Customer Reviews

Columbia Ice Crest Three-Person Dome Tent

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We purchased this tent for our 2 children to tent with us and set it up, and was impressed! It was our first Columbia tent, and I will buy Columbia products from now on! It has a nice rain-fly, air circulates very well, and sets up very quick with 2 adults. Just so that you know, you do not need a 'degree' to set it up...it just needs 2 adults, one to hold or assist the other while poles are going up!Easy instructions! The only downfall, because I am new at this, the floor is nice, but is not as heavy/durable as the Bugaboo Dome, or Black Mountain tents. With this tent, you should place a tarp on the ground under it, so that you wouldn't risk a punture in the floor. It is extrememly dry (for rain) Great tent for the price!

I bought this tent this spring because I knew I would be working at a renaissance faire which had a "tent city" where performers were allowed to pitch a tent and keep it there all summer. I was simply hoping this tent would last out the summer and be relatively dry and breathable. Let me also state about the area the "tent city" is located in - very close proximity to a lake, meaning there tends to be a lot of moisture in the area; lots of trees around (meaning stuff like tree sap constantly falling onto the tents); and we received a LOT of rain this summer.

Assembly: The first time I put it up was fresh out of the box, in the rain and the dark. Even in these un-ideal conditions, I had the tent up and functional in about 15 minutes. You can put this up solo, although it would certainly be nice (and speed things up) to have somebody helping you.

I had a queen-sized air mattress which took up max 2/3 of the floor of the tent, allowing plenty of space for bags, shoes, equipment, etc.

With the air flaps open, air circulation was excellent. Even with all the flaps closed, I still felt it was a very "breathable" tent. (Note: the peak of the tent is mesh screening, so if you expect wet weather, be sure to use the rain tarp!) It also shielded against wind very well, as Columbia products usually do.

The tent is about 5' high, so you're not going to stand up in it (unless you're a kid), but I found it easy enough to manuever in/out of the tent.

The tent directions recommend that it should not be left up for extended periods of time, but I'm not certain what they mean by that - months, a year? At any rate, my tent went up on July 7th and did not come down again until Labor Day weekend. Even by the end of summer, I never found it to be wet or mildewy, even in windy, torrential downpours. I used a tarpaulin under the tent to cut down on cold/damp from the ground and slept in the tent in nights as cold as the high 40s. (Well, I'm not recommending it for winter camping! Just stating that then tent was comfortable in those conditions).

It should be noted that after leaving the tent outside all summer long, the material of the tent took on a faint grey cast, which lightened a little bit when I washed the tent, but did not entirely disappear. But this is a tent, not a fashion show, so it was a fair tradeoff from my viewpoint.

I've previously owned Columbia products and that's why I choose this brand over others; they did not let me down one bit. I was very impressed with this product and look forward to using it again next year. I'd highly recommend this tent for anybody looking for a 2-3 person tent for spring-summer-fall camping.

I got this tent to go car camping and it is a great tent. Only used it for 2 nights, but there's good ventilation and it's roomy. Says it's for 3 people, but I had two people with backpacks and a dog and it worked very well. The different compartments and pockets for storage were an added bonus.
Not the lightest tent and I wouldn't recommend it if you were going backpacking, but for car camping or backyard camping, I think it's great.

This is a great tent. It has excellent ventilation, and I am a big fan of being able to look at the stars through the mesh ceiling, and clear part of the rain fly. I also love the little zipper areas on the floor by the door that allow you to quickly throw things in and take things out of the tent, like sneakers, and purses. It has great storage extras, and is completely safe from the rain. Easy set up after the first time. The directions aren't very complete.

I just love this tent! I am handicapped and use a wheel chair to get around and while I can stand up, I just can't walk well. So I bought this tent because I refuse to give up on as much of my outdoor activities as possible and it was on the smaller side, but not too small for me to handle.
The acid test came first in the set-up, which was easy (it's color-coded, etc) and I did it ALL, start to finish, sitting down (smaller, free-standing tents are great for this). The most difficult time I had with the whole process was getting the rain fly up there and then fitting it all back into the storage bag when I took it down (which wasn't even THAT hard).
The big next test was using it....which was awesome as well. I loved all the air/breeze that flows through it and the thing kept out the water during a rain storm and no seam sealer was used, though I will eventually do [...].
Ultimately, I just can't say enough good things about this well made, very cool tent. Thanks Columbia tent people (& Amazon)....for helping to keep me up north, camping out under the stars.

I bought this tent for my very first camping trip ever. I've never set up a tent nor camped out before and it could not have been easier. I hardly needed to look at the instructions and I had the tent set up within 15 minutes along with the help of my 9 year old. It was very sturdy, very comfortable. The temperature went down to about 40 during the night and with all vents and windows closed, we were very comfortable with a heavy blanket over us. All of the pockets inside the side allow for very convenient storage for flashlights and water bottles.

My boyfriend and I just took this tent out for my inaugural camping trip and we loved it. It rained on us the very first night, but we had the rain fly on and didn't get dripped on once! We didn't even have to use the seam sealer we bought before the trip. It's extremely easy to set up (a little confusing the first time, but it gets easier each time afterwards... we set it up in the living room when it arrived and then in the back yard for fun!) and take-down is a breeze. All the little accessories are pretty cool, too, and the carry bag is great. I can't wait to start a family and buy an even bigger tent to accommodate! :)

We went camping for the first time last summer and was new to the whole outdoors experience. Knowing the Columbia name, i purchased this from a retail store expecting it to be complicated to setup and such. I read through the directions twice just to make sure. When i arrived at the campsite, i didn't even look at the directions. It was made with good quality materials and has a good amount of ventilation with the two flaps open on the bottom of the tent. Optional gear holder on the top makes it convenient for calyum sticks, etc. It rained a few minutes while we were camping and it handled it pretty well. Overall, i'm very satisfied with this tent, and will buy another if i had to. FINAL NOTE: Easy to setup, very roomy, clear skylight for star gazing, and built with the camper in mind.

The tent was extremely easy to set up and it performed royally. We used it for the first time last week on Cape Bretton Island. It rained 4 out of the 6 days we were there and we stayed bone dry. There were torrential rains and gale-force winds, as well as thunder and lightning. What an initiation! Many tents had blown down overnight, but our cozy Ice Crest remained taut and DRY! Highly recommend!

I read reviews on about a dozen different tents. This one had the highest rating of them all and I can see why. It's a great tent.