The Best Canopy Tent for Camping and Picnics Reviews by Wirecutter

That team is also pretty helpful to have when our marketing team needs to explain why a straight leg canopy has more structural integrity than a slant leg canopy. The Eurmax was followed closely by the Quick-Set Escape and E-Z Up Pyramid. Every stress point on the Quick-Set Escape is reinforced, and all its seams are double-stitched and taped. We feel the E-Z Up Pyramid is almost as well-made as the Eurmax; however, its frame and canopy materials are slightly thinner. Additionally, its roller bag’s wheel assembly is mostly plastic. Heavier cathedral-style canopy tents can often be challenging because of their weight; however, most are fairly simple to deploy.

ozark trail canopy

The Coleman 15 × 13 Instant Screenhouse is essentially a larger version of the Coleman 10 × 10 Instant Screened Canopy, and it has similar shortcomings. The sloping walls make the interior space feel much smaller than the generous footprint might lead you to expect. The mesh doesn’t seem particularly durable, and given the cap-like roof, the shade provided is much more limited than with our top-pick tents. The Woodlands Screen House uses six lightweight aluminum poles, just like the Screen House Shelter.

In addition to the models from REI and L.L.Bean, which became our new top picks, we tested the Coleman 15 × 13 Instant Screenhouse and the Wenzel Sun Valley Screen House. 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. One wall comes fully unzipped and stashes into an internal pocket. Like the REI model, the L.L.Bean tent has ample interior pockets, a lantern hook, and a roomy carrying bag, though the bag is of the typical drawstring-sack variety. 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.

Still, the lightweight and portable design makes up for this, especially in the right use cases. This metric considers each shelter’s floor space and height and any design element that may limit or enhance accessibility ozark trail canopy and maneuverability. We erected each model and measured the height and floor space compared to the other tents. Typical cathedral tents offered a 10×10 floor space, whereas many more niche tents had varying sizes.

Don’t be fooled; this is one of the most important aspects to consider, as it determines the amount of sweat and frustration a model will induce upon its owner. One thing we learned over our months of testing is that a heavy tent with a poor carrying case can be a real challenge. The canopy features a built-in 300 lumen LED lighting system that features a low, medium and high setting so you can tailgate… Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times.