And on top of that, all these windows need to be closed on a rainy day. For a 10-person tent, I would expect the tent to have at least 2 doors, 1 on each opposite wall of the tent, and both my WeatherMaster 10-Person Tent and my Coleman 10-Person Instant Tent have 2 doors each. I also noticed that the fabric of most of my Coleman Tents tend to stay dry in light to moderate ozark trail tent rain, and would only start getting wet after 45 minutes to 1 hour of super heavy rainfall. As for my Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent, it was able to stay dry only for about 10 minutes of mostly light rain and some moderate rainfall, not even heavy rain. In the following paragraphs I share just a few design features that, in my opinion, make this a well-designed product.
The vents can be staked out and kept open all the time. The inner space is organized that you have two rooms if you wish, separated by the removable divider shown in the picture above. In such a configuration, each of the two rooms has 3 windows, its own entrance door from the screen room, and its own gear storage pockets set on the wall. When the divider is removed you can see the space shown above. The frame with all poles is preattached to the tent, you only have extra 3 poles for the screen room. For family camping, this is a tent for parents and up to 4 kids maximum.
Livability describes the overall day-to-day experience of owning and using a tent, and tents that are more comfortable, convenient, and easy to use score the highest in terms of livability. This shelter may be the least expensive in our roundup, but it still packs some sweet features worth noting. Our favorite is the “storage locker” which gives you a protected place to store items like muddy shoes outside the tent, but can also be accessed from inside using a second zipper. It’s a great spot to stash your “middle of the night bathroom break” shoes and anything else you don’t want taking up space inside the tent. Oddly enough, Ozark Trail’s most basic, base bones shelter takes the title of most 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.
True, I wasn’t able to remove the rain fly to watch the stars or let the wind ventilate my tent, but I was able to enjoy the day hikes without any sort of worry. In essence, I had committed to the permanent rainfly option by default and there was a certain contentedness that came with that. There’s a lot to love here, but as the Ozark Trail Three Room Instant Cabin is still a budget department store tent, you’ll want to be aware of a few shortcomings.
Screen rooms, shade awnings, storage vestibules, and privacy dividers are also great examples of livability-added features. 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. The one exception to the rule here is for the larger cabin-style tents, especially those with an “instant tent” design that uses pre-attached poles. These shelters tend to be much heavier and bulkier when packed up due to the frame design, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve got room to transport them in your vehicle and store them in your home before buying. Second, Ozark Trail tents are affordable because they use very basic materials.
The gear organizer is a nice addition here, and you also have an electrical cord access port. All the windows are with panels and mesh, for privacy and protection. The carry bag is nicely designed and you can see it ozark trail chair below. There are two vents close the floor, one for each room. This in combination with the mesh on the ceiling and with numerous windows with mesh is a guarantee that ventilation cannot be an issue in this tent.
The fabrics are often thinner and less technical (regular polyester rather than ripstop, etc.), and the poles are pretty much always made from cost-saving materials like fiberglass and thin steel alloy. Yes, we all want a big spacious tent with room for plush sleeping quarters, but we also recommend looking for the little features that can elevate your camping experience. Interior storage is a great example, as all those little mesh pockets help keep things organized and off the floor.