We also appreciated the shepherd’s hook stakes that come with the tent. Most of the tents we tested came with basic L-shaped stakes, which tended to spin around in the soil and slip a line. One night during testing, for example, clouds loomed in the distance with clear skies overhead.
Like our couples’ tent pick, the Wireless 6 is a dome-shaped tent with a tried and true two-pole design. It has an interior footprint of 87 square feet, which sleeps four adults on single pads, or two adults and two or three children, and can accommodate a crib. That wasn’t the tallest we encountered—the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 and the Alps Mountaineering Camp Creek 6 each topped out at 7 feet—but it’s enough space for most adults to maneuver standing up. The tent comes with a full rain fly that adds two vestibules for storage (each 14 square feet), totaling 115 square feet of livable space—which is fairly generous yet still practical for most campsites. And this tent is easy to set up and pack down, especially considering its size. As with most six-person tents, the Wawona 6’s footprint is sold separately.
Unfortunately, these joints have the tendency to buckle pretty easily in strong winds, so I’d keep this tent away from that. The 4 corners of this large gear organizer have an S-hook, and each of these are to be attached to the fabric loops on the back wall of the tent. The other 2 panels at the top are just full mesh and can’t be zipped up (and are covered by the rainfly in the picture above). These windows aren’t too big though, each of them is in this triangle shape, with a longest length of 39 inches and longest width of 19 inches.
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. Despite having the smallest capacity of the tents we tested—42.5 square feet—the Mineral King 3 easily fits two people with a full-size mattress, or two sleeping pads, and gear. Two large vestibules add nearly 40 square feet combined—that ozark trail canopy tent is, 18.75 square feet on either side. 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.
Second, dome tents tend to fare better in bad weather because they’re rounded shapes are more aerodynamic. Ozark Trail tents are pretty much all “fair-weather” shelters, but dome tents get the advantage here. Despite what you may have read, you can absolutely enjoy an outdoors experience in an Ozark Trail tent. Aside from the blackout walls, the interior includes a few more bonuses to make your camping experience as comfortable as possible. An electrical port can be used to bring in electricity, which can be a godsend when you are camping with a lot of people and need some time out to play on your phone or tablet.
The Ozark 8 Person Instant Tent is the best value for money out of the 4 tents we’re reviewing today. While we share insights and celebrate the adventures that outdoor gear like Ozark Trail can offer, our site is independently run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. Products are rigorously tested to withstand diverse and challenging outdoor conditions. The mesh doesn’t exactly feel soft and silky, and I’m pretty sure it’s not no-see-um mesh, though it’ll keep the bigger bugs out.
Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). 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. Throughout all our testing, we wanted to know how it felt to be inside the tents for long periods of time.
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. Like most dome-style tents, the Wireless 6 withstands wind like a champ—it fared noticeably better than the Camp Creek 6 in 15-mph gusts. The continuous curve of the dome shape allows for wind to pass over and around it. You can also get a nice cross breeze going by leaving the vestibules open. On sunny days and clear nights, take off the fly and enjoy the sky through the tent’s clear mesh canopy.
Nevertheless, it still comfortably accommodates four people, and it’s a roomy choice for two. This no-nonsense tent is intuitive to set up, has mesh on the top halves of two walls, includes a partial rain fly that’s easy to put on and stake out, and feels cheery inside and out. (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. 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.
All the windows and doors also have to be closed, because otherwise, the rain would drip right into the tent. Even in light rain, the rain does get on to the window and door mesh, so it’s best to keep them full closed. The mattresses that I used in the picture above are slightly smaller than queen size, but almost queen-sized, give or take a couple of inches. These 4 mattresses take up the entire tent, and there’s hardly any space leftover for camping gear. The instant set up with previously attached poles is one of the best features. Setting up a huge tent is already difficult, so having this streamlined experience makes things so much easier.