If you don’t have time to let the fly dry before you pack the Wireless in its duffle, we recommend laying it out when you get home so it doesn’t mildew in storage. One night during testing, for example, clouds loomed in the distance with clear skies overhead. After we pitched the tent, the Mineral King 3’s adaptable fly let us leave half the mesh dome uncovered. We watched as night fell and the first stars appeared. At the first sign of rain, it took only a few seconds—and a quick hand stuck outside the tent—to unfurl the fly and secure it for a dry night’s sleep. When we awoke, we could roll back one part of the vestibule, make coffee, and watch the sky lighten even though it was still raining.
The geodesic structure of the Base Camp tents is built to withstand wind and 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. The rain fly has an additional tent pole, too, to support the vestibule. Overall, these poles—all of them aluminum—contribute to a particularly sturdy structure, with or without the rain fly.
I hate to say it but this thing is a piece of JUNK. I could not even get the top frame together with out it either bending the poles or coming apart. The screen tent came with missing and broken parts.
Their solution was for me to pay for replacements out of pocket. The product is garbage and the customer service is worse. Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers ozark trail canopy has field-tested and rated the top tents and shelters. We’ve had this piece of garbage for 2 years now and haven’t been able to use it since we purchased it.
Now and then I walk into a store, it tends to be named ___Mart, and buy something I know is going to bring nothing but grief and heartbreak. A Pavlovian reaction to super-size doses of advertising? Greed, optimism, stinginess, and materialistic guilt thrashing together in a dance of futility that leads straight to the checkout counter? To make matters worse, sometimes I’m so ashamed of the purchase that I can’t even bring myself to return it. I purchased my tent a couple of years ago, but time passed and just got it out to put it up.
Well I’m a camper and I intend to use this weekly. The ozark trail chairs is 13 feet long and nine feet wide, with a standing space that tops out at seven feet high. The tent fabric roof provides shade for 46 square feet of the room. The Screen House is spacious enough for six people, or more around a folding table in an uninterrupted 360-degree panoramic shelter. The Wawona 6’s side-walls are high and straight, but the structure stays very stable in wind thanks to a final pole that wraps around the front and sides—and thanks to the absence of any acute angles in the poles.
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. Some campers might find the Wawona 6’s footprint unwieldy in smaller campsites, or they might simply prefer a tent with a more straightforward design.
Then the hooks don’t even reach the holes at the bottom of the poles. Then if you can manage to get that far, you have to run like crazy to get it tied down before if falls over. Bottom of screen doesn’t even tough the ground. After setting it up, it seems to me folks just don’t know how to exercise a little common sense and patience. The overall construction is about what you expect for the price.
An avid hiker, camper, and long-haul road-tripper, Claire Wilcox has slept in (and occasionally improvised) tents in 11 states. She covers outdoor gear for Wirecutter and worked on the most recent update of this guide, testing couples’ tents and family tents. Great for backyard overnights, ozark trail chairs this simple dome-style tent is for anyone who doesn’t want to spend more than $150 on a tent but also doesn’t want to buy another one next year. It has a partial rain fly, but only one door and no vestibule. Step 3 –Secure the ScreenhouseDrape the greenhouse body over the frames.