The Columbia Cougar Flats Tent is a very popular cabin tent among families looking for a large tent at an affordable price. This 2-room tent features a floored front screen room and a back bedroom.
Note to site visitors
Columbia evidently no longer manufactures the Cougar Flats model. Campetent recommends visitors searching for a tent with similar features consider these tents:
The rest of the Columbia Cougar Flats article is below...
The tent body dimensions are 10' wide by 15' deep by 86" high.
The more-than-7-foot-high ceiling will appeal to tall campers.
Main Features
D-shaped entry doors on the front side walls of the tent lead into the screen room, which is 10' wide by 7'6"' deep. A roll-down storm flap can be zipped closed over the upper mesh door windows to seal out wind and rain.
A large mesh floor-to-ceiling panel in the front wall of the screen room creates a picture window for viewing outside of the tent. A square roll-down storm panel over the front window closes with zippers along the sides and loops and toggles across the top.
The bathtub floor and sealable doors and window allow the screen room to be converted into a combo room that can be used both as living and a sleeping space.
An awning panel extend from the front of the tent over the picture window. The awning canopy attaches to a frame eave crossbar underneath the rainfly and is supported at the front by two vertical poles. The awning allows the picture window to remain open in the rain, offering a view from the screenroom while waiting out the weather.
The awning canopy also provides a sheltered spot for campers to sit outside of the tent in fair weather or light rain.
2 Room Tent
A sewn-in divider wall with two side by side doors runs across the center of the tent. The D-shaped doors lead to the back bedroom and roll to the center and tie off to stay open. These doors allow for easy access and ventilation between the front and back rooms.
The Columbia Cougar Flats back bedroom floor dimensions are 10' wide by 7'6" deep.
A removable divider curtain can further divide the back bedroom into 2 sleeping chambers, each with it's own door to the screenroom.
In the bedroom, a bay window protrudes from each opposite side wall. The top of the bay window overhangs the screen, allowing these hooded windows to be left open in the rain.
The cantilevered bay windows also provide more privacy when open than standard windows.
Each window has a roll down storm flap that can be zipped up to close off the bedroom from the wind.
Other Features
Outside of the tent, a guyline holds the bay windows in place.
An organizer pocket is sewn into the seam at the base of each bay window.
Below each bay window is a hooded vent, to allow fresh air into the bedroom at the floor level. These vents are also designed to be left open in the rain, if desired.
On the back wall of the bedroom is a large square window with a roll down storm flap. The storm flap zips up on the sides and uses loops and toggles across the top for closure.
A gear loft suspends across the ceiling of the back bedroom to keep small camping items off of the floor.
A Camp Port (e-Port) allows a 120V extension cord to pass through the wall into the tent.
The half fly, along with the large front mesh screen, back windows and vents, make the tent quite comfortable in warm weather.
The side by side doors in the divider wall open wide to allow a lot of ventilation between the 2 rooms.
All the mesh in the walls can be closed off by zippered storm flaps, making the tent more suitable for some spring and fall camping.
The Cougar Flats is a large tent and has non-closable ceiling mesh, so it may not retain heat well in cool weather. Campers may need to take extra measures to stay warm on cool evenings.
The half rainfly partially covers the upper tent wall, allowing the Cougar Flats to perform better in wind-driven rain.
A separate awning canopy extends from the front of the tent and permits the front screen room mesh panel to be kept open in vertical rain, offering a view and ventilation.
Taped rainfly seams reduce the amount of end-user work to prepare the tent for camping.
The rainfly and tent wall fabric is 800 mm coated polyester. When properly seam sealed, the tent should perform adequately in the rain.
A bathtub floor provides good protection from standing water.
With 2 side doors in the front screen room, campers can choose the best door to use in the rain to minimize the amount of water that gets into the tent.
Steel wall poles provide good support in moderate to strong winds. The tent, of course, should be securely guyed out to protect it in the wind.
The 150 square feet of floorspace is rated to sleep up to 8.
Depending on whether the screen room is used for sleeping, the Cougar Flats should comfortably sleep about 3 to 5 adults or a larger family with young children.
The vertical walls allow for raised mattresses and cots.
The only exit doors from the tent are on each side wall of the screenroom, so campers in the bedroom will need to make their way through the screenroom to exit the tent.
Parents with young children will appreciate the location of the doors, because children will need to pass from the bedroom into the screen room before leaving the tent, making it easier to keep track of them.
This cabin dome style tent has 6 steel vertical legs (19mm = 3/4" diameter) along the walls and corners to support the walls of the tent and 4 flexed fiberglass poles (12.5mm = 1/2" diameter) to support the ceiling canopy.
The ceiling poles attach to the wall poles with hubs.
At 54 pounds, the Columbia Cougar Flats Tent is heavy, but a wheeled carrying case is included, allowing campers to transport the tent like travel luggage.
Pictures of the tent appear to show a ground-level perimeter floor seam, but tent owners say that the tent floor performs well in some standing water (puddles).
According to product literature from the manufacturer, this tent has been wind tested to 36 mph, but it is not warranted against wind.
When setting up a cabin dome tent, the ceiling panel is formed first:
Thread 2 long fiberglass poles through diagonal sleeves in the ceiling of the tent. Flex the fiberglass poles and insert into hub connectors that are attached to the edge of the ceiling fabric, tensioning it to form a shallow dome ceiling panel.
2 shorter fiberglass pole are threaded through sleeves that run across the middle of the ceiling panel, then flexed and inserted into hub connectors. The ceiling panel is now fully tensioned.
It is a good idea to lay the rainfly across the ceiling panel at this point before proceeding with the next step:
Raise one side of the ceiling panel and tent body fabric, stand the upright wall poles along the walls, insert the poles into the hub connectors in the ceiling panel and then connect the other end of the upright poles to the tent base. Repeat with the opposite side of the tent.
The tent is now self standing.
Attach the rainfly cords to the tent base to tension the fly.
Use the small fiberglass rods to set up the bay windows.
Attach the front awning canopy to the pole frame crossbar above the picture window and support the awning at the other end with the 2 vertical poles.
Conclusion
The Columbia Cougar Flats II Family Cabin Dome Tent is probably the most popular family cabin tent on the market. Many families praise the tent. The steel frame resists wind well, and the tent offers a lot of ventilation on warm nights.
Disclaimer
Please note that Campetent does not own this tent model. Campetent strives to research and to provide accurate information for site visitors, but cannot guarantee every detail.
Tent models are subject to feature changes over time. Tent campers should always perform due diligence to verify any important features before purchasing a tent.
The author hopes that the information provided in this article will go a long way towards that goal.
This tent is not rated for wind. In moderate to strong winds, campers themselves will need to judge when the tent has reached its limit in resisting the forces of nature.
The tent has a limited warranty that covers defects in materials and workmanship. As with all tents, campers should carefully examine the materials and workmanship and make sure that they are satisfied before using the tent.