Still, we feel its price point is nearly perfect considering its quality and performance, specifically its extra features and beefier design. On hot, sunny days, we don’t think we could remain inside the Easy Up for long periods. Even with the drapes stowed, there is less ventilation than in larger, open canopies. And, despite effectively blocking the sun’s rays, this shader tends to remain quite warm, much like a backpacking tent would when it’s left in the sun all day. It also doesn’t perform well in the rain, primarily because of its open design.
The Screen House is far more portable but less rugged than the Clam, and it also offers a fully enclosed system that keeps bugs at bay. 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.
You may want to compare the Easy Up against the Qipi Beach Cabana, the Eureka Tagalong Shelter, and the Neso 1. The Clam Quick-Set Escape weighs 34 pounds and comes in a 6-foot-long, ski-bag-shaped ozark trail chairs carry case that is too big to fit into most sedan trunks. As we pulled this monster out of its box, we were skeptical that we would erect it in anything close to the promised 45 seconds.
The Eureka Tagalong is lightweight with stellar components, so if you want to be a bit more mobile with your canopy, this is one of our favorites. And if you can step into the next price bracket, the Eurmax Standard 10×10 is hands-down our top choice. The added cost will buy you stronger materials and a structure that you won’t have to worry about falling apart for many years to come — if at all.
Once setup is complete, simply twist the crank a few times to lift the center pole to its maximum height. This feature also tightly stretches the entire canopy fabric into place, giving it greater resistance to wind and rain. At first glance, the setup for the Quick-Set Escap appears quite daunting. However, it became our favorite canopy to set up after conquering a slight learning curve. Despite its size, it amazingly ships completely assembled and pops into place with just a few pulls and pushes.
The Screen House Shelter packs into a reasonably roomy drawstring bag with a strap that makes the canopy tent much easier to transport than tents, like the L.L.Bean, that lack a strap. We eliminated canopies that were not big enough to comfortably shelter a picnic table, concluding that a table is probably the number-one spot where campers would place such a structure. We also eliminated bulky, heavy shelters that are intended to be used as semipermanent backyard fixtures. Compared with our top day-tent pick, the L.L.Bean Woodlands Screen House uses arguably superior materials; it also comes with an unsurpassed warranty.
We set up 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. To prevent any build-up of humidity or stuffiness, these openings suck in air whilst also letting hot air rise and escape.
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. Heavier cathedral-style canopy tents can often be challenging because of their weight; however, most are fairly simple to deploy. The Eurmax and E-Z Up are counted among these heavier tents, but setting them up was surprisingly straightforward. 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.
Our versatile Ozark Trail 10′ x 20′ Canopy provides the protection you need for your next event. 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. The canopy folds down to 48.75″ in length and easily fits into the sleeve bag with a pocket for the walls, stakes and guy ropes. The Eureka Tagalong scored slightly lower but still boasted an impressive score.