When to Upgrade and Replace Your Event Tent

Meramec Mercantile – From the moment you arrive, our friendly and energetic staff are here to guide you smoothly to your campsite, ensuring you have everything you need for a fun-filled and memorable stay. But it doesn’t stop at check-in; we’re here for you anytime to replenish supplies or pick out the perfect souvenir to inspire your next adventure. Floating Treetops Aerial Park – Look right and prepare to be amazed! Our Missouri trees have decided to get in on the adventure, offering a unique aerial park experience. Dare to gear up and traverse through the treetops for an adrenaline-pumping journey you won’t forget. Whatever your group’s size or adventure preference, we’ve got the perfect spot for you!

With other issues, it’s a good idea to assess on a case-by-case basis and choose the most practical, cost-effective and safe option for your tent and its users. I stashed the tent, sleeping bags, and extra clothes in roll-up dry bags. The bulk of our food, our camping stove, water purifier, and other gear went into an Ortlieb 45L Atrack. This waterproof backpack is one of the best I’ve ever used, with a tough rubber zipper that opens from the rear like a duffel bag.

ozark trail canopy tent

When pushed, most of the reps we talked to estimated five to 10 years, though the actual lifespan will vary widely depending on care and frequency of use (for more advice, read REI’s excellent tips). In conducting research for this guide, we heard multiple tales of careful ozark trail instant cabin campers who had been using the same tent for 15 years or more. In terms of flaws, there aren’t much to speak of with the Wawona 6, apart from the price. The North Face offers a limited lifetime warranty on the tent, and will repair most flaws and damage at its discretion.

After our longtime top-pick tent for two people ran into some stock issues in 2021, we researched new models and redesigns, and we assembled a batch of small tents for testing in March 2022, on Oahu. During this period, winds rose up to 35 to 40 knots, and we experienced passing showers as well as direct sunlight and 80-degree temperatures. To mimic heavier rain and to test the tent’s ability to withstand soggy ground conditions, we also soaked our tents with a garden hose. 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. Its fly extends into a huge front vestibule that can store large items like bikes, or even accommodate a table and chairs. Adults over 6 feet tall will be able to walk upright inside this tent—which has almost-vertical walls that can easily accommodate beds, cribs, and cots—as well as in the vestibule.

To test the tents, we first opened them, splayed out their parts, and tried to put them together without consulting the instructions. We assembled and disassembled the tents on all of our testing sites multiple times. We tried the rain fly for each tent as well, one time rushing to get several of them up during an unexpected rainstorm at night. When heavy trade winds buffeted our Oahu-coast testing site, we pitched each tent in full face of the blast. We then rotated the tents looking for structural weaknesses, and we tested their guy lines and tabs to see which tents had the best and most intuitive design for withstanding wind. A full rain cover, two vestibules, and an extra-sturdy pole structure make this the best choice for couples who want to get outside in any weather.

(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. The geodesic structure of the Base Camp tents is built to withstand wind and ozark trail shower tent rain. It has two main that thread through sleeves, stretching between the four corners of the tent. Generally, we like clip-on designs better, since those are easier to put together, but in the case of the Base Camp models, the sleeves add extra tension and stability throughout the tent fabric. There are also two poles that arch over each doorway and down the sides of the tent to add extra shape and support; these attach to the tent body with clips.