Ozark Trail 3-Person Dome Tent

May 12, 2023

The Ozark Trail 3-person dome tent is a balanced compromise of both comfort and portability. This tent allows two people to hang out comfortably, or for a smaller person or child to join a duo.

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Marketed as a 4-seasons tent but really better used in only good weather, the Ozark Trail 3-person dome tent is a highly affordable option that can most certainly do the job.

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Comfort and Space

The Ozark Trail 3-person dome tent is a no-frills, basic tent with a single room and few extras.

The square floor has an area of 49 sq ft (4.6 sq m). Though it is advertised for three adults, it will be a tight fit, and this tent would be more comfortable for only two adults and maybe a child or dog.

With a peak height of 42 inches (106 cm), this tent is adequate for sitting or sleeping in. However, its dome shape, which causes the walls to slant, offers limited shoulder room and makes you move around crouching more.

Inside Ozark Trail 3-Person Dome Tent interior

The tent includes a gear pocket for storing supplies such as flashlights, a media sleeve for storing your iPad or phone to stream entertainment, and roof ties for hanging lamps.

Ozark Trail 3-Person Dome Tent gear pocket

The Ozark 3-person has an assembled height of 42 inches (106 cm), length of 84 inches (213 cm), and width of 72 inches (183 cm).

Breathability and Ventilation

Roof ventilation of the Ozark Trail 3-Person Dome Tent

The tent’s roof is a broad mesh screen for ventilation and stargazing at night, yet still keeping the bugs at bay. It has a single door that is wide enough for access and has a large window on it that can be closed and opened whenever you want.

In iffy weather, the roof mesh can be covered with a rainfly that comes with the tent, but when the fly is pitched, the ventilation is compromised and the interior can become hot and stuffy.

While the Ozark Trail 3-person dome tent is labeled as four seasons, we would certainly not use it in extreme weather conditions!

Durability

At a retail price of $30, you should not expect the durability of a top-quality tent. However, Ozark has made every effort to offer a value-for-money tent that balances average durability with extreme affordability.

The tent body and rainfly are made of waterproof synthetic material, the flooring is tarp, and the four poles are fiberglass.

Fiberglass poles are not as durable as aluminum but are typical for cheaper tents as fiberglass costs significantly less than metal.

The rainfly is reinforced with seam tape and extends as an awning over the entrance. However, the tent’s waterproof coating has been known to wear out.

You might want to do a leak test at home before taking it out overnight if the weather report is looking a little dodgy.

The materials used in the Ozark Trail 3-person dome tent cannot be guaranteed for long-term durability. But if you’re a casual camper who does an overnighter a couple of times a year, you’ll be just fine.

Ease of Use

Several Ozark Trail customers have reported that this tent is a breeze to set up. The easy-to-follow instructions come with the tent bag, which goes along the lines of:

Like always, begin by clearing the spot where you are about to pitch the tent of all the sticks, stones, and debris.
Put the body of the tent up flat on a clean area.
Use stakes in each corner of the tent to secure it to the ground.
The collapsible fiberglass poles are then stretched and inserted into the sleeves on top of the tent body.
The poles’ bottoms are dragged inwards to the tent’s corners, where they will go through the grommet and into the ground, with a removable pin holding it in place.
The plastic clips included with the package are then used to secure the tent poles to the tent walls for further stability.
To fix the rain fly, attach it to the ring and pin at the back of the tent and pull over the top to the front of the tent, sealing with the ring and pin at the front.
Finally, the awning pole is inserted into the sleeve of the rainfly that is over the doorway and is sealed into the grommets present on either side of the door.

The majority of the customers, even ones that are new at camping, manage to set up this tent in under 10 minutes.

The ease of use also lies in the tent’s simplicity. With so few components, you would hardly get confused with what goes where.

Packed Size and Weight

The Ozark Trail 3-person dome tent, including stakes and poles, weighs roughly 5.64 lbs (2.56 kg). It is certainly not an ultralight tent, but lighter than the 4-person tent that weighs in at 7.8 lbs (3.5 kg).

The tent comes in a lightweight and compact bag that is convenient to transport with you on your journey.

Overall, this tent is not of the highest quality or design, and you wouldn’t be bringing this on a multi-day backpacking trip deep into the backcountry.

We also wouldn’t use it during inclement weather, regardless of what it says on the package!

But for the casual camper, or someone driving to a campsite, this tent is an excellent choice for a comfy, roomy tent for two.