Five large-weight bags attach and can be filled with sand to keep everything in place. Overall, this is a fun beach accessory that is great for guarding gear and valuables and offering periodic shelter from the sun. The canopy fabric is made of a lightweight denier polyester, offering water resistant features and 50+ UPF, which we love.
Compared with cheaper chairs of its kind (like those from Walmart), the REI Co-op chair functions better and will last much longer. The Dual Lock seat’s name comes from a locking mechanism that secures the chair when it’s folded or expanded—releasing the lock is a matter of pushing a button on one of the legs. As a result, the chair feels grounded and less wobbly than its competitors. This was especially reassuring for testers with knee or hip issues, who noted that they felt confident using the Dual Lock seat’s armrests to stand up and get out of it.
We also chose canopies optimized for camping, spectator sports, and adventure. From there, we tested each product for several months in Utah and California, subjecting them to sun, wind, and rain. All the while, we assessed key performance metrics such as functionality, ease of setup, protection, craftsmanship, and portability. We hope you can use this comprehensive and unbiased review to help you find all the shade-seeking advice you need to make the best purchasing decision.
Getting our hands dirty with one of the best sun shelters on the market.
We chose the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair as the model with the right combination of comfort, durability, usability, and price for most campers. 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 ozark trail canopy curve. Despite its size, it amazingly ships completely assembled and pops into place with just a few pulls and pushes. Likewise, the Pacific Breeze Easy Up does not require additional assembly. It springs into place with just the pull of a single chord, similar to opening an umbrella but in reverse.
At a little over 7 pounds, it’s also the lightest traditional chair we tested—but it had the lowest weight capacity (250 pounds). It’s currently low in stock, but REI tells us this chair will be widely available again over the summer. It’s the lightest, most portable chair that is still comfortable. The Helinox Chair One weighs about 2 pounds, compresses smaller than a 2-liter bottle of soda, and is our most lightweight pick. Other chairs we tested sacrificed too much comfort in order to shave mere ounces off of their weights, and we don’t think the trade-off was worth it.
Keep in mind that lightweight chairs won’t be nearly as comfortable as traditional camping chairs, so take the word comfortable with a grain of salt. The weight of this Ozark Trail is lighter than most of the same size alternative steel frame canopy tents, coming in right about 29 lbs. An argument can be made as to whether this is good or bad. From a positive perspective, the lightweight design increases portability which is certainly important in carrying the tent to its intended location. From a negative perspective, the weight is indicative of a lack of high quality material and components used throughout the shelter. The included carrying bag does not have wheels to aid in transportation, but at only 29 lbs.
As its name suggests, the Eureka Tagalong Shelter is ideal for tagging along on any adventure where shade is needed. Its drawstring stuff sack offers a long strap that can be placed over one shoulder or across the chest, giving you hands-free mobility. This shelter employs high-grade, collapsible aluminum poles for its frame and comes complete with built-in guy lines and sandbags to help keep it sturdy. The polyester canopy effectively dampens the sun’s rays and is double-stitched and weather-taped to keep out the rain.
However, the tarp-style floor becomes a little hot in the sun and tends to collect dirt, sand, and water. The Easy Up is a self-contained product with no assembly ozark trail chair required, making it easy to set up, take down, and store in your garage, coat closet, or car trunk. It is also quite sturdy and resists wind well if staked down.
The massive screened walls keep insects where they belong — away from you. This shelter is also fully surrounded by a 10-inch-wide ground skirt, which goes the extra mile to keep creepy crawlers and flying annoyances at bay. The ozark trail canopy very well might be one of the best selling 10×10 tent brands of all time.