It can also be used as a power source to fire up electrical heaters or stoves. While the secondary room stays wide open for enjoying the outdoor environment in a bug-protected enclosure. Families will also benefit from having the parents in one room, and the kids in another room.
The zippers worked fine for the windows, but kept snagging on the door because of this rain cover. My other tents with similar designs did not have this serious of a snagging problem. 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.
It will comfortably fit two queen air beds or up to 11 campers in sleeping bags on the floor. Keep yourself organized and connected with the included two storage pockets, gear loft and electrical cord access. If the Mineral King 3 is out of stock, or if you’d like a slightly larger tent, we recommend the Marmot Tungsten ozark trail shower tent 4. The Tungsten 4 shares many of the Mineral King 3’s best features, and provides 10 square feet of additional living space as well as excellent weather protection—as long as you set it up properly. Like our top pick, the Tungsten 4 is a sturdy, two-door dome-style tent that can be deployed in about 5 minutes.
In terms of drawbacks, this is a particularly budget-friendly model from an already budget-focused brand, so you’ll need to be mindful of a few shortcomings to get the most out of this shelter. First, Ozark Trail uses sealed seams on this tent, but the fabric itself isn’t made for a rainstorm. You’ll want to give the entire tent a thorough Nikwax treatment before taking it on the road. Second, the fabric feels thin, and a few users have reported ripping it during setup, so you’ll need to take your time both setting up and taking down this tent. At $500, this modified dome-style tent isn’t cheap, but it represents substantial value. Many tents with similar profiles—such as the Big Agnes Dog House 6—either cost more or require you buy the tent body and attachable vestibule separately.
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. 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.
Ease of setup (how easy it is to pitch and take down a tent) is pretty much always a high mark for Ozark Trail tents. These tents are built for first-time and/or fairweather campers, so Ozark Trail puts a lot of effort into making them easy to use. As stated above, durability and materials are the main pain point of Ozark Trail tents.
This Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent has a packed size of 29 by 18 by 13 inches. For a size comparison, here’s what it looks like beside a Coleman 2-Person Sundome Tent, as well as a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle, and it weighs about 30 pounds for everything. The 14 steel stakes that came with the tent are just your standard tent stakes, nothing impressive. The 6 wall poles are made of steel, I think, but they’re probably not stainless steel, because I found some rust on one of these steel poles. So after washing your tent and I also do rinse off the poles, do let them dry first before storing it away.
There’s also electrical cord access on this tent, at the middle of the tent. From the inside, you can seal it shut completely with Velcro, it’s quite tight and shouldn’t let in any bugs. But one thing I did like is that I could still fit a small lantern up on the lantern loop, even with the gear loft in place. There’s also 1 lantern loop right at the very top center of this tent, and another four more loops around it for the provided gear loft (which also has s-hooks in each corner for hanging up). And as for the quality of the mesh, here’s a close-up of what it looks like, it’s just regular mosquito netting.
The large size also means you can fit 2 queen size mattresses inside it. Ozark provides an optional curtain partition (can be removed or rolled up) that divides the tent into two. While a large number of tents have a mesh ceiling to keep air circulating while allowing for stargazing, ozark trail instant cabin this is usually negated once the rain fly has been attached over the tent. This model from Ozark differs by working with the rain fly to give you a skylight experience while inside the tent. The Gazelle also comes with an included rainfly that you can put over the mesh roof.
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. Strategically placed cut-outs in the rain fly correspond with the mesh ceiling panels of the tent to let you watch the night sky at any time. The ceiling panels can be zipped up at any time, allowing you to control light, airflow, privacy, and how dry you stay when it rains.