The Ozark Trail cooler is made from polyethylene, which is the most common kind of plastic in use today. The rotomolding process entails heating plastic pellets which coat the interior of a mold while it is spun around in a number of different directions at a very consistent pace. The mold is kept on the move during both the ozark trail chair heating and coating phases as well as the cooling phase. As far as color options go, you can purchase this in one of two colors, Greystone which is the one featured in this article and a lighter grey. The constant color feature among the two are the orange rimmed wheels which I don’t love but, it is not a deal breaker.
This is perfect for camping, the backyard and any outdoor socially-distanced summer events that need a little shade. In the low-cost range of outdoor shelters, the Ozark 10ft x 10ft Trail Canopy is definitely at the top ozark trail chair in its class. There may not be many bells and whistles, but we don’t think it’s necessary here. Think about it like an umbrella, where you may often feel a whirl of air getting stuck between your head and the umbrella.
Nevertheless, it still comfortably accommodates four people, and it’s a roomy choice for two. This no-nonsense tent is intuitive to set up, has mesh on the top halves of two walls, includes a partial rain fly that’s easy to put on and stake out, and feels cheery inside and out. (We don’t recommend the smaller version of this tent for couples who might actually take it on the road; it was just too flimsy in our tests.) Also note that this tent does not come with its own groundsheet. Coleman says that the tent doesn’t need one, probably because its floor is a crinkly (though tough) tarp-like polyethylene, not a taped-seam polyester as in our other picks. You can also set up the tent without the fly while retaining some privacy, since the tent body has a high polyester wall on one side. The main bodies of our other picks are structured with two main poles with added support from smaller brow poles.
In a sheer stroke of luck for this test, we are having a very aggressive heatwave in Southeast Michigan with temperatures around the 90’s during the day and staying in the 70’s overnight. I’m using my North facing deck as the staging area which receives direct sunlight at almost all ozark trail cooler hours of the day. I also placed a small weather system on the deck rail to help get a sense of how hot surface temperatures are in the area. On one of the hottest days, the remote sensor reported temperatures exceeding 107 Degrees Fahrenheit while the air temp was in the high 80’s.
Underneath the fly, the Mineral King 3 has a full mesh dome with a waterproof, tape-seamed bathtub-style polyester floor. The tent doors are nearly wall-sized, and after you unzip them, you simply stuff them into pockets, rather than having to roll and toggle-tie the fabric. Another two hanging pockets plus loops for a ceiling hammock provide simple yet effective interior storage. It has a solid frame, which remained durable throughout a battery of tests, including rolling the wagon down a hill while it was filled with equipment.
A few weeks later, we brought the front-runners to a platform in an area that had higher elevation, near the Waianae Mountain Range, and camped out overnight in intermittent but consistent rainfall. A frequent reader of our site put the lightweight Cool Cabana ozark trail instant cabin pop up beach canopy to the test during a West Coast vacation. We put the lightweight Cool Cabana pop up beach canopy to the test during an East Coast vacation. The assembled weight of the tent is 25 pounds, and it’s suitable for three seasons, excluding winter.
The Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 Tent is the best car-camping tent choice for couples. It has everything you need for three-season camping, with the bonus of being light enough to double as an occasional backpacking tent. Although it’s designed to accommodate three people—hence the “3” in its name—we found that at 42.5 square feet, the tent is more comfortable for two, plus gear and maybe a medium-size dog.
Digging our toes in the sand under one of the best full-overhead coverage beach tents on the market. The fabric is a UV-resistant cover with a UPF rating of 50+, giving those underneath the best sun protection any material can offer. The waterproofing is perfect for food vendors, outdoor fairs, tailgates, and sporting events as we all know those hot summer days are prone to a quick passing shower. This canopy tent is your insurance policy against those light rain showers, protecting you and your belongings. First, pull the fabric of the cover tight over the top of the frame and secure each corner at the Velcro connections. They’re also far more expensive and significantly less comfortable than typical full-size camp chairs.
While much of the trail is under shaded tree canopy, you’ll still want to use sunscreen to prevent any burns. The Veer has one-touch pedal foot brakes that are simpler to use (even when you’re wearing flip-flops) than the Pivot Xplore’s smaller, stroller-like brakes. Like the Pivot Xplore, the Veer Cruiser meets ASTM safety standards and is also JPMA-certified. He is a dedicated backcountry explorer and a trained Wilderness First Responder.