A mild wind came along and the screen house is so “sturdy”, that it was knocked down and one of the corner braces broke. We have a love-hate ozark trail canopy relationship with this screen tent. But, the slightest wind or rain and the whole thing comes down because of flimsy roof design.
Childhood memories of failures with Tinker Toys came flooding back. Now and then I walk into a store, it tends to be named ___Mart, and buy something I know is going to bring nothing but grief and heartbreak. A Pavlovian reaction to super-size doses of advertising?
Generally, we like clip-on designs better, since those are easier to put together, but in the case of the Base Camp models, the sleeves add extra tension and stability throughout the tent fabric. There are also two poles that arch over each doorway and down the sides of the tent to add extra shape and support; these attach to the tent body with clips. The rain fly has an additional tent pole, too, to support the vestibule. Though all of these shelters are self-standing and staking them may not be strictly necessary in calm weather, it’s wise to always do so in case the wind picks up unexpectedly.
Find something simple to set up, reliable, durable and with product support. Great product, however, like everyone else, unable to locate replacement parts. We have the majority of the parts, including the screen room still intact. All come with the original bag that still looks new.
Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers has field-tested and rated the top tents and shelters. It take 2 people at least to set this screen house up. I am now ready to put up the screen house on my back patio so my grandchildren can play without the bugs getting them or the sun burning them along with eating out there.
There we encountered mild temperatures in the 50s and 60s. A later check of the weather at nearby Point Mugu Naval Air Station confirmed top recorded wind gusts of 40 miles per hour. We later used the shelters on group trips at Wheeler Gorge Campground near Ojai, California, and at the La Jolla group campsite at Point Mugu, as well as on a trip to the El Mirage Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. With all that in mind, we found more than a dozen tents that met our criteria. One mad idea often begets another, and that is how this $34.95 purchase came about.
I think you need to do some redesign on the doors, make them longer or something. We love the size of the tent and we used it for a week with no problems. The second time we set it up one of the poles snapped and now I can’t find where I can get replacement poles. If you want a six-person tent made with high-quality materials but a traditional profile, we recommend the similarly priced Big Agnes Spicer Peak 6, or Nemo’s Aurora Highrise 6.