I Tested the Ozark Trail 10-Person Cabin Tent Review

Trailspace.com is not affiliated with Ozark Trail in any way and cannot provide customer service for your Ozark Trail gear. Overall, I can’t say that I was very impressed with the quality of this Ozark Trail 10-Person Family Cabin Tent. I even noticed some black stuff on my hands once I took it out of the box, which was weird. The 14 steel stakes that came with the tent are just your standard tent stakes, nothing impressive.

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. Again, Ozark Trail tents are mainly fair weather camping tents (so you won’t be hiking into the backcountry with them) which means weight and packed size aren’t a big priority. Large dome tents are also an option, and although they’re a little less flashy, they have some perks of their own. First off, dome tents are typically less expensive since they have fewer total parts and less sophisticated frames. Second, dome tents tend to fare better in bad weather because they’re rounded shapes are more aerodynamic.

The carry bag seems to be of okay quality, and it can be made bigger for easier packing up. It wasn’t too difficult to get the tent, poles and all other accessories back into the carry bag. To set up the Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent, first slide the 3 fiberglass poles through the roof pole sleeves. The poles are not color-coded, but the pole sleeves are.

I reached the spur to McCormack Lake late in the day and decided to carry on, maybe another mile or so. I reached an overlook of the river which had a picnic table, and went off-trail uphill until I found a passably flat spot for the tent. My gear and I arrived safely in St. Louis, and soon I was picked up by Spiffyguy who was my ride to the southern end of the trail. I do not see any way I could have hiked the Ozark Trail without help on this. There isn’t any easy way to get to the southern end (or even the northern end).

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. Despite what you may have read, you can absolutely enjoy an outdoors experience in an Ozark Trail tent.

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. Oddly enough, Ozark Trail’s most basic, base bones shelter takes the title of most ozark trail canopy durable. We chose the Ozark Trail Clip & Camp because unlike larger cabins with plastic hubs and countless poles, this traditional two-pole dome has the fewest number of parts that can potentially fail. 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.

Other perks of the Three Room Instant Cabin include an instant tent design with pre-attached poles for easy set-up and dual ground-level vents designed to work with a tent air conditioner. We just went on our first camping trip and had a 2 person tent. It was fine, but this one looks very spacious and easy to set up! All the windows and doors also have to be closed, because otherwise, the rain would drip right into the tent. Even in light rain, the rain does get on to the window and door mesh, so it’s best to keep them full closed. The easiest models to pitch are pretty much always “instant tent” shelters, which use a system of preattached poles than only need to be unfolded and locked into place.

You’ll save $100 on this Ozark Trail Hazel Creek cabin tent, now $130. The tent sleeps 14 people, fits up to four queen-sized airbeds and has cathedral ceilings for plenty of room to walk around. ozark trail wagon This Ktaxon pop-up tent sleeps three to four people and is UV-protected and waterproof. It’s easy enough for one person to set up and weighs just 3.3 pounds, so it can easily be transported.

Finally, attach all the pole clips, place the rainfly over the Ozark Trail tent, secure it, and stake out the entire tent. The 2 green pole sleeves are for the longer diagonal poles (with 9 fiberglass segments), and the 1 blue pole sleeve is the for the shorter pole (with 5 fiberglass segments). Jayden and I quickly set up our new tent before an approaching storm.

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. Ozark Trail is all about big family camping tents on a budget, and few are as big and budget-friendly as the Ozark Trail 10 Person Two-Room Cabin.