Pros The Coleman Hooligan 3 Person Tent tent is one of the most robust recreational camping tents on the market. It is completely waterproof with excellent ventilation and plenty of space. It has a relatively large vestibule, and it can withstand heavy winds due to its well thought-out and robust design.

Cons The robustness of the Coleman Hooligan is also its weakness. It is unfortunately too heavy for a backpacking tent. It takes at least twenty to thirty minutes to set up, which is a bit much when it comes to setting up a backpacking tent. Securing the fly requires 13 stakes, which means that setting up the tent on dry, hard, or rocky soil can be a hindrance.

The Coleman Hooligan Three Person tent is a double wall tent. The inner wall is made of mesh and nylon, with the mesh providing excellent ventilation, while the nylon gives structure to the inner wall. The second wall is a water resistant fly.  The fly covers the whole tent, but leaves a little space for the air to circulate at the bottom of the tent.

The double wall means that you don’t have to worry about condensation. The rainfly keeps the cold air out, while the mesh allows the air to refresh and circulate. The floor of the tent wraps up the sides of the inner wall, this is called a bathtub design. This is called a bathtub design. The floor is completely waterproof, you don’t need to buy an additional tarp unless you want to protect the floor against the damage the ground could do to it.

The tent measures 8′ x 7′ (2.44 m x 2.13 m). Its internal height is 59”(1.49 m). It can definitely sleep three people. The tent has a big enough vestibule to leave your backpack in it, so your equipment will stay clean and dry, and there is a pocket on the inside of the tent. The door is big enough to put an airbed into the tent.

The fly of the tent is pretty big. It covers the whole tent, but you need to guy it out to make it stay on the tent. This requires 13 stakes – which all come with the tent – which will add robustness to your tent. It will be able to withstand fierce windstorms. However setting up the tent with the rainfly is a pretty lengthy process. It can take up to 20-30 minutes. It is not complicated – the instructions are even sewn into the carrying bag – it just takes a long time due to all the stakes you have to push into the ground.

The inner tent is self-supporting, so you can set up the tent and use it without using the guyouts and stakes. However you can’t have the rainfly on the tent in such a state, so make sure that you do this only in clear weather. Also make sure that there aren’t many people around because everything that happens in the tent will be visible from the outside due to the mesh parts of the inner wall.

Unfortunately the large number of stakes required make this tent too heavy for backpacking. It weights around 10 lbs (4.54 kg). If there are two of you going on a hike you can split the guyouts between yourselves, and you can manage to carry the tent with you that way. However there are better backpacking tents on the market at the moment, like the Kelty Grand Mesa, or the Marmot Limelight. I recommend this tent for car, motorcycle or bike trips, as you won’t have to worry about the weight of the tent if you have a vehicle to carry it with.

Conclusion

This tent would make an excellent backpacking tent, if it wasn’t that heavy. However it still has plenty of positive features. It is big enough to support three people, it is completely waterproof, it has excellent ventilation. The great design of the vestibule is a huge plus. It is big enough to store your backpacks, and it can be closed with a convenient zipper flap.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the Coleman Hooligan 3 Tent for car, bike or motorcycle trips. Basically for any scenario where you don’t have to carry it for a long time on your own.

If you are looking for a lighter backpacking tent, check out the Kelty Grand Mesa.