Ozark Trail Scout Junior Dome Tent, my review

The Ozark Trail Scout Junior Dome Tent has undergone a couple of tests this past week.  I took it for camping at the Fundy National Park in New Brunswick and at the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia.

The Fundy National Park was a real challenge for any tent.  It was obvious though that this tent would have gotten me into a lot of trouble had it not been for a tarp I set up right over the tent.  Even with a tarp over it, the tent allowed water in.  I noticed that water was getting in at the seams where the product label and the mesh pouch were stitched to the tent.  Water was dripping in slowly, enough to get my sleeping bag all wet if it were not for the foam pad I used under the sleeping bag.  (It would really suck if my sleeping bag did get wet!)

Now, the tarp did not protect the entire tent.  That was my mistake.  I let one side of the tarp to droop over the side of the tent that leaked water in.  The depression in the tarp allowed water to collect and drop onto that side of the tent.  It was just too much water.  I eventually realized the mistake and fixed it but still, there was enough moisture in the air that water was still building on the wall of the tent and eventually seeps in through the seams.

The Cape Breton Highlands National Park presented a different challenge to the tent.  This time, it was brute force wind.  I had no idea how strong the winds were but in the middle of the night, the wind was so strong it felt like the tent was going to collapse onto me.  I did not get much sleep that night.  I do not know whether it was because the wind was so loud it kept on interrupting my sleep or that I woke up whenever the sides of the tents were closing in on me.  Well, the tent held up quite well.  The poles were flexible and strong enough to hold up to what I think was probably 60 km/h winds.  I was camping on a cliff of the Corney Brook campground in the park, so we were getting the full force of the wind out there.

In terms of the size of the tent, although one side is six feet long and I am 5'7", it's too short for me.  I had to sleep in a diagonal.  This tent is really a one-person tent for me then.  The smaller size of the tent allows for easy setup and tear-down.  It can easily be set up in 5 minutes.  Tear-down was equally quick.

Thus, would I take this tent on another trip?  Maybe.  I will have to think about sealing the seams.  The rain fly covers only the top so there is only one layer between you and the rain.  I would have to bring a tarp along, so I actually pack the tarp in the same carrying bag as the tent now.  The tarp is easy to set up in a wooded area but in the open space of the Corney Brook campground, I had to fashion a couple of pegs out of tree branches and staked in the ground.

Ozark Trail Scout Junior Dome Tent

With 24 hours to go, excitement is building up.  I am in Halifax and will be heading to Fundy National Park in a day.  I will be setting up tent with the 2-person Ozark Trail Scout Junior Dome Tent for the first time--I should have done a test setup back home first ... oh well.  We will see how it keeps up with the weather.  It's been raining on and off in Halifax.  I suppose it will be not much better in Fundy National Park tomorrow.

City Slicker, part 3

As of the beginning of this week, that tent under the bridge is gone.  In its place, more to the right of where the tent used to be, is a smaller dome tent.  There are more backpacks around that around now.  I think the street family is moving in ....

Ozark Trail Scout Junior Dome Tent

I am planning a trip to Nova Scotia.  I will be camping for a couple of days in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  My backpack is going to be heavy and big so I need to reduce its size and weight somehow.  The first thing that will go is my 3-tent tent.  It is relatively light but it is at the same time heavy and big, too big for me to easily find space in my backpack.

I was browsing around Walmart looking today for a car roof rack when I came across the camping section.  I picked up this Ozark Trail Scout Junior Dome Tent for less than $18.  It is a 2-person tent meant.  Is is "Junior" because I think it is meant for kids.  I am not that much than the tall kids these days, and this tent footprint is 6'x5'.  Sleeping diagonally, I would have plenty of room.  I would have enough space for my gears and boots that I will haul inside the tent.

There are only two colours to choose from:  blue and orange.  I picked orange.  I think it blends into a forest better and can stand out more in the snow (if the purpose is to attract attention--for a rescue for example.).

I think the only problem I will have with this tent is that the rain fly is a small. The 3-men tent I have can withstand quite a bit of rain.  So, I bought a tarp to go along.  The whole thing is still lighter and more compact than my 3-men tent.  Maybe another problem (that other people have reported) might be the poles ... they tend to snap, I read.  The poles are definitely thinner than those for my 3-men tent.

We will see how things go at the end of June.

City Slicker, part 2

That tent is still up this morning when I passed by it.  It has been a week and I'm surprised the city has not learned of it.  I guess no one really cares that it's there.  Well, the thing is, most people taking this exit from the highway are coming from outside the city, so it doesn't bother them that this fellow is camping under the bridge.  The high-rise just north of the bridge cannot see the tent so no one really knows.  It'd be interesting to see how long it will persist.

My current tent

Car Camping

I have had this Outdoor Works Summit 3-man tent for about ten years now.  I had to buy this tent because the canvas tent I used to use developed mold after one wet camping trip and I forgot to dry it out.  The canvas tent was heavy and hard to set up too.

This Outdoor Works Summit tent has withstood heavy rain and wind.  The sleeping area is 7'x7', made for three people.  I have had three people sleeping cozily in it but I think it's much more comfortable when there are only two.  In the picture, my tent is to the left.  The sleeping area has a mesh wall.  What you see is the outside rain cover.

Under the rain cover, there is vestibule outside of the sleeping area.  The vestibule is great for storing your backpacks and other gears, keeping them out of the rain.  When there are only two people in my tent, I would bring my backpack into the sleeping area, so it would be easier to access camping equipment or more clothes at night, should I need to.

I like this tent a lot.  I do find it a bit long to set up.  It has three poles--two to create the arches over the sleeping area and one to create the arch of the vestibule.  It would take me maybe ten minutes to set things up.  In the rain, that might be too slow.

The tent is not too heavy.  I can take it with me while doing interior camping.  Compared with much more expensive tents designed for solo camping, this is heavier and is harder to set up though.

Well, it will do for now.

City Slicker

What's more exciting than camping under the stars?

Camping under a kiloton bridge.  Out of nowhere, I noticed something odd off to my left down a ramp as I exited the highway.  It took me three days before I could take any photo of this metropolitan camper.

Years ago, there was a shelter built somewhere under a similar bridge.  It lasted for a while under city officials took a whiff of it and came in with the police to clear the area.  It was too bad I thought.  I did not get a chance to take a picture of it.  I had no idea where it was except that it must have been close to this location.  Well, it's back.  Something is back.  Maybe it's the same guy.  Maybe he'll last longer this time around.

All the best, to all campers, homeless or not!