The Ozark Trail 8-Person Dome Tunnel Tent, with Maximum Weather Protection is evenly partitioned with a screened porch and a separate living area.
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent, with 2 Entrances is a 24’ x 12’ one-room summertime tent. Laid out in the shape of a tunnel, the tent maximizes interior space while minimizing non-essential rooms.
Contents
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One room divider and two separate entrances provide a pleasing mixture between privacy and togetherness. The No-See-UM mesh ceiling extends down the exterior walls and generates a gigantic amount of surface area for ventilation. The rainfly is removable and allows for nighttime star gazing from the comfort of your tent.
Comfort and Space
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent is a combination of a tunnel and dome tent.
Tunnel tents
A Tunnel tent provides great headroom and interior space. Flexible poles are connected to each side of the tent base and then stretched over the tent and the tent is attached to the poles. The stability of a tunnel tent is arrived at via Guy-Lines.
Dome tents
A Dome tent has exterior support poles that cross over the tent from left to right. Dome-style tents are halfway between a heavier Yurt-style tent that maximizes interior space and a smaller A-frame tent that maximizes lighter weights.
Floor Space
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent is a 24’ x 12’ (731 x 366 cm) sized tent laid out in the shape of a tunnel that equates to 288 ft² (26.7 m²) of living space.
A sewn-in room divider may be engaged to create two equally sized private living spaces 12’ x 12’ (366 x 366 cm).
Twelve adults can fit comfortably into the tent with a mixture of sleeping mattresses and sleeping bags. The most common use of the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent is for families. If you’re seeking a more private Glamping experience, we’d recommend the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent.
Head Room
The tent has an Interior Peak Height (IPH) of 6’8” (203 cm). Even the tallest camper will find ample head space to walk around the interior of the tent.
Doors and Vestibules
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent has a front and rear entrance. Each entryway has an attached rainfly that’s stretched approximately 1’ (30 cm) over the entryway with hooped fly poles. The awning will provide some wet weather protection but isn’t large enough to protect gear from inclement weather.
The front and rear entrances are located at the North and South end of the tunnel.
Doorway sizes
Each doorway is “D” shaped and is approximately 4’ x 5’ (122 x 152 cm).
Vestibule
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent lacks a vestibule.
Storage
There are many different storage options inside the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent.
- Eight ground-accessible, six-section, hanging pockets. Four pockets are located in each section of the tent.
- Four sewn-in attached pockets at the center of the tent near the center tent poles. Since these are sewn into the tent, we don’ recommend using them in wet conditions.
- One gear loft is located in the center of each room. It’s a good location for small lightweight items.
- A hanging loop beneath each gear loft is perfect for hanging a LED
- Two Hanging Media Pocket with adjustable straps allow for group media playback on either (or both!) ends of the tent.
Lacking a vestibule, or screened porch area, you’ll be left storing gear in your automobile, or dedicating a portion of the interior tent to gear storage.
Breathability and Ventilation
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent has two dedicated “windows”. There is one interior zippable window as part of each exterior door.
The bulk of the ventilation is accomplished through the No-See-Um mesh that’s used for both the tent ceiling and the upper portion of the exterior tent walls.
The rainfly may be entirely removed to allow complete ventilation, or partially rolled up to allow for partial ventilation.
It would be an improvement to have low-level ventilation ports for humid conditions.
Ventilation Features
An interesting design choice from Ozark Trail has led to the merging of the ceiling No-See-um mesh with the side panels. Typically constructed of nylon, polyester, or Dyneema, the upper ⅔ of the side panels of the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent are constructed from No-See-Um mesh.
Exterior side windows
We’re not particularly impressed with windows that can only be covered and uncovered from the exterior of the tent. (In almost every scenario, you’ll end up outside the tent in the middle of the night adjusting the rainfly.) The approximate size of the side wall window panel is 10’ x 4’ (305 x 122 cm) if the rain fly is partially rolled up.
Exterior Doorways
Two exterior doorways contain No-See-Um mesh windows that are approximately 3’6” x 4’ (107 x 122 cm) in size. Each doorway window may be zippered open, or the entire doorway may be tied back, to allow cross ventilation.
Ceiling
The entire rainfly may be removed to allow additional airflow.
Weather Resistance
Similar to the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent, the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent has a higher price point than other similar-sized Ozark Trail tents. The higher price point is easily detectable in the overall weather resistance of the material.
