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.
The picture below shows the tent without the fly so you can get some idea about its poles structure. The pictures above also show how you can completely close the windows and the doors, for privacy and for protection from elements. Note that you have 10 windows in total and they can be closed as you wish.
While I paid between $250 to $350 for both my 10-Person Coleman Tents, I paid only about $100 for the Ozark Trail 10-Person Cabin Tent, which is less than half the price of my Coleman tents. This is also a 3-room structure and the rooms are depicted in the picture above. This is a very typical cabin-style tent with very tall and straight ozark trail canopy tent walls, the peak height is 76 inches (193 cm). The easiest models to pitch are pretty much always “instant tent” shelters, which use a system of preattached poles than only need to be unfolded and locked into place. 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.
Even in light rain, the rain does get on to the window and door mesh, so it’s best to keep them full closed. I also rain tested my Coleman Sundome Tents, and I have the regular 6-person version, the 6-Person Dark Room version, and also the Elite 6-Person version. All these tents were able to stay dry for about 30 to 35 minutes of heavy pouring rain. So all in all, the screen room is a regular room, it just offers more features with its huge mesh on the three sizes.
The one exception to the rule here is for the larger cabin-style tents, especially those with an “instant tent” design that uses pre-attached poles. This isn’t an instant tent, but ease of use is still a high point of this model thanks to the simple setup. ozark trail canopy tent Just slide the roof poles into place, then plug the side and corner poles into their designated hubs and raise it all up. Two people can get this cabin set up in about five minutes, but setting the 2 Room Cabin up solo isn’t out of the question either.
This two-room cabin tent also offers electrical cord access, and it even includes a carrying bag for your convenience. 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.