Yes, we all want a big spacious tent with room for plush sleeping quarters, but we also recommend looking for the little features that can elevate your camping experience. Interior storage is a great example, as all those little mesh pockets help keep things organized and off the floor. Screen rooms, shade awnings, storage vestibules, and privacy dividers are also great examples of livability-added features. These features all work together to make a tent feel more like your home away from home and less like a makeshift shelter in the woods.
The assembled weight of this tent is 13.5 pounds, and it’s suitable for all seasons. The bathtub floor is common in most double-wall camping tents, so named because they have an inner tent with bug netting and an outer rainfly. The one downside with integrated rain flies is the lack of ventilation and temperature control. We had great weather – not too hot and not too cold – but it did rain for about 5 minutes. My friend chose to not put up his rain fly betting on the perfect weather to continue while enjoying the stars at night. During those five minutes of rain, he was a little more stressed as the risk of a wet sleeping bag had not been completely mitigated and he rushed back to the campground.
Another smart feature of the backpacking tents is a large door. If you’re camping in an area where sundown is past your bedtime, the Dark Rest Technology can help you sleep. With a center ozark trail tent height of 78 inches, you can move around comfortably inside the tent. Set up the two included room dividers to further help to keep things organized—or for a little more privacy.
The Ozark trail needs to be tied down with the guy lines to remain durable. If anything goes wrong, you can replace the poles with replacement parts (around $20), and I recommend buying an extra pole just to be safe. But if you only plan to use the tent one or twice a year, that’s probably not something you’ll have to worry about. The Ozark Trail is the smallest tent, making it easier to fit in a small car. The CORE is the lightest tent among the 4, making it easier to carry around to the campground.
The three-room cabin is definitely one of Ozark Trail’s more expensive models though, so if you’re shopping on a budget, there are plenty of other models worth considering. The Clip & Camp dome is particularly affordable, and also happens to be one of the most dependable models the brand currently makes. The main thing to know going into an Ozark Trail purchase is that you need to do your due diligence not to overstress the materials because a heavy hand can absolutely damage them. Take time to inspect your tent when you first get it (damages from shipping are common), and don’t ever “force” anything when setting up or tearing down your shelter. Having room to spread out inside a tent is great, but unless it’s after dark or raining, chances are you won’t be spending any more time inside your shelter than you absolutely have to.
My kids got older and we were not getting out camping as often anymore, so I gave it away to another family to use to create memories with. It was still in great condition and had lots of use left in it. I was super happy with the tent, especially for what we paid for it. All of the 8 person tents included in this guide are solid choices, and which one will be the best for you depends on your specific needs. This means sleeping in a camping bag, with almost no space between people, and it might mean sleeping with heads next to feet.
This is a six-person instant cabin tent, featuring one large single room measuring 10′ x 9′. It can fit two airbeds and has a center height of 66 inches. This tent features three windows and ceiling panels as well as a large door. The assembled weight of this tent is 16.81 ounces, and it’s suitable for all seasons.
With that being said, Ozark Trail does a good job of seam-sealing their tents from the factory in most cases, and with a little help, these budget-shelters can keep you dry when unexpected rain hits. Take time to treat the entire tent with a DWR coating like Nikwax (not just the rainfly) and never leave the house without a tent repair kit in case disaster strikes. Shape wise most Ozark Trail tents either come in a cabin or dome shape. Cabin tents typically have more room inside to stretch out thanks to their high ceilings and vertical walls, so most Ozark Trail shoppers will likely want to focus on cabin tents. It’s a cool tent all around, but our favorite feature has to be the 360-degree views delivered courtesy of this yurt’s giant mesh windows.