If you do need a fits-in-a-knapsack chair, we recommend the Helinox Chair One. We found this model to be slightly more comfortable and easier to pack than other, similar chairs. One thing we love about tents are the accessories that can be added to the shelters. These include sidewalls, weight bags, and a host of other great add-ons that can really increase the use and versatility of the canopy tent.
I’m also the mom of two small guys whose stuff I have been hauling around in wagons since I began working on this guide three years ago (they’ve occasionally hopped in for a ride, too). I live in coastal California, where wagons are often the default way to move kids, beach gear, and even school equipment around the neighborhood. If you intend to use your wagon primarily at the beach, we recommend the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart. And if you’re looking for a wagon designed to tote kids around in, see our guide to stroller wagons. The Ozark Trail Oversized Mesh Chair from Walmart, although similar to our pick in size, was far less comfortable, with rough-feeling material that was obviously of lower quality. We later found, after six months of frequent use, that the stitching along one arm had come unravelled and that the small straps holding up the back of the armrests had both ripped in half.
Whether you prefer the 360° protection of an ultralight tent or the versatility of a flat tarp, we’ve got your next adventure covered. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. The bare-bones Uline Utility Wagon was not as highly rated as the Mac Sports wagons.
The material is easy to wipe clean, and during our testing it didn’t grow any mildew when stored damp. Even after over a year of use, the wagon didn’t lose any ability to fold or unfold smoothly. For the first round of testing in 2019, I used each wagon on trips to my son’s elementary school, traveling about half a mile each way over sidewalks and city streets during the course of two months. I also took them to the beach, rolling them down the beach path and testing them on the sand. Additionally, I tested each wagon (filled with soccer equipment) on grass and bumpy, broken concrete surfaces, paying attention to how the suspension and wheels performed under different conditions. In spring 2021, I tested four additional beach-friendly wagons during several trips from my home in Santa Monica to the beach (10 blocks away) and back.
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. The Renetto chair usually comes in between 8 and 10 colors and is rated to hold up to 350 pounds. The Renetto’s big, heavy canopy provides ample sun protection at a campsite or cookout and doubles as a backpack-strap-equipped carrying case. But after half a dozen excursions, we found—as we had with the Renetto Original Canopy Chair—that having a chair you can easily carry without a bag is preferable.
The Oniva Collapsible Adventure Wagon’s major downside was its folding mechanism, similar to that of an umbrella, rather than an accordion, like on the others. It was extremely hard to squeeze inward and still jutted outward if ozark trail canopy not squeezed into its cover—an impossible ordeal when wrangling two kids in a parking lot. The sand-removal feature, which seemed promising, worked only partially, and many reviewers noted that the wagon’s handle was short.
We started looking for a better option than our original beach-friendly pick, the Seina Folding Utility Beach Wagon, after a nut fell off the wagon at a critical time—when we were on the sand, about a quarter-mile from the parking lot. We were able to fix the problem, but a year of use has also led to scratches on the wheels and the plastic looking pretty shorn. One staffer who also owns the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart has also noticed scratches on the wheels. But the Seina offers just half the internal space, and its 4-inch wheels were more prone to tipping when packed with the same beach gear. Like most chairs of this type, the Coleman Oversized Quad comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag.
Although we always recommend using anchors such as weighted sand bag or stakes with guy lines attached to the top corners. Like the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart (our pick for use on sand), the Mac Sports Outdoor wagon has an easy-to-use, telescoping handle. Of all the folding wagons we tested, this Mac Sports wagon was the most adept at making sharp turns to navigate a small obstacle course on grass or concrete. It does not require any assembly, which is also true of our beach-wagon pick from the same company. Two small mesh pockets at the front can hold drinks or flip-flops, and we found that these pockets were better placed and more useful than similar pockets on other folding wagons.