Finding a small, light tent is the logical approach when you’re backpacking. But with car camping—the industry term for what most people consider just camping—you’ll likely be parking next to your campsite and unloading. If you won’t be carrying your tent more than a couple hundred feet, more space means more comfort (as well as more room for your stuff).
A full rain cover, two vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole structure make this the best choice for couples who want to get outside in any weather. It’s pricey, though, and unless the other couples’ tents we recommend, it doesn’t include a footprint. Great for backyard overnights, this simple dome-style tent is for anyone who doesn’t want to spend more than $150 on a tent but also doesn’t want to buy another one next year. It has a partial rain fly, but only one door and no vestibule.
The set-up was understandably a few steps shorter, which is always nice when setting up in the dark. More than once in the dark I’ve attached a rain fly upside down and we had to restart that particular step. This tent was close to foolproof when it came to the rain fly because it was already connected. The first step is to find a nice flat piece of ground and get all six of the corners staked out. When it’s done, the tent should have a nice even hexagonal shape.
The length of the Ozark Trail tent is about 13 feet and 9 inches, while the width is about 9 feet and 11 inches, so slightly smaller than the marketed dimensions of 14 by 10 feet. The lowest height in the tent, which is at the four corners, is about 65 inches. This is slightly taller than my height, so I could stand up everywhere inside the Ozark Trail Tent, even at the corners. The entire Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent takes about 10 minutes to set up, when my brother and I were setting it up together (2 people). 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).
One could, in theory, purchase a new Ozark canopy every year (which they might need to!) and still come out ahead over the years vs. purchasing a more expensive alternative. Ultimately, the good design for this product was that it was sized right for what I needed, both in dimensions and weight. Not too small, but not too large (and thus wasteful) – a Goldilocks design. After all, I had to be sensitive to weight as we ozark trail chair were required to carry our own water for 10 miles as there were no options for filtering during that stretch. In the following paragraphs I share just a few design features that, in my opinion, make this a well-designed product. Usually I share a 2- or 3-person tent when backpacking with others to split up the weight, but as mentioned we each needed to be self-contained so I brought my 1-person tent from Ozark Trail.
If you’re expecting no rain at all, this is a great, reasonably-priced tent. 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. Also, I noticed that some ozark trail chair water was already seeping through the blue fabric at the bottom of the tent, and the fabric is pretty much soaked. Also, when it’s raining, there’s hardly any ventilation. There are no vents in this Ozark Trail 10-Person tent at all.