Ozark Trail - 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent

I'd also recommend an ozark trail instant tent, They're the new coleman from decades past. The average mans tent, for whoever is just getting into the hobby and doesnt want to break the bank. Great for familys who may go camping a handful of times a year in mostly fair weather. They'll last some rough handling for minimum a few years to a decade, plenty of time to get use out of it and upgrade. Any from the instant tent line will be big, bulky, and heavy but quick and easy to set up even if its just one person going it. Ive personally set up a 10 person myself in less than 5 minutes. I've also used mine during souther arizona monsoon storms, high winds and sideways rain and I stayed nice and cozy with room to sit around to relax in unlike a dome tent.

The kingdom tents from REI are great. the tubeshape and features are quite nice so are the extras.... but if you want easy to put up an down the instant tents from Ozark Trail I used with my family when kids were young in cub scouts for 5+ years. I the integrated poles made for putting it up and down very quick and easy even by myself, and I could stand up and had 4 cots in them. The may be cheaper than others but there are a few brands that make the instant tents with integrated poles. I was surprised how well my ozark held up. also check out the alps brands, they are built well, but heavy.

I love my OT tent, and I specifically recommend their "instant" cabin tents because they are so easy to get up and down. But I will note that the OT tents are all designed primarily for warm and mild weather camping. They have lots of big windows, and rain flies that only cover the top and not the sides, which means you get lots of airflow but way less rain protection. Coleman and Core tents - the other two "budget" brands - are generally made the same way though Coleman at least does have some tents with more extensive flies. Tents that are built for nastier and colder weather are going to be a lot smaller than the "family" tents made by the budget brands, to start with. Keep in mind that tent ratings say "person" to literally mean the space taken up by one average-sized adult in a sleeping bag, so a "4 person" tent is 4 people laying like sardines, or 2 people with gear/clothing and maybe a modest dog. These tents are less likely to be standing height, and in warm weather they are HOT unless the weather is good enough to take the rain fly off entirely and then you have to hope it doesn't rain and there isn't heavy dew. Also, those extensive rain flies can be fiddly to get staked out really correctly, and can become a liability in high winds. You need to think harder about what direction you face the door and sides if you're expecting any kind of weather. So that's why some people might choose the OT and augment with extra tarps, if they camp in places where rain and cold and wind are less likely to be an issue, and they want the extra space and airflow. We have gotten stuck in some crazy rain in our short-fly OT tent and it would have been fine if it hadn't been raining sideways, but that is going to be a challenge with a lot of tents.

Their fabric is damn thin. Do not use this tent in rain. You will regret it, I promise.

It should be just fine for your use case if weight isn’t a factor. I own expensive tents but I also have a cheap $30 Ozark trail tent I bought in 2019, only use it for local 1 nighters and it’s still fine. Only thing I’d recommend is hit all the seams with water proofing spray, especially around the bottom where the fabric is stitched to the tarp floor. I just buy the 3M stuff that is recommended for outdoors, think it has a tent picture on the spray can.

I have the same one. Perfect for one.

Ozark trail makes some solid stuff for the price. I say go for it.

This will not be a popular answer lol. I usually do 3 to 4 night backpacking trips. I bought a $30 Big Cat tent off of Amazon and used it regularly for two years until I broke one of the poles. I had a trip planned so I stopped at Walmart and picked up a $19 Ozark Trail tent. I used it all week and it was exactly what I needed. It was super easy to set up. I would recommend a footprint, though. The flooring of the tent is not the best quality but hey, it was $19.

Ozark Trail and Coleman make decent and easy to use car camping tents that will hold up better than you'd think. I always steer people who don't know if they're going to be super into camping yet towards those brands. They'll keep you dry and covered for the night without breaking the bank. My last Coleman Skydome lasted at least 60+ nights before one of the corners started to wear through.

Ozarks Trail has increased a million fold in quality since it came out (late 90s/early 2000s?). I would definitely give it a try and keep the receipt just in case.