocketsNo
Internal Hanging LineNo
Pitching and Storage
Weight (kg)16.8
PackSize (cm)72x32x32
Colour-coded Tent PegsNo
Colour-coded Tent PolesYes
Guy Line StorageNo
People to Pitch2 People
Pump IncludedNot Applicable
Wheeled Tent BagNo, not required