This Ozark Trail 10-Person Dark Rest Instant Cabin Tent features eight large windows for lovely views of the outdoors, as well as 14 tent stakes for stability. The included removable room divider allows you to create two separate living spaces and comfortably fits two queen airbeds or up to 10 campers in sleeping bags on the floor. Keep your things organized with the included hanging organizer and deluxe gear pockets.
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 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. Do NOT phone in the guyline portion of set-up (regardless of the weather) or you’ll risk damaging the tent. Finally, the material of this shelter is noticeably higher quality than many Ozark Trail tents, but the 68D polyester is still not as thick as we’d like. No Ozark Trail tent is perfect, but as far as full-size family camping tents go, this is the one to beat.
You have to add the fly as well, so it is best to have somebody to help you. This is why I have added it to my list of best instant camping tents. The 3 roof poles are made of fiberglass, which are a bit more flexible.
For cons, there’s only 1 door in the entire 10-person tent, there’s almost no ventilation at all when it’s raining, and it also leaks within just 15 minutes of light rain. The tent is with huge mesh ozark trail instant cabin windows around, plus all the ceiling is mesh (see the picture below), so ventilation is not an issue in this tent. But if it is raining you will have to keep panels on the doors and windows.
This tent is a little heavy because of the steel poles pre-attached to the tent, so I recommend having a partner to help pop up and lock in the poles. If you need more options please check my list with the best 12-person tents, and also check in the category Cabin Tents. The name Ozark Trail 12-Person 3-Room Instant Cabin Tent with Screen Room is descriptive enough and it describes the best features of this tent. So this is a pleasant tent, designed for warm weather and summer camping. This is how it should be used and in this case you should have a great experience with this tent. This is all steel construction, so the weight mentioned above should not be a surprise.
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 ozark trail canopy tent 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. Second, Ozark Trail tents are affordable because they use very basic materials.
Just ignore its declared capacity and you will enjoy this tent. The Coleman tent is an instant setup design but it is also a dark-rest tent. And finally, the biggest con is probably that the quality isn’t the best with the slightly sticky tent fabric, loose threads, snagging issues and inconsistent mesh. Overall, because a lot of water leaked through the un-taped seams and even the tent fabric after just 15 minutes of mostly light rain, I would say that this Ozark Trail 10-Person Tent is not waterproof at all. Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers has field-tested and rated the top warm weather tents. I’ve always wanted an instant tent and heard how easy it is to pop up.