Wind resistance
A hybrid tent comprised of both a tunnel tent and a dome tent isn’t where you want to be during heavy wind. The overall simplicity of the tent is appealing, but tall dome tents, nor long tunnel tents, aren’t where you want to be in heavy winds.
Rain resistance
We like the improved Hydrostatic Head (HH) value of 1200 in the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent. Other similar models in the Ozark Trail product line have HH values of 600. A HH value is a measurement of water resistance. A higher HH value is good news.
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent is manufactured from recycled Polyester Taffeta with a thread count of 185.
Ozark Trail recommends that you apply a waterproofing seal to the interior seams on the tent before taking the tent out on a field expedition.
Rainfly
We question the practical application of a rainfly that needs to be deployed to provide rain protection for both the ceiling and sidewalls.
The removable rainfly seams were taped for water resistance at the Ozark factory. The rainfly covers the tent ceiling and exterior No-See-Um mesh walls.
Durability
There are too many user reviews mentioning durability issues to not cast a cautious eye towards the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent. We recommend sealing the seams, picking up larger tent stakes, and adding a roll of repair tape to your toolkit.
Tent Floor
The tent floor is constructed from Poly Oxford 210D 1200mm. Multiple user reviews mention water seeping through the tent floor and into the tent. We recommend taking the additional step of laying out a ground tarp before setting up the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent.
Poles
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Star Tent has nine preconnected color-coded fiberglass poles. Multiple user reviews mention the fiberglass poles shattering, so we recommend bringing a few spare poles.
Ease of Use
You could set up the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent all by yourself, but it’ll be much easier with an extra set of hands. User reviews indicate setup times between twenty and thirty minutes.
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person tunnel Tent is an external frame tent.
How to Set up the Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent
- Place the tent on the ground and stretch it out.
- Stake down opposite corners of the tent after pulling the tent floor snugly. Set the stakes at a 45-degree angle.
- Extend each pre-connected fiberglass pole
- The four longest poles are the main roof poles
- The shortest poles are for the door awnings
- The next longest pole is the center hoop pole
- The remaining two poles are the front and back hoop poles
- Slide the main poles through the green sleeves that are located on the opposite sides of the tent.
- The poles will form an “X” at each end of the dome tent.
- Two people will gently flex the main fiberglass poles into an arch and connect the end of the pole with the pin located at the corner of the tent.
- Connect the pre-attached plastic hooks to the fiberglass tent pole that was just inserted
- Repeat the process for the remaining three corners.
- Insert the remaining fiberglass (white tape) through the white pole sleeve in the center of the tent.
- Two people will gently flex the main fiberglass poles into an arch and connect the end of the pole with the pin located at the center of the tent.
- Connect the pre-attached plastic hooks to the fiberglass tent pole that was just inserted
- Insert the front hoop pole (yellow tape) into the tan pole sleeve above the primary entrance of the tent.
- Two people will gently flex the hoop fiberglass poles into an arch and connect the end of the pole with the pin located at the entrance of the tent.
- Repeat the process at the other end of the tent.
- Spread out the rainfly and attach it to the fiberglass poles with Velcro
- Awning poles should be inserted into the sleeve above the doorways
- Gently flex the fiberglass and insert each end into the grommets that are located on both sides of the doorway.
- Repeat the process on the other doorway.
- Extend each Guy-Line and stake it into the ground.
- Adjust the tension adjustment slider to tighten the Guy-Lines
Packed Size and Weight
The Ozark Trail Hazel Creek 20-Person Tunnel Tent weighs 47.4 lbs (21.5 kg) and has a packed size of 25.5” x 11.5” x 11.5” (65 x 29 x 29 cm). Given its sheer size as a 20-person tent, the packed size is quite reasonable. You’ll easily be able to pack this into your automobile’s backseat.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Space! Bring your friends!
- Plenty of hanging storage
- Hanging preattached room divider
- Two E-Ports; power either end of the tent
- Hanging movie screen
- Ease of setup
Cons
- Combined sidewall and ceiling No-See-Um mesh eliminates most exterior windows. Sidewall windows are covered/uncovered outside the tent with the rainfly.
- Floor material requires reinforcement
- Lack of privacy-Ten campers in each room
- Fiberglass pole easily shatters
- Tent material easily tears
- Lack of low-level ventilation
- Weight
Rating
| Comfort and Space | 8/10 |
| Weather Resistance | 6/10 |
| Durability | 6/10 |
| Ease of Setup | 7/10 |
| Size and Weight | 7/10 |
