The first was an early February trip to Indian Cove Campground, in Joshua Tree National Park, where daytime temperatures in the high 70s plunged to the mid-30s at night. (A later check of the weather at nearby Point Mugu Naval Air Station confirmed that the recorded winds had topped 40 miles per hour.) A third trip brought us to Wheeler Gorge Campground, outside Ojai, California, in April 2016. A year later, in early April 2017, we took another group trip to Point Mugu, in an effort to evaluate three additional family tents.
No Ozark Trail tent is perfect, but as far as full-size family camping tents go, this is the one to beat. The shape of your canvas wall tent will impact things like headroom, floor space, how you can position your camping cot, and how it performs in extreme weather. Wall tents are naturally very boxy because of their straight sides and vertical walls, which are great for making the most of your space.
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. With that being said, Ozark Trail does a good job of seam-sealing their tents from the factory in most cases, and with a little help, these budget-shelters can keep you dry when unexpected rain hits. 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. 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. There you’ll find all the info you could ever want on the materials, build quality, and weather-worthiness of these affordable tents.
The Marmot’s two brow poles create an especially effective awning over the tent door, so very little water gets in during a person’s entry and exit. And you can manipulate the vestibule flaps to act as wind shields or capture air for increased ventilation. We timed the one-person setup for each tent, and we later clocked the time one person took to break down the tent and get it back in its bag. We also repeatedly zipped and unzipped doors and windows, looking for annoying snags.
The Ozark Trail 9 Person Cabin shares the same shortcomings as the other discount cabins found in the Ozark Trail lineup, most notably being its weather protection and durability. We also don’t recommend this tent for high winds because although all the poles are steel, Ozark Trail uses a thin-walled alloy that can bend under stress and plastic hubs that we wouldn’t trust in serious storms. As far as fairweather shelters go, however, this one may be the best value in terms of livability for your money. We hope you have enjoyed this guide to the best canvas wall tents and can see why we recommended the tents that we did.
The tent is open at the top with a weather rain fly that fits over the dome. The fly is so small it allows rain to blow up under and then runs into the tent. My family and I have used it a total of 3 times and the seams have ripped. There is no way we can camp with this tent, if it would rain it would ruin everything. Not sure what season our tents were but, we had to get 4 of them. I called North Pole (the makers of Ozark Trail tents) not to get much help!
The takeaway here is that polyester is arguably the better fabric for car campers, who often pitch their tents in a sunny spot. Finding the smallest, lightest tent that meets your needs is the logical approach when you’re backpacking. ozark trail canopy But with car camping, you’ll likely be parking right 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).
The tent is fully freestanding with its 6 leg poles, but you have stakes included and do not miss using them, this is a boxy and tall structure, not very stable in side winds. The tent comes with a gear loft included, it attaches to the highest area of the ceiling as shown below, so you can store some small items there. We must have had some wind but not tornado force/ hurricane force winds. I just wish who I need to contact to get a new tent shell and two end poles that are made of sturdy material would contact me and make good of it. If you a experienced camper like myself you would know that you have to use a tarp to cover your tent so that the water does not get inside when it rains. And you have to make sure that the zipper is closed well and also sprayed with a water repellent.
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. First, although this is an instant ozark trail canopy tent, the unique layout and integrated awning make setup a little more involved than most. Second, the tall vertical walls and “L” shape make it about as far from aerodynamic as they come.