Ozark Trail - Instant Cabin Tent

I've had fantastic luck with Ozark Trail tents. I started with a 3 person dome style, moved into a 4 person cabin style pop-up and then got a 6 person cabin style pop-up. The only reason I replaced the dome style was because I wanted to be able to stand up in the tent. The only reason I replaced the 4 person is because I wanted it to be bigger to accomodate my cot and bedding. They have never failed me, until I've tried to get them back in their dang bags - but that's when everyone becomes a failure, right?

I have an ozark trail dark room cabin tent. I got it on sale for like 70 bucks a few years ago (it’s a six person tent) and I’ve been super happy with it. Only been out in weather once and it did great. It was a pretty bad wind and rain storm. We ended up sleeping in the car that night (due to lightning concerns) but the tent inside was dry the next morning when we checked. I did spray it down with waterproofing stuff but that was like ten bucks worth of spray. In mild weather it’s been fine. I can put it up myself. It is huge and heavy but we car camp so I don’t mind that. We are very casual car campers who like a lot of comfort. We often stay in screen shelters at state parks rather than bring the tent. I’m not saying Ozark Trail is high quality but I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on our first tent and I’ve been super pleased with ours.

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.