With that being said, we have yet to see an Ozark Trail tent that’s actually “difficult” to set up, so there’s no reason to limit your search to “instant-only” if you don’t mind putting your own poles together. 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. 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. These shelters tend to be much heavier and bulkier when packed up due to the frame design, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve got room to transport them in your vehicle and store them in your home before buying. Again, Ozark Trail tents are mainly fair weather camping tents (so you won’t be hiking into the backcountry with them) which means weight and packed size aren’t a big priority.
This screened-in shelter also gets high points for its price, which is always a selling point with an Ozark Trail tent, but this one represents a particularly good value considering all its features. 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. So the walls are steep and straight and the peak height along the main axes is 78 inches (198 cm). This is also an instant setup tent with the frame preattached to the tent, the declared setup time is 2 minutes only, see the steps shown in the picture below. 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.
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. 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.
Speaking of camp tables Ozark Trail actually includes a small table with this shelter, which mounts at the base of the main support pole to make the most of the tent’s interior space. The table includes four large hanging mesh pockets at its sides, which, along with the multiple pockets found along the walls of the Ozark Trail Yurt, make storage and organization another high point of the tent. The tent itself is nice and roomy, and boasts a 6-foot peak height to make changing clothes a drama-free endeavor.
The 2 green pole sleeves are for the longer diagonal poles (with 9 fiberglass segments), and the 1 blue pole sleeve is the for the shorter pole (with 5 fiberglass segments). The fabric ozark trail instant cabin is a 190T coated polyester, they do not provide information about waterproof rating. Many users have reported that the tent was working fine even in strong prolonged rains.