Some 1-person tents will have two major spars or spines that cross for the main support structure. In the Ozark Trail tent, it has only one spar traveling down the center lengthwise with a single rib to open up the area in the middle. The four or six tent pegs hold the structure down but are crucial for the tent to stand by itself. 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 essence, I had committed to the permanent rainfly option by default and there was a certain contentedness that came with that. 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.
After all, I had to be sensitive to weight as we were required to carry our own water for 10 miles as there were no options for filtering during that stretch. In the following paragraphs I share just a few design features that, in my opinion, make this a well-designed ozark trail canopy product. If you need a large pack, or are heading on a days-long adventure, this pack won’t work for you. While this pack won’t work for everyone, it’s a practical size for day trips, light travelers, and kids. A great pack for day hikes, hunting and weekend camping.
I really wanted to use it for our fall two-nighter on the AT, but was unable to fit my bivy with a 20 degree Kelty Cosmic down bag inside. I contemplated stepping down to the 45 degree bag, but thankfully, did not. Lastly, I haven’t yet had a chance to test its waterproofing in a huge down-pouring of rain, but it did hold up in some strong winds ozark trail backpack surprisingly well. Future users may want to seal or waterproof the seams a little better. I also liked how my head wasn’t directly beside the door, which often occurs for an end-door tent. If something crawled through the zipper door it wouldn’t immediately be inches from my face but instead would have to work its way a few more feet to my head.
For the second overnight hike in which I used the pack, I left the hammock at home and stuffed an REI Stratus insulated pad and lightweight bivy inside. I was a little concerned with how the straps ozark trail backpack would distribute weight. Prior to taking it out on the trail, I did give it two coats of silicone spray so that it would shed water. Packing-wise, I chose to line it with a garbage disposal liner.