The Eurmax Standard 10×10 offers 100 square feet of sun protection and a peak height of 11 feet. Very high-quality materials were used to produce this shelter, making it our hands-down choice for the best recreational canopy tent on the market. Despite its size and weight, the Eurmax is quite easy to set up and take down. Great canopy textiles, quick-release tabs, reinforced trusses, and a beefy steel frame allow the Eurmax to tower over other models we tested.
In addition to costing you a few extra clams, this product doesn’t pack up very small. When stowed in its carrying case, it could easily be confused with a winter travel bag carrying snow skis. Its packed size is more than six feet, making it difficult to fit into an average-sized car. But if you’ve got a big enough rig, this is a dream canopy tent to add to your campsite. The canopy tent has mesh walls on all four sides and an edge of polyester fabric (also DWR treated) at the ground that deters mosquitos and other critters from invading from below. Like many tents of this type, the REI Screen House Shelter has a fabric hook in the center of the ceiling that accommodates a small lantern or other light.
From a positive perspective, the lightweight design increases portability which is certainly important in carrying the tent to its intended location. From a negative perspective, the weight is indicative of a lack of high quality material and components used throughout the shelter. The included carrying bag does not have wheels to aid in transportation, but at only 29 lbs. We don’t find that to be a noteworthy drawback as the nylon handles and shoulder strap work just fine in carrying the tent. The Clam Quick-Set Escape was by far the toughest canopy tent we tested. It’s made with reinforced polyester and heavyweight no-see-um mesh, and it comes with the strongest stakes we’ve seen on any tent.
And if you can step into the next price bracket, the Eurmax Standard 10×10 is hands-down our top choice. The added cost will buy you stronger materials and a structure that you won’t have to worry about falling apart for many years to come — if at all. We also really like the E-Z UP Pyramid, Coleman 10×10 Sun Shelter, and the ABCCANOPY Patio Pop Up. All three models offer the same shade coverage as the Eurmax, but their roller bags don’t offer the same quality. Compared with our top day-tent pick, the L.L.Bean Woodlands Screen House uses arguably superior materials; it also comes with an unsurpassed warranty.
Canopies in this category are the Eurmax, Quick-Set Escape, E-Z UP Pyramid, Caddis Rapid Shelter, and Caravan Canopy V-Series. The Eurmax and E-Z Up both received lower portability scores because they are heavy and more difficult to lift from the car to the ground. Likewise, they are larger and more difficult to fit into a smaller vehicle. However, once on the ground, their roller bags make it extremely easy to pull them over concrete, dirt, and grass.
So, for those of you who are enticed by the cheap prices of slant leg canopies, we’re here to warn you to not waste your money – even if it only costs you $75 or $100. The Pacific Breeze Easy Up and the Qipi Beach Cabana came in just behind the top scorers. This position is primarily due to their larger packed sizes, which makes ozark trail canopy them slightly more difficult to carry and store. The Qipi, in particular, has a much longer packed size and, at nearly 10 pounds, it’s heavier than the others mentioned above. The Easy Up may have been the lightest in our list of top scorers, but it also comes in a longer packed size, which affected its overall score.
There’s a reason why makers of professional-grade canopies only use straight-leg frames. The Clam Quick-Set Escape weighs 34 pounds and comes in a 6-foot-long, ski-bag-shaped carry case that is too big to fit into most sedan trunks. As we pulled this monster out of its box, we were skeptical that we would erect it in anything close to the promised 45 seconds. We set up the REI Screen House Shelter and L.L.Bean’s Woodlands Screen House side by side in the Mojave Desert in 100-degree temps. Fellow campers consistently gravitated toward the REI shelter over the L.L.Bean. Kalee Thompson is an editor covering health, fitness, baby, and kid gear.
A later check of the weather at nearby Point Mugu Naval Air Station confirmed top recorded wind gusts of 40 miles per hour. We later used the shelters on group trips at Wheeler Gorge Campground near Ojai, California, and at the La Jolla group campsite at Point Mugu, as well as on a trip to the El Mirage Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. The biggest issue in all of this is the inability to withstand any rotational pressure during medium and high impact weather conditions as the joints become unstable and collapse at the mid points. In windy conditions high stress is applied to each side and the frame begins to break down at the unreinforced joint connectors. The Eureka Tagalong scored a little lower but still holds its own in terms of craftsmanship. It is a lighter-weight product, which inherently involves thinner, less durable materials.