So, without tons of additional waterproofing, Ozark Trail tents are definitely not meant for rainy weather of any kind, even in light rain. Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers has field-tested and rated the top tents and shelters. My was set up in my wooded acerage all summer long. I was so pleased with the quality that I upgraded and bought a bigger Ozark tent.
The pre-attached poles make this as hassle free and easy to use as anyone can ask for when you’ve got kids running around screaming. And if this tent is too large, it also comes in a 6-person and 4-person version as well. I actually even packed up one of my Coleman tents while it was still wet, and when I took it out a few months later, there was no mold or anything on it.
I bought a $3 bottle of seam sealer followed the directions and have not had a single issue with water since. We, like some others, know that tents are NOT waterproof, so we sprayed the seams etc. with water replant. When we reached the beach everything went great, first night 30 mh winds. Next night still calm, took cover off and loved looking up at the night sky. I have the JW-7607 which is a 2-3 (read that as two) person tent.
It sucked the trip the camping everything because the damn zipper broke and I got beast up on by mosquitoes and bugs. 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.
Simply buy a mesh bag for storage and attach a D-Ring to it, then clamp it onto one of the support struts on the chair. The first good design feature is the placement of the door on the side, and more specifically on the long side of the tent. I’ve tried tents with the door on one end and it is cumbersome.
The Ozark does need those pegs in the ground to be self-standing so setting up on rocks would be infeasible (at least without applying some clever tenting skills). In the following paragraphs I share just a few design features that, in my opinion, make this a well-designed ozark tent product. There are some tent brands that charge an arm and a leg, but still provide a poor camping experience. On the other hand, there are more affordable tents that will go a long, long way for you. Tent brands usually make the same decisions across all their tents.
Also, the poles of my Ozark Trail tent were not color-coded, they were just all black, while my WeatherMaster 10-Person Tent had a little bit of color-coding, like this red band for the middle wall pole. And while my WeatherMaster 10-Person Tent doesn’t have super big windows, 2 of the windows are these huge, angled windows for ventilation on rainy days instead. On the other hand, my Coleman 10-Person Instant Tent has these humongous windows on every wall of the tent, which is great for hot day ventilation. All these windows are pretty small, which limits ventilation on a hot day. And on top of that, all these windows need to be closed on a rainy day. It vents well and can be very private or totally screened off yet enjoy great views.
The tent is open at the top with a weather rain fly that fits over the dome. The fly is so small it allows rain to blow up under and then runs into the tent. Every single one of our camping experiences has been ruined because of the OZARK tent.