If you won’t be carrying your tent more than a couple hundred feet, more space means more comfort (as well as more room for your stuff). 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 ozark trail chair for Wirecutter and worked on the most recent update of this guide, testing couples’ tents and family tents. Great for backyard overnights, 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.
The Wireless 6 goes up easily, using the same kind of intuitive pole and clip method as our couples’ pick. The fly is equally simple to attach and orient with color-coded clips. A single person can pitch the tent in 10 to 15 minutes. This type of pole tends to be less flexible and bulkier than pricier aluminum, and it can be a pain to handle.
While it might not sound like much, that is a difference of 64 sq. Ft. of shade coverage which we find to be quite significant. 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.
Yes, I had to tape the tent poles together at night because the snaps failed miserably when the wind blew gently and caused the tent to completely collapse… in great weather, with little wind, and no rain. I have the JW-7607 which is a 2-3 (read that as two) person tent. It has held up to kids camping in the living room and back yard, many camping trips to desert / forest / lake environments and even survived a bear “attack” with only a small tear. Let me just tell you this, it doesn’t make a difference what model your tent is. The main thing is is that the zippers that you put in these tents are so substandard that it doesn’t last more than one or two camping trips.
But it’s one of the least expensive tents we found that had no significant drawbacks and will truly cover your bases for three-season camping. The tent also comes with its own ozark trail backpack footprint, a groundsheet that protects the tent from abrasion, which we recommend that you have. To compare tent fabrics, you also need to know their overall rip strength.