Camping

Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent

Alex Buchnev

May 11, 2023

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is a 13’ X 13’, eight person, summer time, entry level tent. The exceptionally low price point and spacious interior brings all the benefits of yurt glamping to a very affordable price point.

Comfort and Space

 Floor Space

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is laid out with an interior space of 13’ (396 cm) by 13’ (396 cm), designed in an octagonal shape that generates a total floor space of 90.1 square feet (8.42 sqm).

A reasonable sleeping space expectation of the Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping tent is four adults laying side by side across the tent and two children situated at the head and feet of the sleeping adults. Ten adults can enjoy the spacious interior during daytime hours.

Head Room

The Interior Peak Height is 7’8” (234 cm). An exceptionally tall camper is able to stand comfortably in the center of the tent. I’m 6’3” (192 cm) and I’m able to stand upright in the center of the tent. 

The vertical walls of the tent are approximately 3’ (91 cm) tall. The roof of the tent runs from the top of the vertical walls to the center tent pole and rises approximately 4’8” (146 cm). 

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is a yurt (also called bell style) tent. A yurt style tent offers maximum floor space and head room, so you can use the tent for more than just sleeping. Your imagination is the limit! 

ALSO SEE: Best Tall Camping Tents: Stand Up Tents for Tall People

Doors and Vestibules

There is a single entry point “A” style door that’s approximately 5’ (152 cm) tall and 4’5” (137 cm) wide. A small rain fly is situated above the entry point. The rain fly is adequate to keep rain from dripping inside the tent, but not large enough to protect your gear. 

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Camping tent is a single room tent without a vestibule. You should plan to store your gear either inside your tent or in your vehicle. 

There is a small mud flap outside the tent that helps keep dirt and debris from entering the tent.

Storage

There are two hanging mesh pockets located on the interior walls. These pockets allow easy storage and access to personal items for those sleeping in close proximity to the outside wall of the tent. 

A collapsible table in the center of the tent doubles as a support structure for the center tent pole. The tent pole passes through the center of the table and leaves the remainder of the table space available for personal item storage. It’s a perfect location to place your beverage of choice and your favorite entertainment device. It’s not often that you’ll find a tent with a built-in table, so definitely take advantage of your glamping experience! 

Each side of the pole support table contains a mesh pouch for hanging storage. This allows easy storage and access of personal items for campers situated near the center of the tent.

Breathability and Ventilation

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is well ventilated for warm weather camping. Yet, it will protect you from the elements when mother nature dictates. 

Ventilation Features

There are three Poly Mesh window walls measuring approximately 54″ (137 cm) x 18″ (46 cm). Each window has an interior zippable privacy flap. 

The large “A” style entry door, in conjunction with the large wall windows, allows airflow from any direction. The entry door has a zippable exterior rain fly and an interior partial mesh door. Closing the rain fly will allow for privacy while three hooded ceiling vents allow continued ventilation to remove moisture.

Weather Resistance

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is a tent for maximizing your glamping experience, not the tent for experiencing harsh seasonal wet and windy weather. 

Wind resistance

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is designed to maximize usable floor space and that equates to large sheer exterior walls.

Yurt style tents, with partial sheer vertical exterior walls, are susceptible to stronger winds and may collapse if the tent stakes pull out of the ground. If you’re expecting strong winds, try to position yourself between trees, large rocks or your car to break the wind.

We recommend replacing the OEM stakes with tent stakes that are a little more robust.

Rain resistance 

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is a lightweight, untreated, water resistant polyester. The stitching on the top of the tent isn’t sealed and the stitches on the tarp flooring aren’t sealed with waterproofing tape. The rainfly stitching is tape sealed.

The seams at the ground level aren’t sealed, so if it rains, water will encroach inside the tent. The tent entryway is a raised tub style. This reduces the opportunity for water, mud and debris to enter the tent via the front door. If rain resistance is a key element in your glamping experience, and you have a larger budget, try this option. 

Preparing The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Ten for the elements 

If you’re looking for the most economical glamping yurt style tent experience, here’s our recommendations on how to prepare this tent for the best water resistance results.

Seal the stitching. 

1. Clean the stitch with rubbing alcohol.
2. Apply the seam sealer.
3. Allow to dry for 24 hours before folding and storing the tent.

Apply a durable water repellent to the exterior rainfly

1. Set up the Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent.
2. Close the windows, door and the rain fly.
3. Spray the tent with a garden hose.
4. After the tent is wet, evenly spray the tent with a durable water repellent.
5. Wait five minutes and gently wipe the tent down with a damp towel.

Durability

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is all about affordability, but if you take care of the tent, it should reward you with many seasons of dedicated service. 

The fly and tent body are both made from a single layer of Recycled Polyester Taffeta. Polyester is lightweight and durable, but has a lower tear resistance than nylon. Snug your guylines, but don’t overdo it. 

The flooring is Polyethylene which provides good durability and water resistance.                      

Poles

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent has three different sets of fiberglass poles. 

• A collapsible center pole 96″ (234 cm)
• Six Collapsible sidewall poles approximately 36″ (91 cm)
• Two collapsible door frame poles, each approximately 48″ (122 cm)

Fiberglass poles aren’t your best friend in windy weather, but they reduce the overall cost of the tent when compared against aluminum alloys or composite. 

Ease of Use

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is an internal frame tent. While the tent can be set up as a solo activity, it might be nice to have a friend help. Typical set up times range from fifteen to twenty minutes.

How to Set up the Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent

• Place the tent on the ground and stretch it out. 
• Stake each exterior tent corner.
• Place the collapsible center table, center collapsing pole and sidewall poles inside the tent door and then enter the tent.

Center pole 

Join the collapsible center pole with the dedicated pole receiving pocket at the center of the ceiling. The bottom of the collapsible center pole will need to pass through the center of the collapsible center table and then be joined with a small built in footing that’s located in the center of the flooring of the tent. 

Sidewall poles 

Insert each of the collapsible sidewall poles into top and bottom receptacles.

Entryway poles

Connect the entryway arch poles to a “V” shaped plastic receptacle and then raise the poles into the entryway. Connect the entryway arch poles to the pre-connected receptacles and then tie the poles to the tent walls with the pre-attached tent wall connectors.

The poles are not color coded for assembly assistance, but the relative simplicity of the tent assembly shouldn’t leave too many questions about the correct pole position.

Packed Size and Weight

The Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent weighs 22 lbs (10 kg). In terms of weight, this is about half of the weight of another Camping Yurt tent, the WHITEDUCK Regatta Canvas Bell Tent.

The packed size of the Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent is approximately 36″ (91 cm) x 12″ (30 cm) x 10″ (25 cm) which is very similar to the WHITEDUCK Regatta Canvas Bell Tent with a packed size of 39″ (99 cm) x 15.5″ (39 cm) x 10″ (25 cm).

This is a big, solid tent that’s designed for luxurious camping. You’re not going to haul this into the backcountry, right? Yes, it’s big and heavy, but it’s not traveling too far from your automobile. With a relatively small packed size, the Ozark Trail 8 Person Yurt Camping Tent allows for easy automobile trunk transportation.

RELATED: Ozark Trail Tents: Full Model Lineup and Reviews

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Inexpensive
• Large footprint-lots of space
• E-port -Power your electronics from outside your tent
• A collapsible table! In the middle of your tent!
• Ample mesh hanging storage
• Lots of airflow potential

Cons

• All seams are not sealed for water proofing-Stay out of the rain
• The polyester isn’t treated for rain. You’ll need to handle this.
• Polyester material is prone to rips and tears.
• This may be a very warm tent in direct sunshine.

Rating

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