First off, dome tents are typically less expensive since they have fewer total parts and less sophisticated frames. Second, dome tents tend to fare better in bad weather because they’re rounded shapes are more aerodynamic. Ozark Trail tents are pretty much all “fair-weather” shelters, but dome tents get the advantage here. With that being said, there are a few things you’ll want to know going into your purchase.
Their combination of space and affordability catches the eye of many campers, but the details on these shelters can be lacking. If you’re considering an Ozark Trail yourself, you’re in the right place. The front room is with a huge inverted-T shaped door with zippers on the bottom and in the middle.
It’s a cool tent all around, but our favorite feature has to be the 360-degree views delivered courtesy of this yurt’s giant mesh windows. There are three of these large floor-level windows along the walls of the tent, plus the giant mesh doorway that can be left open in good weather. In summary, this Ozark Trail Instant Cabin Tent with Built-in Cabin Lights comes with plenty of useful features, this is a pleasant and functional design suitable for summer camping.
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. So, without tons of additional waterproofing, Ozark Trail tents are definitely not meant for rainy weather of any kind, even in light rain. The Core Lighted Instant Cabin 12 tent is from a new series that come with an integrated light. The Eureka Copper Canyon 12 is the only here that is not with an instant design.
In fact, even though this tent is one of the highest-rated and most popular Ozark Trail tents, it’s still plenty affordable at just over $100. Also, my steel wall poles were showing signs of rust even though I did my best to dry them before packing. And out of my 14 Coleman tents, only 1 of my Coleman tents (the Montana 8P) came with this weird inconsistent mesh. But the stitching in my Ozark Trail tent is not as great, there were loose threads all over the tent, and fairly big holes where the guylines are connected to the main tent body. My Coleman tents at least had a zip down the middle of the divider. For the inside of the tent, when I was setting up my Ozark Trail room divider, I realized that the divider doesn’t even have a zip down the middle, for access into the other room.
I have decided to show you this Ozark Trail tent side by side with some of its competitors with the same declared capacity. There is lots of mesh around and on the ceiling, so this will work great if you use the tent in a warm climate. But with so much mesh on the ceiling, I would not use this tent in a cold ozark trail instant cabin climate. As for stitching, I found loose threads all over the tent, something like this. The pole structure is very simple, there are only 8 guylines in total, and the stakes aren’t your super high-quality stakes. For ventilation, this Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent has a lot of mesh on the roof of the tent.
The three-room cabin is definitely one of Ozark Trail’s more expensive models though, so if you’re shopping on a budget, there are plenty of other models worth considering. The Clip & Camp dome is particularly affordable, and also happens to be one of the most dependable models the brand currently makes. 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. Weight-wise, with its 32.6 lb (14.8 kg) this is not a lightweight tent, but this is a normal weight for such a steel construction. You will see in the comparison table below that it is lighter than some of its competitors. Seasons-wise & climate-wise, I see it best suited for summer camping without much rain and winds.
This tent presented here may look like a rectangular structure, but in fact, it is more a Y-shape structure as the picture below (very roughly) shows. I have seen people asking about this and this is why I made the sketch of its flor plan. Such a quick setup time is due to its poles that are a) telescopic, and b) pre-attached to the tent. So as you realize from the pictures above, you unfold the structure and then extend its telescopic leg poles.