All these terms get intermingled when talking about screen houses, but there’s a big difference between a screen house and a tent. And unlike many other screen shelters, this one pops up in under a minute for last-minute use. The outer material is UV sun-protected, and there are large mesh windows for ventilation. And the bottom of the tent comes with an extra-wide skirt to keep bugs out (which, let’s be honest, is the main reason people buy screen houses). 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.
An absolute waste of money and time, and cost plenty of aggravation. Never got it out, went to use it yesterday and the kit for set up is totally wrong. When I got the thing home and deboxed it, the reality began to set in. Dozens of ozark trail canopy two-foot sections of pipe spilled onto the floor with stickers labeling them ‘1B’, ‘4’, or ‘2B’. Childhood memories of failures with Tinker Toys came flooding back. But, with determined hope, I began to wade through the instructions.
The tent has 4 separate windows on the three sides, some are visible in the picture above. All are with mesh and zippered panels for privacy and rain protection. The two mentioned inner doors are also with mesh and panels, so this makes 6 windows in total.
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 canopy tent is a purchase most regular car campers consider after stocking up on the basics. After all, you can find plenty of smaller and less-expensive items to help you fight bugs, guard against the sun, and shrug off rain. 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.
Additionally, there are two doors for easy in and out access, and the heavy-duty polyester mesh does a great job of keeping the buggies out. The setup is fast, only taking 60 seconds, and features poles that are pre-attached to the frame. Additionally, the poles are made from aluminum, and there are two doors for easy access throughout the space. Another thing to note is that this is a cabin-style screen house, meaning it’s a big block. The Eureka Northern Breeze Aluminum Frame Screen House is the best screen house for rain for a few reasons. That said, the frame of this screen tent is alloy steel (aka a mix of steel and other metal), so it should be reasonably durable.
Seasons-wise & climate-wise, there is no doubt this is a summer camping tent and most suitable for warm weather camping. See the picture below to realize why; the ceiling is all mesh and you would not feel great in a cool environment. The sloped wall screen house simply has slanting walls. This design can sometimes mean that the entire footprint of the screen house isn’t very usable. If you can’t set your screen house on perfectly level ground, the skirt will make up the difference in height and keep insects out.
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. They do not provide any official information about the fabric and its waterproof rating. The rain fly is with taped seams but it covers only the roof. One could also ozark trail canopy describe this structure as a freestanding tent but this is a tall and heavy construction so don’t even think of using it without stakes, they are included. The peak height is 90 in (229 cm), so you realize how pleasant and tall this structure is, see the picture below. I have added it to my list of very tall tents for camping.
A Pavlovian reaction to super-size doses of advertising? Greed, optimism, stinginess, and materialistic guilt thrashing together in a dance of futility that leads straight to the checkout counter? To make matters worse, sometimes I’m so ashamed of the purchase that I can’t even bring myself to return it. 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. A handful of REI customers complain that the tent is not stable in strong winds.