Coleman vs. REI vs. Gazelle vs. Ozark Trail: Which Brand Wins the Camping Tent Showdown?
Whether you’re car camping at your local state park for the week or venturing deep into the backcountry, you will need a quality shelter.Tents are a miracle of engineering. With a couple of pounds of nylon and aluminum, you have a wilderness-ready shelter that can withstand just about anything: snow, wind, rain, bugs, and they can even keep out the cold. There are a TON of camping tent brands out there, so it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which one is the best. In this guide, I will make a comprehensive comparison between these four most popular camping tent brands:Coleman, REI, Gazelle and Ozark Trail to help you make the right choice at the checkout. Let's begin!
Coleman
Coleman Brand History and Origin
The Coleman Company, Inc. is an American brand of outdoor recreation products, now owned by Newell Brands. Founded in 1900 by William Coffin Coleman, Coleman originally developed gas-powered lanterns and went on to develop camping stoves in the ’40s, coolers in the ’50s, and tents in the ’60s! Its main office was originally located in Oklahoma, while today its primary office is in Chicago, but there are others also in Wichita, Kansas, and Texas.
Today, the brand is best known today for making affordable yet quality camping gear, from tents to camp kitchen equipment to survival gear, Coleman has everything you need for your outdoor adventure, whether you are off-grid in the backcountry or in your backyard!
Coleman Camping Tent Design & Style
Coleman tents deliver both style and fun for different situations, and are able to fit a capacity of anything from 2 up to about 9 people, depending on the type you pick. There are about 60 different tent models.
The Coleman Dome Tent is a signature design. It’s a simple, yet efficient design which maximizes interior volume and minimizing overall weight.Most Coleman Dome Tents utilize a two pole system to lift and suspend the tent body. A rainfly is then placed on top, which may require the use of additional poles to prop up the canopy. Guy lines are then used to secure the rainfly to the ground and to minimize rainfall onto the main tent body.
Coleman Instant tents are designed to be erected very quickly (after some practice), hence the name. The poles and tent fabric come pre-attached. A hub at the center of the tent roof connects all the support poles. Once aligned, all the outer poles are simply extended to lift the tent into place.
Coleman also introduced a line of backpacking tents called the Hooligan™. The tent comes in two variants: 2-person and 4-person capacities.The Coleman Hooligan™ is designed for rugged weather conditions in the backcountry. Unlike most of the other Coleman tents, the Hooligan comes with a full rainfly which protects the tent and vestibule area from intense rain and wind.
Coleman Camping Tent Material & Durability
Many of Coleman's tents are easy to set up and dismantle. The most used materials are nylon, polyester, carbon, aluminum, and steel. Some of Coleman’s tent poles are fiberglass rather than aluminum.They’re hassle-free meaning that they don’t have the over-the-top features of more expensive tents.
At the extreme budget end of the spectrum is camping giant Coleman. By spending less, you can expect to make a number of sacrifices, including all-around quality, longevity, and weather protection. But if you only plan to camp in fair weather, it’s hard to beat the savings. Coleman tents are simple, affordable, and a sublime choice for the relaxed budget camper.
The Prices of Coleman Camping Tents: $29.99 - $569.99
Where to Buy Coleman Camping Tent for the Cheapest?
Coleman (4-5% cashback)
Home Depot (6-8% cashback)
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REI
REI Brand History and Origin
Recreational Equipment, Incorporated (REI) has been your outdoor co-op for 82 years. REI was founded in 1938 when a group of 23 climbing friends, united by their love for the outdoors, decided to source quality and affordable gear for their adventures. Today the REI community has 20 million lifetime members, nearly 15,000 employees and 168 locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
While much has changed since REI’s beginnings, their passion for life outside lives on in everything they do. The company not only provides backpacking equipment that helps people enjoy the environment, but also donates money to ecological projects on a regular basis. It sells camping gear, hiking, climbing, cycling, water, running, fitness, snow, travel equipment, and men, women and kids clothing. It also offers services such as outdoor-oriented vacations and courses.
REI Camping Tent Design & Style
REI manufactures and sells many different styles of tent, suitable for different situations like easy camping:
Roof-top tents: Kind of treehouse/tent combo, it lets you stack sleeping and parking in one spot. When picking a rooftop tent, make sure it fits on your roof rack.
Backpacking tents: Balance weight, capacity, weather and comfort when choosing a backpacking tent to carry into the backcountry. These backpacking tents are some of our favorites.
Shelters: Covers everything from sun canopies and bug refuges to tarps and minimalist shelters for ultralight backpacking.
Hammock tents: Combine a hammock with weather and/or bug protection and you get another type of ultralight shelter.
