1960es wrote:I use the ozark trail instant one, too. I like it but the real reason I got it is because unlike most, the floor is attached to the rest of it. I was paranoid a copperhead would come in one of the others ....
* When I first prepared for camping, after 30+ years not doing so, I had (and do still do have) a fear of snakes.
I had a cottonmouth crawl thru my tent once in the Boy Scouts, atop my sleeping bag, just a couple of months after I saw the Rifleman snake episode...it left me super-wary of snakes ever since. I finished that camp-out, sleeping in the back of a station wagon, and carried a cot with me (against the rules) after that. It also doesn't help that I have snakes in my yard and garage, and kill 3-4 copperheads or moccasins every year. So, Ditto on getting a tent with a sewn-in floor, but in my case, it's the attached side-tent style.
* But I've since made adjustments so I don't have to depend on the flooring, and use an open-bottom tent. I string rope lights under my trailer and into the teepee pop-up tent I prefer, to illuminate all around for critter detection, and I have a push-button activated strip of LED's under each door, as a backup. I also have a good flashlight by each door, and never step out until I see what's underneath. I carry a good flashlight on my belt loops all the time, as I patrol the yard at night, protecting our 4 small dogs, 12 lbs and under (the two 100 lb dogs have sense enough to stay clear of the snakes). I figure that I should do the same at camp, especially with my decreasing nighttime acuity.
* Getting away from the topic, but still, I'd rather not get bit while "taking the Browns to the Super Bowl" (a funny saying I heard just today, referring to potty habits).