They’re not built for heavy winds, and they certainly aren’t made to stand up to heavy snow. Second, Ozark Trail tents are affordable because they use very basic materials. All Ozark Trail poles are either steel alloy or fiberglass, and the fabrics used throughout the tent are typically on the thinner side. Again, not a deal-breaker, but don’t expect these tents to stand up to the same use and abuse as their premium alternatives from brands.
The vertical sidewalls also mean you’re getting the entire 100 square feet of space to use. This screen shelter also has a super high center height at 7’8’’ and comes with a loop for a lantern in the middle. Lastly, the Core Instant Screen House Canopy Tent has sloped walls, which I don’t love because it reduces the amount of usable space inside the tent. This screen house is easy to set up, but note that it might be worth watching a video on how to fold it back into a disk shape.
The Ozark Trail Three Room Instant Cabin takes our top spot as the best Ozark Trail tent. With room for 12 and nearly seven-foot ceilings, it checks all our boxes for a big family tent, but even as cabin shelters go, this one is special. 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.
It also has a rain fly for strong protection against wind and rain and comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The skirt (sometimes called a drape) is a solid piece of polyester that lines the bottom of the screen house and kind of looks like an extra flap all the way around. Read the manufacturer’s details and reviews left by other customers to get an idea of how long it will take to set up your screen house. Finally, the interior size of the tent is relatively small at 64 square feet.
Connect the ends of the center and side poles of your shelter. Step 1 – Lay Out the Screenhouse and PolesSelect a smooth, level site and spread out your screen house. Sort the poles by number and connect the sections together.
If you’re willing to spend a few extra bucks (emphasis on few), the Ozark Trail 9-Person Cabin with a screen room gives some added livability at a similar price point. 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.
Dome-shaped shelters may have shorter sidewalls as well. This shape of screen house is best for those who camp in rainy or windy areas. Dome-shaped screen houses simply have a rounded design. The rounded design of the structure helps buffet wind and rain off the roof of the screen house.
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. Layout wise is virtually identical to the Core Instant Cabin we evaluated for our 10 person tent roundup, but delivers those same massive interior dimensions for about $100 less. 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. You don’t need a screen house for camping, but they can dramatically increase your comfort level if you intend to camp in a buggy area. Regardless of the shape, the straight wall design is nice because the height is uniform across the entire footprint of the screen house.
A tent is designed to be slept in by one or more people and almost always features a floor. Often, there will be a YouTube video tutorial on setting up your model of screen ozark trail sun shelter house if you need some extra help. The EAST OAK Screen House is giant, at 94 square feet, and makes an excellent dining tent for camping when the RV starts to get stuffy.
Seasons-wise & climate-wise, there is no doubt this is a summer camping tent and most suitable for warm weather camping. See the picture below to realize why; the ceiling is all mesh and you would not feel great in a cool environment. Space-wise, the tent is with the declared 12-person capacity.