REI Camping Tent Material & Durability
REI Co-op is beloved among outdoor enthusiasts across the country, and for good reason. Known for being value-oriented, REI’s in-house selection of tents typically undercuts the competition considerably without sacrificing much in the way of quality or performance.
Unlike Coleman, REI tents get you considerably better protection and longevity with upgraded materials (many of Coleman’s tent poles are fiberglass rather than aluminum), hardware, and seam sealing.
The Prices of REI Camping Tents: $62.93 - $5000
Where to Buy REI Camping Tent for the Cheapest?
eBay (4-4.6% cashback)
Gazelle
Gazelle Brand History and Origin
Gazelle Tents is a major camping & hiking brand which competes with other top camping & hiking brands such as L.L.Bean, Eddie Bauer and Carhartt. Gazelle Tents sells mid-range purchase size items on its own website and partner sites in the extremely competitive online camping & hiking industry.
The Gazelle comes from the minds behind Eskimo shelters, which make collapsible blinds and ice fishing houses. The borrowed technology makes the Gazelle a breeze to set up.
Gazelle Camping Tent Design & Style
Gazelle Tents use a unique hub design that has been used in our products for over a fifteen years. Our tents and gazebos popup in seconds and withstand the elements. Spend less time dealing with complicated assembly and more time enjoying the outdoors.
The portable gazebos set up and take down in under 60 seconds. There is no assembly required and no loose parts.
The hub Tents are loaded with features and come fully-assembled and set up and takes down in under 90 seconds.
Gazelle Camping Tent Material & Durability
Gazelle's tent shell material is a 210 denier Oxford weave polyester, and the floors and footprints are a 300 denier Oxford weave. Oxford is a basket weave where multiple weft threads are crossed over an equal number of warp threads. The two-by-two weave creates more durable fabrics.
It also uses tight-weave mesh for all of their screens. This type of mesh is sometimes called a no-see-um mesh, that excels at keeping even the tiniest of pests out.
The Prices of Gazelle Camping Tents: $49.99 - $679.99
Where to Buy Gazelle Camping Tent for the Cheapest?
Camping World (1.5-2% cashback)
Ozark Trail
Ozark Trail Brand History and Origin
Walmart, Inc., like many large retail and grocery chain stores, offers private brands (also called house brands or store brands), which are lower-priced alternatives to name brand products.
Ozark Trail is that a private label tent brand owned by Walmart.They make affordable budget-friendly tents of all sizes ranging from 4 to 15+ people. Ozark Trail tents aren’t the best for weather resistance, but that is fine, since they make huge family friendly tents for camping season.
Ozark Trail Camping Tent Design & Style
Whether you're at base camp or in the backyard, you can find tents for any kind of camping from Ozark Trail. Are you backpacking with your significant other? Many two-person tents split the carry load for duos to share and feature a straightforward hub design for quick and easy setup. For protection from the elements, shop for tents with a seam-taped rain fly and a waterproof floor.
Groups of friends or families have many options for tents. These can include an eight-person cabin-style tent with a "screen porch," a 10-person tunnel tent, a sphere tent for 12, and a spacious four-room tent with capacity for 20 campers. For extra sun and rain protection, they offer camping canopys; they're available in many sizes, styles, and colors to coordinate with your tent.
Ozark Trail Camping Tent Material & Durability
Every year, thousands of new campers get their first taste of the outdoors in an Ozark Trail tent. Their combination of space and affordability catches the eye of many campers, but the details on these shelters can be lacking.
Weather resistance and durability are the main downsides. As with all budget tents, you’ll find Ozark Trail tents are heavier, more cumbersome and generally less durable than more expensive options.
The Prices of Ozark Trail Camping Tents: $39.95 - $349
Where to Buy Ozark TrailCamping Tent for the Cheapest?
Walmart (3.5-4% cashback)
eBay (4-4.6% cashback)
Conclusion
Coleman vs. REI vs. Gazelle vs. Ozark Trail: Which Brand Wins the Camping Tent Showdown?
With so much variety in styles and types of camping, we can’t pick a “best” tent brand. It all depends! Figure out what matters most to you, and the amount of time you’ll be spending tent camping and go from there!
Don't expect Coleman gear to perform as well as a top-quality brand, but you can comfortably use it in the summer, and it’ll keep you dry so long as the weather isn’t too wild. It is best for people looking for an overall great tent brand that is surprisingly affordable.
REI tents are known For high quality and variety. If you are looking for the best mix between affordability and durability, then turn to REI Co-op Tents.
If you’re looking for a car camping tent that will fit the whole family and sets up in minutes, the Gazelle is a fair choice for a mammoth shelter and a portable home on the range.
Not the highest quality, but reasonably cheap compared to other brands. It also makes huge family friendly tents for camping season. Ozark Trail tents are great for the occasional camper who just wants a mid-range, inexpensive tent.
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