We like the built-in sidewall pockets, attached floor, and roll-away side drapes. However, we feel the tarp-style floor stays a little hot in the sun, and it tends to collect dirt, sand, and water. The Easy Up is a self-contained coleman lantern product with no assembly required, making it easy to set up, take down, and store in your garage, coat closet, or car trunk. Five large weight bags attach and can be filled with sand to keep everything in place.
Each canopy was set up and broken down repeatedly to assess its ease of use and craftsmanship, separating the well-designed from the failure-prone or confusing models. Methodically, we used each tent in its intended environment — plus some unintended ones — to see just how much use we could get out of them. From whipping wind to sweltering sun to relentless rain, we set up these canopy tents across multiple weather scenarios to test them in the worst and best elements. We even carried or rolled each tent 100 feet to see how much suffering it took to move them from point A to B. We also hosed the tents down to see if the material is water-resistant and strong enough for an afternoon thunderstorm.
Next, we took a serious look at just how each product is constructed. We looked for features like double-stitched seams, weather taping, steel, robust fabrics, and fewer moving parts. The Pacific Breeze Easy Up didn’t score as highly here, but we were impressed with its ability to handle the wind. Its stiff frame doesn’t bend or sway during heavy breezes, and it stays put as long as it’s staked down or weighted by its five built-in sandbags. 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.
Our shade-loving experts poured over hundreds of the best canopy tents available before choosing 13 for side-by-side testing. We selected products best suited for farmer’s markets, corporate gigs, and beaches. We also chose canopies optimized for camping, spectator sports, and adventure.
Great adventures are made in the shade—especially when there’s plenty of it. The OASIS 13 x 13 Canopy sets up easily using a one-push center hub with OnePeak™ technology. The robust steel frame withstands winds up to 35 mph when the canopy is fully staked and the vented roof releases trapped heat so you stay cool even when it’s hot out. The OASIS 13 x 13 Canopy sets up easily using a one-push center hub with OnePeak technology. The OASIS 10′ x 10′ Canopy sets up easily using a one-push center hub with OnePeak™ technology. The Eurmax Standard 10×10 offers 100 square feet of sun protection and a peak height of 11 feet.
The Quick-Set Escape offers a massive, fully enclosed living space, and the Eureka Tagalong dons extra pockets, hooks, and attached sandbags. The center trusses on the Eurmax hang lower than we would prefer, limiting the available amount of headspace, but this is our only caveat. These tents can quickly become pricey, so focusing on quality versus cost is a great idea.
The Pacific Breeze Easy Up and the Qipi Beach Cabana came in just behind the top scorers. This is primarily due to their larger packed sizes, which makes them slightly more difficult to carry and store. The Qipi, in particular, has coleman sleeping bag a much longer packed size and, at nearly 10 pounds, it’s heavier than the others mentioned above. The Easy Up is actually the lightest in our list of top scorers, but it has a longer packed size, which affected its overall score.
This metric considers each shelter’s floor space and height, as well as any design element that may limit or enhance accessibility and maneuverability. We erected each model and measured the height and floor space to compare to other tents. Typical cathedral tents offered a 10×10 floor space, whereas many of the more niche tents had varying sizes. Another key aspect of functionality is the extra convenience features provided by various models.