But with a ceiling that’s 6 inches lower, it feels smaller and darker. It always cost more than our top pick, but the price has gone up another $150 since we first tested it. A lower roof makes this shelter feel notably smaller than our top pick, but it’s also durably made and ready to pair with a superior rain fly (sold separately). As mentioned before, the door on the Evanston only opens halfway.
The best screen tent shelters have mesh screens that prevent no-see-ums from entry. L.L.Bean’s Woodlands Screen House is remarkably similar to our top pick, REI’s Screen House Shelter; the two canopies have an identical footprint and pole structure. But the L.L.Bean tent’s peak ceiling height coleman instant tent of 6 feet 6 inches is half a foot lower than that of the REI tent, making it feel notably darker and less spacious. It typically costs more (in fact, the price has risen substantially—more than $150—since we first tested it) and lacks the convenient strap-equipped carrying bag we like.
We tested the Coleman 10 × 10 Instant Screened Canopy and Walmart’s Ozark Trail 10′ × 10′ Instant Screen House during our first round of testing in the winter and spring of 2016. These two shelters are the same size and shape (7-foot peak height, 17 pounds) with an almost identical design. The cap-like roofs on both models provided far less shade than we wanted, coleman screen tent especially in the beating desert sun. Finally, these shelters feel noticeably smaller than any of our picks. We also tested and liked the Coleman Mountain View 12 x 12 Screendome Shelter; it was an also-great pick until Coleman discontinued the model. The durable nylon-mesh fabric boasts water-resistant construction to keep people and items dry in light rains.
This is one of the larger camping shelters at 120 square feet, and while the setup isn’t quite instant, most people can manage it in under 30 minutes with 2-3 people. If you’re ready to take your next camping trip up another notch, we’ve rounded up our picks for the best screen houses for camping, no matter your group size or weather. The shelter has a 10-by-10-foot footprint—the most common size for tents of this type—and a peak height of 7 feet. It will shelter a standard-size picnic table, but with little room to spare.
This screen house is easy to set up, but note that it might be worth watching a video on how to fold it back into a disk shape. This REI shelter has a standard amount of room (100 square feet) with a peak height of seven feet, so lots of room for tall people. The best screen houses for camping – no matter what kind of adventure you have planned in the wild. You’re also given steel stakes and some guylines to secure it to the ground when things get windy. With all the mesh off though, we recommend tying it down anyway as it’s a little more unstable without the walls.
Screen houses offer little protection from the sun due to their mesh walls. If you need extra space for storing extra gear or equipment, this screen house from Alvantor is the one to go for. It’s coleman ice chest large enough that you can easily fit all of your gear inside and still have room to stand freely inside. Comparatively, the Alvantor screen house is also fairly decent with a high roof design.