I feel empowered knowing that even when I am tired, I can still push myself to do more. So, for those of you who are enticed by the cheap prices of slant leg canopies, we’re here to warn you to not waste your money – even if it only costs you $75 or $100. I have a Sawer Squeeze—obviously—and will store water in a 1 L Platypus and a 2.5 L Osprey bladder in my pack.
The canopy fabric is made of a lightweight denier polyester, offering water resistant features and 50+ UPF, which we love. Being protected from the suns harmful UVB rays is probably why you wanted a canopy tent in the first place, and this Ozark Trail tent meets all criteria in this department. The one complaint we have is that there is no vents in the fabric at the peak to release the build up of hot air under the canopy. Most new tents incorporate this ventilated canopy design to increase airflow and reduce the trapping of hot air, helping to keep those in the shade cooler and more comfortable. Slant leg canopy tents are cheaper than straight leg tents because they use less material. Aluminum tent legs not only have a larger leg diameter (1” for steel vs. 2” for aluminum) but the thickness (or gauge) of aluminum is twice that of steel.
For a pack, I went with the Osprey Eja 58–though, since it’s a small, it is only 55 liters big. I wanted to have a pack that had room between my back and the back of the pack to prevent chafing and mitigate sweating. It does a nice job of weight distribution and has a good amount of straps and zippered pockets. My one qualm is how small the hip belt pockets are, but I plan to pick up a phone pouch at REI to attach to the strap to help with this. I just graduated from college and am now making the final preparations for my thru-hike as I unpack and sort through all my stuff at my Mom’s house. Moving is one of my least favorite things, and it is made especially hard because I’ll never move back into my college dorm or be an undergraduate student again.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m wearing Altra Lone Peaks for shoes and will pack a pair of Crocs for camp shoes. For socks, I’m bringing three pairs of Darn Toughs and a pair of Injinji toe liners to prevent blisters. Yes, toe socks are silly, but I’d rather be silly than in pain. Like many other hikers, my sleeping ozark trail wagon quilt is from Enlightened Equipment. I’m also bringing a lightweight liner from Cocoon, as I imagine many nights it will be much too warm to sleep in a quilt. While I’m sure this list will change somewhat during my hike, I wanted to make an initial record, as I found looking at other hikers’ gear useful in my preparations.
It’s like we are watching spring unfold slowly before our very eyes. It feels like winter was still holding on, not ready to let go just yet. We both stay bundled up as this side of the mountain is in the shade. A zesty twist on our milder hummus, we mix our sprouted garbanzo beans with local chili peppers to create this fiery dip.
The canopy folds down to 48.75″ in length and easily fits into the sleeve bag with a pocket for the walls, stakes and guy ropes. One thing we love about Ozark Trail canopy tents are the accessories that can be added to the shelters. These include sidewalls, weight bags, and a host of other great add-ons that can really increase the use and versatility of the canopy tent. Perhaps our two favorites are camping tent additions that connect to the frame of the shelter and leverage the stability of the 10×10 frame to support a camping tent structure. The legs are locked into place with old school metal push button locks, something you won’t see on many modern pop up tents now-a-days. These push locks get very difficult to use over time, especially if the tent is used on the beach and exposed to sand and saltwater, causing rust build up.
Also, when people I know ask me what I’m bringing, I can divert them here—I find that once I write something, I dislike regurgitating the same opinions. I’ll likely make another post when I’m done hiking detailing what I like and don’t like after being used for months. The tent sites that are waypointed on FarOut all ozark trail wagon seem to have a fire ring and chairs made out of flat rocks circling. There is space for 2-3 tents here, so we chose the flattest spot with the least amount of poison ivy to set up our tent. A frequent reader of our site put the lightweight Cool Cabana pop up beach canopy to the test during a West Coast vacation.