Overall, we think the Ozark Trail canopy serves its intended purpose – a value brand 10×10 instant shelter that caters to price conscious consumers looking for an affordable shade option. And compared to some of the tents in the EZ-Up lineup, it sells for almost a 70% discount. One could, in theory, purchase a new Ozark canopy every year (which they might need to!) and still come out ahead over the years vs. purchasing a more expensive alternative. These inflatable beds can stand up to everyday use, camping trips and more. If there’s one piece of evidence to recommend this uber-rigid inflatable, it’s the number of times I’ve used it to help others.
The main tent body has a giant front door that’s oriented to make entry and exit easy for all the tent’s occupants at night, and a smaller back window that doubles as a second door. After researching 30 six-person tents and testing 15 side by side on a total of five trips, we chose the Kelty Wireless 6 as the best entry-level camping ozark trail canopy tent tent for most families. It’s spacious, easy to set up, has weather protection, and is durable, all at an affordable price. The Wireless 6 lacks some of the premium materials found in pricier tents, but it features solid workmanship and should provide dependable, comfortable shelter in most three-season camping situations.
We personally inspect, test, and re-certify items that arrive as previously opened. These items become available for a lower-than-retail price, of up to 70% off. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Our picks above are the best of the best, but here are other great performers from our evaluations to keep in mind. That’s exactly what I did over my Memorial Day weekend, finding immense enjoyment from the Switch Pro’s flexibility as I explored dozens of miles of the Chattahoochee.
A full rain fly with easy-attach color-coded clips covers the tent body and adds two large vestibules. Like the Mineral King 3, the Tungsten has aluminum poles that are connected at the top (for lightning-quick pitching) and pre-bent, which increases the dome tent’s headroom. Adults as tall as 6-foot-3 can move about this tent standing upright. With a 44-square-foot vestibule, and 86 square feet of interior living space, the tent has plenty of room to house beds, cribs, gear, pets, and camping furniture. Zippered doors can enclose the vestibule fully, so it serves as a separate room for the tent, or you can leave one or both open, so the vestibule can act like a porch or mudroom.
The Queen size took around 4 and a half minutes to fully inflate in our tests. According to the brand, it can support up to 600 pounds — meaning two people can share the bed. Its walls are 75-denier polyester fabric (tougher than the Wireless 6’s 68-denier polyester and the same as the REI Co-op Base Camp’s) that extends about two-thirds up the tent’s sides, and then is topped with mesh. The partial fly does a great job of keeping rain out of the upper, mesh areas, and cleverly placed vents maintain airflow so it never feels too stuffy. In terms of how the two tents feel, the Marmot Tungsten 4 is more geared toward hunkering down and providing stalwart defense against wind, rain, and sun. In contrast to the Mineral King 3’s triangular vestibules, the Tungsten 4’s vestibules are trapezoidal, opening via a central door with protected areas on either side.
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.
That’s why we’ve researched countless options and tested 13 different models to find ones you can count on for your overnight guests. I tried out the ISLE Switch Pro specifically to see how far I could go. This burly board rounds out ISLE’s Pro Paddle Board Series with a high weight capacity and extra-rigid construction for longer adventures. It was a long day of exploring, capped off by campfire sausages in a place only reachable from the river.
You’ll be able to comfortably fit up to 4 chairs underneath the 64 sq. The benefit of the slanted legs is that these tents are more stable laterally which can increase the stability of the frame and make it less prone to toppling, an important benefit if on a windy beach. Although we always recommend using anchors such as weighted sand bag or stakes with guy lines attached to the top corners.
If you can afford to spend more on a family tent, we recommend The North Face Wawona 6. Everyone who tested this tent loved it, and it’s not hard to understand why. With plenty of interior space, near-vertical walls, and a gigantic vestibule that could accommodate a golf cart, the Wawona feels more like a tiny home than a tent. Coleman makes no dedicated footprints for its tents—the idea being that the polyethylene is tough enough not to need one. (Still, we suggest that you buy a groundsheet.) The tent has two small, internal pockets—fewer than on any of our other picks—and a loop at the ceiling center to hang a small, lightweight light.