They’re not built for heavy winds, and they certainly aren’t made to stand up to heavy snow. Despite what you may have read, you can absolutely ozark trail tents enjoy an outdoors experience in an Ozark Trail tent. The Ozark Trail Three Room Instant Cabin takes our top spot as the best Ozark Trail tent.
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. If you’re going on a backpacking trip, then size & weight of the tent are very important; in this case, you’ll probably want to get the regular size. There are a lot of customers saying the pole didn’t last long for the Coleman tents instant 8. The bad news is that there are no replacement parts, so if it breaks you’ll have to get a refund or an exchange. Not ideal if you’re planning to go on a backpacking trip where you carry your tent in your bag.
Cabin tents with vertical walls allow you to get nice and close to the edges of the shelter, making the most of the available floor space. However, something like the Ozark Trail 10 person 3 room tent will force you to get a little more creative, given the sloped curves of the walls. My personal favorite Ozark Trail tent is the 12-person, 3-room instant cabin tent. It provides a ton of space in an easy-to-carry package that sets up in minutes AND provides three rooms that give the entire gang loads of space to spread out.
The tent is spacious enough for above-average-sized users, with 72 inches of headroom and an enlarged dome shape that allows you to move around comfortably inside. Some users found that the material was a bit flimsy, particularly the fiberglass poles (which broke in strong winds). However, for the price, it’s a lightweight camping tent you’ll be glad to pack. During the nights when the sky is clear, you can roll back the rainfly and enjoy the view of the stars through the mesh tent.
The tent can also be used by two couples because it has two completely separated side rooms divided from the central room by two real walls that are sewn in. I have included this tent in my list of extra large family camping tents. Regarding best use, you have already seen it, this is an incredibly versatile product with many variants of using it, as a 4-person tent, as a 8-person tent, as a screenhouse, etc. You can use it as an annex protected space next to your family camping tent. Ozark Trail makes tents of all sizes, but we’ve found larger family camping tents to be their forte. This isn’t an instant tent, but ease of use is still a high point of this model thanks to the simple setup.
Again, not a deal-breaker, but don’t expect these tents to stand up to the same use and abuse as their premium alternatives from brands. We’ve also put together a handy buyer’s guide down at the bottom as a resource for shoppers who are new to the Ozark Trail brand, so make sure to check it out. There you’ll find all the info you could ever want on the materials, ozark trail canopy build quality, and weather-worthiness of these affordable tents. Every year, thousands of new campers get their first taste of the outdoors in an Ozark Trail tent. Their combination of space and affordability catches the eye of many campers, but the details on these shelters can be lacking. If you’re considering an Ozark Trail yourself, you’re in the right place.
Ozark Trail tents are rated as “water-resistant,” not waterproof. This means that in constant or heavy rain, the seams are likely to leak, and eventually, the fabric of the body will soak through as well. Fortunately, you can take additional measures to make your tent more weather resistant with a liberal application of a seam sealer and a DWR coating.
With its affordable price and spacious design, families at campgrounds and boondocks setting up their basecamps on public lands will probably be the most interested. It’s for people who like to travel heavy, who don’t mind bringing multiple coolers and maybe even a generator with them. It’s the kind of sturdy tent that I remember from my earliest memories of camping as a kid, plenty of room for air mattresses, folding cots, and all of your friends inside.