A-Frame Tent

Ozark trail is Walmarts brand, you can find durable quality gear that can take care of your needs for well under your budget. Additionally Walmart has an excellent return policy, and offers cheap extended warranties that you can easily use. Ive used several different [Ozark trail 3 person come tents](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-3-Person-Clip-Camp-Dome-Tent-7-x-7-x-44-5-64-lbs/587622916) over the years, and think they work quite well as 2.5man tents. They're small enough you can backpack with them using traditional gear. I also recently tried a large [A-frame Ozark trail tent](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-7-x-7-3-Person-A-Frame-Tent-13-44-lbs/5023865539?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1600&from=/search) but returned it as I needed something a bit different, I might buy it again I like the style. If you want to splurge go for it, but buying the Walmart ones could allow you to put that budget towards other gear like sleeping bags and pads, or fund a road trip to a scenic park to camp at. Also for sleeping bags you can use comforters or bedding from home, this can double as your sleeping pad if you put a few extra blankets folded down. It's not really a workable option if your trying to hike to your campsite but is great for car camping at state parks. As you mentioned camping and backpacking are a bit different, these cheaper tents often have more space and durability than light weight backpacking tents which is beneficial for car camping. You can make them work for backpacking too, or upgrade to something else once you've gotten some experience and know what your looking for in your next tent.

I have that exact A frame Ozark Trails. It's great until the rains come. Still use it all the time on quick trips. It's fast to put up, so if you aren't planning on doing anything but sleeping in it, it's my first choice.

We have a 3 person Ozark trail tent that’s held up for like 10 years now. We do have to set up a tarp over it now as it is now longer keeping the rain out. We just bought their 10 person tent last year. I haven’t tested it out in the rain yet though.

I have this one which has been great so far. It’s really heavy though. I suppose it doesn’t take up a ton of car space - if they got the6 person version (if there is one) that would probably work out fine. There’s always space under a cot to store stuff also.

If you want to be more cost conscious, Walmart brand (Ozark Trail) has fairly decent 3 person tents that hold up pretty well. Particularly given they are 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of a similar Coleman. I’ve been using a 3 person Ozark Trail tent for the past 5 years in a troop setting. Camping 6 to 8 weekends a year.

See if you have a Sierra store nearby. They are ran by the same folks that do TJ Maxx. They are basically an outdoor centric version of a TJ Maxx, with some incredible deals in the camping department. That being said, no need to go fully kitted straight out of the gate. Buy what you can, and upgrade/replace as you can or need to. I grew up camping, my wife did not. She wanted to try it, so I went out and bought a 3 person tent, a couple sleeping bags, and two chairs, all ozark trail brand, from walmart. I got a used coleman stove off of craigslist, and a few small pots and pans from a thrift store. With that, we camped for two seasons before we started replacing it with better kit.