Instant Cabin Tent with Integrated LED Lights

Just purchased a pop up, 10 person with lighting for a little over $200. I bought it last week from WalMart and used it this weekend. The zipper is awful (snags and all around difficult) but advertised as “anti-snag.” And a critter put a huge hole the side on the first night. I know it’s been used but I want to return it. I feel like for $200+ it should have held up at least 1 night. Any similar experiences and/or has anyone’s tried to return a poor quality tent? I know Ozark Trails is the generic, cost efficient brand but I’ve bought previous versions with little to no issues.

I’m really regretting not buying the tent I originally wanted. It’s like I threw $200 out the window on this heap of junk. It’s unusable now. Didn’t even get a full 24 hours of use. Do you have any recommendations on a brand and/or a material that can withstand a squirrel?

That is about all they are good for honesty. My last one wasn’t terrible but it still only last 2, maybe 3 trips. The quality on this was far worse.

Honestly I didn’t get much use out of it to really know. The fabric was very thin and I feel would be prone to snags and rips. The poles felt very flimsy. They charged, I’d say, $50+ for the lighting which wasn’t all that great. Better off just purchasing your own and saving the money. Would I buy it again or recommend it, absolutely not.

What brands do you suggest? I could tell right away the tent was garbage. The minute I felt the material i should have just boxed it back up and stayed the night in the car. It was a last minutes decision and my options were pretty slim. I still thought for $200 it would have been a little better quality. I previously owned one of Ozark’s less expensive tents and the quality was much better. Did it hold up very long? Not a chance. My bf and I go camping quite a bit so I’d like to invest in something nice. So price tag really isn’t an issue. Especially if it will last more than 2 trips. This one didn’t even last a night. The black out tents have caught my eye but Im not sure if it will truly be an improvement or an inconvenience. Reviews state they are truly black out so you’ll always need a lantern or some source of light. I also feel like it will increase the already hot temperatures in the summer. But i am rambling. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Facts!! I’ve been eyeing a black out tent I found at Bass Pro. I should have just spent the extra $100. This Ozark Trail tent is absolute garbage.

You’re speaking facts. It was last minute decision. Walmart trip at 9:30pm kind of deal. I should have just waited until the morning. You live, you learn.

We purchased the Ozark trail 12 person instant cabin. We love the Ozark tent we got, just took it out for our first trip. It rained a lot, 1/2 inch or more. Everything stayed dry, rainfly did not leak and we had a ground tarp. I do not know how long it will stay waterproof but it did not let us down on that trip. With the extra room in the middle we could bring our wet dogs in. Dry and crate without touching our sleeping area. It set up really fast and had tons of room. We had two 4x5ft dog crates set up on one side and a queen size sleeping area for my wife and I on the other side. We had so much room left in the middle and around the edge of the tent. We absolutely could have had 3 more people sleeping in the tent. This thing is 18x10 with 80 inch ceiling. Its bigger than what we need, but this is our campground tent. We have a small trailer we tow with all our gear on it. So with this Bass Pro tent 14x8 it is smaller than 3 queen size mattresses lined up (assuming 60''x80'') So what is your 5 plus a dog? Married couple with 3 kids, or is it 5 full size people plus a dog. I think if you guys are a couple with your kids you would fit fine. Just think maybe you do a test setup to see how much gear you want to keep inside the tent before your trip. But if its 5 friends and a dog trying to camp comfortably I think this would be too small. If everyone has their own pile of stuff they want to bring and store in the tent. I think you would end up having a wet dog walk on everything. Looks like a nice tent though. We are in New York, camping weather is mostly nice. So we went with a cheaper alternative. Looks like a well made tent, I am curios to hear from anyone that owns the Bass pro tent. [Here's the Walmart tent we got](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-12-Person-Instant-Cabin-Tent-with-Integrated-LED-Lights-3-Rooms-47-87-lbs/55260502?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1100&from=/search)

I think I have the same Taj Mahal Walmart tent. It has like “three rooms”. I can fit like four queen mattresses in it all together and touching though. We absolutely love it. We bring two inflatable mattresses and leave one room as a “storage room” for supplies. You don’t need a stool to put it together. The put up and tear down is easy. I’ve done it alone but it’s obviously easier to do with another person. I second what someone has said above. We went camping with our huge tent and the tent sites were extremely small and we couldn’t fit. We had to upgrade to an RV site at the same campground. Which honestly was great, because it had a long paved “driveway” we kind of positioned it at the end and my kids could drive their bikes on a long flat surface that wasn’t an actual roadway. The only issue you might run into booking an RV site instead of a tent camp site is that you can’t “stake” into a paved area so it has to be a site that has enough green space around it to set up. Highly depends on where you are.

I ran a instant up Ozark trail for well over a decade. Went a few years with a small camper and sold it to get into a nice gazelle and I couldn't be happier. I don't do hiking/backpacking due to disabilities but it's perfect for car camping. Throw it on my roof rack get to camp and 10 min later my tent is set up.

I for one love my gazelle tent. It really feels like a buy once cry once purpose. My Ozark trail lasted many years fairly easy to put up. Then I got my gazelle and was blown away. Goes up so much easier. Materials don't feel like 1 month of combined sun exposure will make it all brittle like the cheap tents/canopies. I also just updated to a set of xped megamats for the wife and I. A bit pricy. But so much better than a air mattress or cot both in comfort and insulation for those cold nights.

I'm not an expert but IMO your sleep systems are gonna be a lot more important than the tent. I'd save money on the tent and start there. Especially with a family outfitting everyone with outfitting them all with sleeping pads, bags, clothes, etc. is gonna add up. If you're actually planning on a stove then IDK, I've never done that. I camp on Vancouver Island with a family of 4 and just use a cheap Ozark Trail cabin tent from Walmart, but invested in some decent self-inflating sleeping pads and sleeping bags. It's gonna be chilly in the tent in the morning no matter what. Just get up before them and start a fire for them :D