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. And compared to some of the tents in the EZ-Up lineup, it sells for almost a 70% discount. One could, in theory, purchase a new Ozark canopy every year (which they might need to!) and still come out ahead over the years vs. purchasing a more expensive alternative.
With all that in mind, we found more than a dozen tents that met our criteria. If you love camping but hate eating your morning pancakes in the rain, a canopy tent can protect you from the trifecta of bugs, sun, and sudden showers. No matter what you call them, though, a good one should protect you from the trifecta of outdoor discomforts—sun, rain, and bugs—while you’re picnicking or camping, and it should be intuitively designed and pleasant to sit in.
She has personally tested a dozen tents and an equal number of hair dryers. What better way to enjoy a ballgame, picnic, or any outdoor activity than with a little bit of shade! This 10’x10′ canopy pops up easily, and will keep sun burn and overheating at bay. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions.
This polyester material is less susceptible to UV damage than the nylon that previous versions of this tent incorporated, but it generally has a feel that is not quite as soft. Despite the change in fabric, this REI shelter ozark trail canopy still weighs just 13 pounds, several pounds less than many others of this type. The REI Co-op Screen House Shelter is easy to set up and pleasant to use, providing good protection from bugs, sun, and gentle rain showers.
It is made with a steel construction frame and polyester material for the canopy, which is in line with just about every shade tent on the market today. The frame is that of a pyramid structure, which are generally found in all value brand canopy tents as they require less material to manufacture vs. that of a full truss system and as a result can keep the price lower. The REI Co-op Screen House Shelter is an intuitively designed, easy-to-erect picnic tent that offers protection from sun, bugs, and mild rain showers. Though the boxy design is basic, in our tests we found that this camping shelter offered the best combination of functionality, durability, and affordability of all the tents we tried.
A high ceiling makes the tent feel brighter and more airy than other camping shelters with a similar footprint. The Ozark Trail Commercial Canopy is packed with the features that you need. The frame is powder coated aluminum and steel with push button locking on the frame and height adjustments. The heavy 400D polyester top provides 99% UV protection and is water and fire resistant. There are 4 walls included and one of the walls has a zipper in the center for easy access under the canopy. The canopy folds down to 52.5″ in length and easily fits into the roller bag with all of the accessories.
Though the Clam Quick-Set Escape lacks the versatility of our other picks—it has only a single doorway—its heavy-duty materials and construction make it more durable and likely more appropriate for people who regularly camp in windy or rainy weather. It’s constructed with heavy-duty 210-denier poly oxford walls and the heftiest bug-blocking no-see-um mesh we’ve encountered in any tent. The thicker, darker netting also makes the whole structure shadier, even without the optional side panels.
The innovative frame is powder coated steel with central hub locks for the frame and push button locking height adjustments. The 300D polyester top provides UV protection and is water and fire resistant. Four included walls have mesh panels with curtains and one of the two end walls rolls up for easy access under the canopy.
Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). While the previous version of this tent used beachy-feeling aqua and orange, the current version is a drab olive green more typical of other tents. This doesn’t affect the functionality, but the brighter colors were something we previously praised. We set up ozark trail wagon 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. Adventure is where memories are made, whether it s campouts in the back yard with the kids, Saturdays at the river with friends, or a week in the wilderness alone.
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, especially in the beating desert sun.