The BEST 8 Person Instant Tents 2024 Core vs Coleman vs Ozark Trail

Second, Ozark Trail tents are affordable because they use very basic materials. All Ozark Trail poles are either steel alloy or fiberglass, and the fabrics used throughout the tent are typically on the thinner side. 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. Strategically placed cut-outs in the rain fly correspond with the mesh ceiling panels of the tent to let you watch the night sky at any time. The ceiling panels can be zipped up at any time, allowing you to control light, airflow, privacy, and how dry you stay when it rains.

This Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent has a packed size of 29 by 18 by 13 inches. For a size comparison, here’s what it looks like beside a Coleman 2-Person Sundome Tent, as well as a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle, and it weighs about 30 pounds for everything. The 14 steel stakes that came with the tent are just your standard tent stakes, nothing impressive. The 6 wall poles are made of steel, I think, but they’re probably not stainless steel, because I found some rust on one of these steel poles. So after washing your tent and I also do rinse off the poles, do let them dry first before storing it away.

ozark trail instant cabin

The zippers worked fine for the windows, but kept snagging on the door because of this rain cover. My other tents with similar designs did not have this serious of a snagging problem. The stitching especially around the doors and windows don’t seem that well done either, and I found a lot of excess threads as well.

I really liked how almost everything was pre-attached; this includes the pre-attached poles, pre-attached pole clips, and the 4 pre-attached guylines. I bought the Ozark Trail Dark Rest Instant Cabin 6-Person Camping Tent from a friend to make this review, and I managed to test its ease of use, dark rest technology, quality, and loads more. This makes for superior circulation, which is also customizable, as the windows and ceiling panels ozark trail shower tent can be zipped up to regulate how much air passes through the tent. 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. The Gazelle is the biggest and heaviest out of the 4; you’ll need a big car to fit it, so make sure you measure the space you have in your car beforehand.

I’m sure this tent is good during a wind storm and rain/condensation issues. The Base Camp tents include a low side vent and multiple stuff pockets on the walls and ceiling, which are made of 75D polyester treated with 1500mm of polyurethane waterproofing. Note that these tents are strictly meant for car camping; the Base Camp 4 and the Base Camp 6 weigh 16 and 21 pounds, respectively, so you won’t want to carry either one very far. Coleman makes no dedicated footprints for its tents—the idea being that the polyethylene is tough enough not to need one. (Still, we suggest that you buy a groundsheet.) The tent has two small, internal pockets—fewer than on any of our other picks—and a loop at the ceiling center to hang a small, lightweight light.

The large size also means you can fit 2 queen size mattresses inside it. Ozark provides an optional curtain partition (can be removed or rolled up) that divides the tent into two. While a large number of tents have a mesh ceiling to keep air circulating while allowing for stargazing, this is usually negated once the rain fly has been attached over the tent. This model from Ozark differs by working with the rain fly to give you a skylight experience while inside the tent. The Gazelle also comes with an included rainfly that you can put over the mesh roof.

It uses high-quality materials such as aluminum poles, breathable mesh, and water-resistant polyester fabric, and it comes with a full fly and a footprint. The Tungsten 4’s larger size accounts for the higher price tag (about $40 more), but campers who would like that extra room may find the expense worthwhile. The Kelty Wireless 6 is a spacious tent that is easy to pitch, and it offers solid weather protection and durability for a reasonable price. Like the Mineral King 3, it has a simple, dome-style design that maximizes livability and minimize headaches.

It will comfortably fit two queen air beds or up to 11 campers in sleeping bags on the floor. Keep yourself organized and connected with the included two storage pockets, gear loft and electrical cord access. If the Mineral King 3 is out of stock, or if you’d like a slightly larger tent, we recommend the Marmot Tungsten 4. The Tungsten 4 shares many of the Mineral King 3’s best features, and provides 10 square feet of additional living space as well as excellent weather protection—as long as you set it up properly. Like our top pick, the Tungsten 4 is a sturdy, two-door dome-style tent that can be deployed in about 5 minutes.

The material of the tent body and rainfly are made of 68D coated polyester fabric. Apart from the roof though, there’s not a lot of mesh from the 5 windows and the door, because they’re not very big. This Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent can accommodate 10 single sleeping pads or sleeping bags, and here’s what having 10 pads in this 10-person tent looks like. Because it’s ridiculously inexpensive, the quality, design and weather protection isn’t the best, though I think it’ll work decently in summer (without rain, of course). When you’re not sleeping, you can still keep the rooms open and fold back the doors for a lovely roomy and airy feel. With the versatility of 3 rooms, we love how well this tent would work in a group or family camping situation.

That doesn’t mean they all leak when it rains or collapse when it’s windy, but they simply aren’t built for bad weather. Light wind and rain should be fine, but you’ll want to take some steps to prepare for both (more on that below). 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. There are three of these large floor-level windows along the walls of the tent, plus the giant mesh doorway that can be left open in good weather. 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.