We, like some others, know that tents are NOT waterproof, so we sprayed the seams etc. with water replant. When we reached the beach everything went great, first night 30 mh winds. Next night still calm, took cover off and loved looking up at the night sky.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
Two hanging pockets plus loops for a ceiling hammock provide simple yet effective additional interior gear storage. The tent body simply clips onto a set of aluminum poles that dock into grommets at four corners of the tent. ozark trail canopy These now-common clip-style setups are generally intuitive and can be accomplished in minutes—certainly this was true of the Mineral King 3, as under good conditions one person pitched the tent in under five minutes.
If you, as the winning bidder (Buyer), do not provide sufficient funds or fail to retrieve your item(s) within the scheduled pick-up times, you may incur fees. Multiple instances of not paying or retrieving your items will result in a permanent block from the Equip-Bid site. Any bidder caught opening a new account will be charged an additional $50 with the above warnings. This is considered fraudulent bidding and is not tolerated.
However, it is good practice to inspect your tent at least once a week and ensure there is no damage, all the pegs are securely in the ground, and the fabric is as taut as it should be. UV damage is your most significant risk in locations with high summer temperatures. In exposed areas susceptible to gale-force winds, you must ensure that your tent stakes are securely pounded into the ground, as the tension they provide will enhance the structure’s overall strength. If you get a lot of snow in winter, you need to ensure it doesn’t get too heavy on the roof, which could eventually crush the frame under the weight. You will rarely see a fiberglass frame on a wall tent because fiberglass tent frames require some tension for them to provide support, whereas wall tent frames provide the support to create tension from the shell fabric. Flame-resistant canvas is super important if you plan to use a wood-burning stove inside your tent.
It got so hot one afternoon that we spent the day taking shifts in the car, cooling our photography equipment while monitoring ourselves for signs of heatstroke and dehydration. If tents can withstand those conditions, they’ll withstand just about anything. Nylon is also more susceptible to UV damage, which, as Howe pointed out, is a top tent killer. In the backcountry, campers are generally making camp each evening and then packing up again in the morning, whereas car campers generally leave their tents up for much longer periods of time, increasing the material’s UV exposure. (Howe suggested setting a tent up in the shade to prolong its life.) Polyester is stiffer and heavier but not as susceptible to UV damage, and it doesn’t absorb water like nylon does, Howe told us.
Having a Large Enough Vehicle / Proper Equipment – Please be cognizant of the size and/or quantity of items you are picking up. Please supply any and all equipment necessary to load out and/or secure your items. Bring a helper if you have accumulated multiple invoices or know you have a large/heavy item.
When pushed, most of those we talked to estimated five to 10 years, though the actual lifespan will vary widely depending on care and frequency of use (for more advice, read REI’s excellent tips). In conducting research for this guide, we heard multiple tales of careful campers who had been using the same tent for 15 years or more. We were surprised at first to see the Mineral King 3 come out on top. It was the only three-person tent—and therefore technically the smallest—in a test group that consisted primarily of four-person tents.