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 Pacific Breeze Easy Up is a beach tent with a half-dome design and enough space to shade one or two adults.
To uncover the best canopy tent, we use comprehensive test metrics and cover all manner of use cases and essential details. We also looked closely at the quality of each canopy tent for our craftsmanship metric and measured each tent when packed up to provide details on portability. We weighted each metric according to its importance before grading and ranking each shelter, side by side, on a scale of 1-10. Below, we discuss the metrics we used to score each model and highlight impressive models in each performance area. On hot, sunny days, we don’t think we could remain inside the Easy Up for long periods.
The Eurmax Standard 10×10 offers 100 square feet of sun protection and a peak height of 11 feet. Very high-quality materials were used to produce this shelter, making ozark trail instant cabin it our hands-down choice for the best recreational canopy tent on the market. Despite its size and weight, the Eurmax is quite easy to set up and take down.
The Eurmax Standard 10×10 is very functional, followed closely by the E-Z Up Pyramid, Clam Outdoors Quick-Set Escape, and Eureka Tagalong Shelter. All four of these models maximize space and offer several features that make them very livable. The Quick-Set Escape offers a massive, fully enclosed living space, and the Eureka Tagalong dons extra pockets, hooks, and attached sandbags. ozark trail instant cabin The center trusses on the Eurmax hang lower than we would prefer, limiting the available headspace, but this is our only caveat. The Tagalong sits a little low and isn’t adjustable, which affects the user’s ability to alter the canopy’s height or angles as the sun’s rays change. Still, the lightweight and portable design makes up for this, especially in the right use cases.
Weighing about 8 pounds, the Coleman chair is lighter than most traditional models, so it’s easier to grab from deep in a car trunk or to carry for long distances. Like others in its category, this chair comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag, but some testers found it was light and compact enough to carry without the case. Since 2016, our testers (with different body types and physical needs) have subjected camping chairs to multiple camping trips.
Our most portable models are the Sun Ninja, Neso 1, and Eureka Tagalong Shelter. These models are all thinner, fold-down styles that weigh far less than the larger canopies on our list. Some, like the Tagalong, are lighter because of the high-end materials used in their construction. Others, like the Sun Ninja, are lighter because they employ less expensive materials. So it is important to distinguish that not all lightweight and portable products are equally high in quality.
Some canopies perform well in one or two of these areas, but we gave the highest scores to those that could expertly handle all three functions. We even gave extra points to canopies that also protected against bugs. The whole thing is remarkably easy to set up, even for one person; the family at the next campsite was amazed at my tent prowess when I set it up solo.
He spends his free time playing at local lakes, dunes, and campgrounds, where he routinely uses canopies for shade. He also is no stranger to the sideline, where he enjoys sitting under a canopy to watch family members play youth sports. Jason is also an avid car camper, hiker, and backpacker and has extensive knowledge of general outdoor gear. Our notes on this shelter are mostly positive — there isn’t much we don’t like about the Escape.
As for the Caravan V-Series, we feel it provides excellent coverage from the sun. However, its thinner frame rocks a bit during wind gusts, and it doesn’t have weather-taped seams, so it tends to leak a little during heavier rain storms. These tents can quickly become pricey, so focusing on quality versus cost is a great idea.
Any $75 canopy tent from a big-box store—we’re talking about the common square canopy with four spindly metal legs—can provide shade during midday. But when you’re camping or eating outdoors, you’ll likely want protection from insects, as well. That’s why we focused on collapsible camping shelters with mesh walls to keep bugs at bay. We tested the Coleman 10 × 10 Instant Screened Canopy and Walmart’s Ozark Trail 10′ × 10′ Instant Screen House during our first round of testing in the winter and spring of 2016.