Ozark Trail Sports Dome Tent

An unexpected camping trip sent me shopping for a small tent just before the Fourth of July weekend. I had no time for comparison shopping, and the rush of eager campers left the shelves almost empty, so I grabbed the 9ft x 8 ft “Ozark Trail Sports Dome Tent”. It was adequate, and inexpensive.

Ozark Trail Sports Dome Tent Specifications:
Size: 9ft x 8 ft floor

Price: about $30 on sale

Structure: It's the familiar dome tent, supported by flexible external rods that slide through sleeves to hold the fabric up. It has a separate rain fly that can be removed for maximum ventilation.

Capacity: The tent supposedly sleeps 3 to 4 persons. Realistically, 2 adults can be comfortable lying down in the tent, as long as they are good friends and don't mind having to crawl on their hands and knees to get in and out. It's more suited to be a children's tent.

Rainproof or not? Ozark Trail recommends that you seal the seams before using the tent, using a commercially available seam sealant meant for tents and outdoor gear. We didn't have time to seal the seams. It rained every day. The tent leaked, but only a few drops, during a light rainfall. I strongly recommend you take the time to seal the seams on the rain fly.

The Good and the Bad about the Ozark Trail Sports Dome Tent:
BAD: The tent has a maximum 4 foot peak height. Unless you are short, you can't sit up without bumping your head. The only place the tent is 4 feet high is right in the center of the floor. The height quickly decreases towards the edges. We would have been more comfortable in a tent with steeper sides and a higher ceiling.

GOOD: The setup for the Ozark Trail Sports Dome Tent was easy. The tent has the usual flexible rod supports, the instructions are adequate, and the illustrations of the rod placement were accurate. However, I wish they had included instructions for taking the tent down and refolding it, because we couldn't get it to fit back into its carrying case.