The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent with a Bonus Screen Room is an entry-level tent that’s ideal for campers who seek the convenience of an instant setup tent. After a quick setup via pre-attached telescoping poles, you’re well on your way towards relaxation.
A screened front porch will have you enjoying the outdoors bug-free and a no-see-um mesh ceiling allows nighttime stargazing access. The hefty weight relegates this tent to car camping or backyard adventures. A modest entry-level tent with a lot to offer, the attractive price point shouldn’t be ignored.
Comfort and Space
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent, with a Bonus Screen Room, is a whopping 14’ x 13.5’ (427 x 411 cm) equating to 189 square feet (17.9 sqm) of floor space.
Room divider
The Living room and Sleeping room may be evenly divided via a detachable room divider.
Living Room and Sleeping Room
The Living room and Sleeping room have equal individual floor spaces of approximately 7’ x 9.5’ (213 x 289 cm), equating to 66.5 square feet (6.2 sqm) per room. The roof has a no-see-um mesh ceiling.
If the detachable room divider is utilized, six full-sized adults can squeeze into the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent. If the room divider isn’t used, seven adults can shoehorn themselves into the tent if you utilize the Bonus Screen Room.
Bonus Screen Room
Two adults can cowboy camp, on the dirt floor, in the Bonus Screen room. The Bonus Room sleepers will be susceptible to rain/water/wind either via the ground or the front and side unprotected no-see-um mesh panels.
Head Room
With an Interior Peak Height of 7’ (213 cm), the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent is all about space. You’ll have enough room to stand up straight and walk around the interior of the tent.
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent is a cabin-style pop-up tent with exterior poles. Pop-up tents are best utilized for quick and easy setup but really aren’t your best friend in heavy winds or rain.
Doors and Vestibules
Doors
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent has both a Screened Porch front with dual doors and two additional doors that lead into the Living and Sleeping spaces.
The Screened Bonus Room and Living Room/Sleeping Room doors are approximately 7’ X 5’ (213 x 152 cm)
Vestibule
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent has a no-see-um mesh screened porch. The no-see-um mesh encapsulates the Front Porch on the top, left, right, and front of the porch.
There is no floor in the Front Porch. There is a small portable Polyethylene “rug” that may be placed in the vestibule. Many users discard the supplied Polyethylene rug and bring their own patio-style rug for improved functionality and easier clean-up.
Gear Storage
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent isn’t loaded with a great deal of ground-level accessible gear storage. There’s a single large hanging gear organizer that’s approximately 3’ x 2’ (91 x 61 cm) in size. The organizer has nine separate pockets. This is the only storage location for portable electronics, glasses, and other small items.
The front Screened Bonus Room is a good place to store extra gear (or additional campers!) in fair weather.
There are two hanging loops located at the center of the tent’s ceiling. The primary purpose of each loop is to hold up the tent divider, but they may also be used for very lightweight hanging gear, such as a lantern.
If the tent is full of campers, your automobile is a good gear storage location. Your vehicle is also a good location to store your portable power supply. Electronics in the tent may be powered or recharged from an external power supply into the tent via the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent’s E-Port.
Breathability and Ventilation
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent has a removable rainfly. When the rainfly is removed, the entire tent’s ceiling is a no-see-um mesh. Talk about ventilation!
Ventilation Features
Screened Bonus Room
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent Bonus Screen Room has no-see-um mesh side panels, ceiling, and front doors. The front doors may be tied back to increase airflow. We recommend leaving one door staked to the ground and tying back the other door. This configuration would allow you to zip both doors together and keep the doors the maximal distance from the tent for extra protection from insects.
Living Room and Sleeping Room
There’s a great deal of no-see-um window mesh for cooling cross ventilation options.
- The Living Room and Sleeping room doors are approximately 7’ x 5’ (213 x 152 cm). Approximately 7’ x 4’ (213 x 122 cm) are no-see-um mesh. The doors may be zipped closed for privacy.
- There are two windows, 2.5’ x 3’ (76.2 x 91 cm), located on each side of the Living Room/Sleeping Room doorway.
- There are two windows, 2’ x 3’ (61 x 91 cm), located on the left and right side panels.
- There are two windows, 2’ x 3’ (61 x 91 cm), located on the rear wall of the tent.
- A single floor vent is located beneath each of the side panel windows.
- It would be a shame to miss the fact that the entire ceiling is mesh no-see-um! Talk about maximizing the airflow!
Weather Resistance
Wind Resistance
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent shouldn’t be your “go to” tent during the rainy season, but that’s no reason to eliminate this tent from your consideration. A few online reviewers have commented about the tent’s poor wind resistance, but many more reviewers have mentioned its sturdiness during wind/rain storms.
If you’ll be camping in windy conditions, consider more sturdy tent stakes.
Rain Resistance
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent gives you the option to camp with the rainfly on or off the tent. With the rainfly installed, you’ll have some degree of rain protection over the Sleeping, Living, and Porch areas. Without the rainfly, you’re going to have a soggy experience due to the 100% mesh tent ceiling.
The rainfly does provide a small amount of drip protection for the side and rear windows. However, it does not protect the front and side windows or the sides and front of the screen porch.
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent and rainfly are made from Recycled Poly Taffeta with 185 vertical and horizontal polyester threads per inch. You’ll definitely want to treat the tent seams before you embark on your expedition.
Durability
Floor
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent floor is constructed from Polyethylene.
Many users plan to take furniture with them to set up inside the tent. Isn’t that one good reason you’re buying this beast? We’d recommend taking along a tarp and placing it under the tent before setup. This will protect the tent from sharp objects, both above and below the tent floor.
Make sure the tarp is the right size. A 14’ x 14’ tarp should be perfect for this tent.
Poles
The poles are constructed from steel. While there is a great deal of telescoping poles, they’re almost all already connected to the tent. The tent entrance poles are loose and will need to be attached together and connected to the tent.
Ease of Use
Ozark recommends that two people work together to erect the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent. Many users indicate they set the tent up alone but wished they had a second set of hands to assist.
How to Set Up the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent
- Unpack the tent and lay it out on the ground
- Extend the tent leg poles at each corner of the tent until the connections snap into their predetermined locations.
- Extend the Screen Porch poles and insert the left pole, right pole, and then the center pole. Connect the Center Screen Porch pole to the left and right screen porch poles.
- Stake the tent through the pin ring connectors at the base of the tent
- Drape the rainfly over the tent and connect it to the tent base with the preconnected S-hooks.
- Attach the guy lines that have been pre-attached to the rainfly
Packed Size and Weight
The packed size of the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent is 48” x 11” x 11” (122 x 28 x 28 cm). This is a serious size commitment that shouldn’t be underestimated. It will fit into your automobile, but it’s going to take a fair amount of space. It will definitely eat up an entire shelf in your garage.
The Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent weighs 41 lbs (18.58 kg). Instant tents are all about ease of setup, not having a dainty footprint or being extremely lightweight. Having said that, the Ozark Trail 9-Person Instant Cabin Tent does tip the scales at about 25% heavier than a similarly sized competitor that doesn’t have a Screened Bonus Porch.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Rapid set up
- Price point
- Ventilation
- Mesh porch to star gaze
- Room separator
Cons
- Packed weight
- Lack of ground-level storage
- High profile
| Comfort and Space | 8 |
| Weather Resistance | 7 |
| Durability | 7 |
| Ease of Setup | 10 |
| Size and Weight | 7 |
