Whether you’re here for a few hours or a few weeks, the choice of adventure is entirely yours. Since 1960, we’ve welcomed your family and friends into our fold, making our front yard yours. We invite you to keep the tradition alive with a mile of breathtaking riverfront camping and lodging along the picturesque Meramec River. There’s a reason why makers of professional-grade canopies only use straight-leg frames.
No matter if you’re looking for a tent for camping or a pop up canopy tent, you’ll find just what you need to stay comfortable outdoors with the selection of tents at SCHEELS. The Pacific Breeze Easy Up is a beach tent with a half-dome design and ozark trail canopy enough space to shade one or two adults. Its one-pull setup requires more muscle than anticipated, but overall, it is hassle-free and takes only seconds to erect. At 5.4 pounds, it’s the lightest canopy in our lineup, making it very portable.
If you’d rather have your shelter geared more toward camping, we’ve also reviewed the best camping tents and top backpacking tents on the market. Likewise, if you need a comfortable seat, place to prep your food, or the best cooler, we’ve got you covered. We’ve also tested the best fire pits for your outdoor patio or backyard. No matter what gear you’re in the market for, chances are we’ve got info informed by years of rigorous side-by-side testing. Overall, we think the Ozark Trail canopy serves its intended purpose – a value brand 10×10 instant shelter that caters to price conscious consumers looking for an affordable shade option.
Being protected from the suns harmful UVB rays is probably why you wanted a canopy tent in the first place, and this Ozark Trail tent meets all criteria in this department. The one complaint we have is that there is no vents in the fabric at the peak to release the build up of hot air under the canopy. Most new tents incorporate this ventilated canopy design to increase airflow and reduce the trapping of hot air, helping to keep those in the shade cooler and more comfortable. That’s not the case with a slant leg canopy tent which, as you may have guessed, features legs that are slanted and form an angle of less than 90 degrees with the floor. Our most portable models are the Sun Ninja, Neso 1, and Eureka Tagalong Shelter. These models are all thinner, fold-down styles that weigh far less than the larger canopies on our list.
The roof and mesh windows allow water to enter, and once inside, the waterproof tarp flooring compounds the problem by allowing the rainwater to form puddles inside the tent. While perhaps not as versatile, this is a great structure to have available for a breezy day on the beach. Fully enclosed and ready to protect you from sun, wind, rain, AND bugs, the Clam Outdoors Quick-Set Escape is a perfect shelter for the campground. No assembly is required; this shelter is ready to go right out of the box and can be fully deployed in less than a minute. We admit there is a small learning curve to setting up the Escape, but once you’re locked in, popping this canopy into place is really fun and even somewhat addictive.
To uncover the best canopy tent, we use comprehensive test metrics and cover all manner of use cases and essential details. We also looked closely at the quality of each canopy tent for our craftsmanship metric and measured each tent when packed up to provide details on portability. We weighted each metric according to its importance before grading and ranking each shelter, side by side, on a scale of 1-10.
Jason is also an avid car camper, hiker, and backpacker and has extensive knowledge of general outdoor gear. The included stakes are very short, thin, and somewhat ineffective; we recommend purchasing larger thicker stakes for your Caravan V-Series. The canopy material is adequate but less rugged, and rainwater tends to drip through during a substantial downpour. The wheels on the roller bag are mostly cosmetic, as they are very ineffective on most terrains. That said, if you don’t expect to use your tent in rugged environments, this is a solid option for a nice big canopy tent at a bargain price.
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. All things considered, the REI Screen House Shelter is our favorite portable model. This massive, 10×10 fully enclosed canopy packs down small and only weighs 13 pounds. It’s the ultimate mosquito net that is also lightweight and compact enough to hitch a ride on any adventure trip. We looked for features like double-stitched seams, weather taping, steel, robust fabrics, and fewer moving parts. Travel to the top of the Inspiration Tower to experience the beauty of the Ozark mountains from the sky.