Akin to the Clam Quick-Set Escape is the REI Co-op Screen House Shelter. 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. The Clam Quick-Set Escape weighs 34 pounds and comes in a 6-foot-long, ski-bag-shaped 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.
Its stiff frame doesn’t bend or sway during heavy breezes and stays put as long as it’s staked down or weighted by its five built-in sandbags. After weeks of testing, we have thrown a few penalty flags on the field. This product’s excellent wheel system is mostly plastic; we wish it were constructed primarily of metal. Additionally, it packs up large and is heavy, making it difficult to find room for it in the trunk of just any car. It’s also more challenging to lift into and out of a vehicle alone, and although quite solid, the E-Z Up can be a little wobbly at full height. These caveats aside, this is still our number one when heading out to the playing field.
Like regular camping tents, these camping gazebos are not intended to be left up for extended periods, as the fabrics are susceptible to UV damage. The REI Co-op Screen House Shelter is an intuitively designed, easy-to-erect picnic tent that offers protection from sun, bugs, and mild rain showers. Though the boxy design is basic, in our tests we found that this camping shelter offered the best combination of functionality, durability, and affordability of all the tents we tried.
It sits lower than cathedral-style canopies, which more effectively blocks the sun’s rays as their angles change during the day. Its weather-taped seams and waterproof canopy also create an excellent barrier against rain. 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. Our second grading metric involves how fast and easy it is to set up and take down each shelter, but it also considers how simple and intuitive both processes are.
The canopy material is adequate but less rugged, and rainwater tends to drip through during a substantial downpour. The wheels on the roller bag are mostly cosmetic, as they are very ineffective on most terrains. That said, if you don’t expect to use your tent in rugged environments, this is a solid option for a nice big canopy tent at a bargain price. The major disadvantages of the Eurmax are its size and weight. This weight makes it somewhat difficult to load into and unload out of a vehicle, but once on the ground, the tank-grade roller bag allows it to be moved with ease, especially if you have two people.
Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). The whole thing is remarkably easy to set up, even for one person; the family at the next campsite was amazed ozark trail canopy at my tent prowess when I set it up solo. Takedown is similarly simple, though Clam provides an instructional video if you need help. A frequent reader of our site put the lightweight Cool Cabana pop up beach canopy to the test during a West Coast vacation. We put the lightweight Cool Cabana pop up beach canopy to the test during an East Coast vacation.
No matter what gear you’re in the market for, chances are we’ve got info informed by years of rigorous side-by-side testing. Like the REI and L.L.Bean canopy shelters, this Clam tent has a generous fabric skirt at its base that is designed to keep determined insects—and pooling rainwater—out. If we were camping somewhere infested with mosquitoes or no-see-ums and could fit the Clam in our vehicle, we’d prefer it over any of our other picks. The biggest issue in all of this is the inability to withstand any rotational pressure during medium and high impact weather conditions as the joints become unstable and collapse at the mid points. In windy conditions high stress is applied to each side and the frame begins to break down at the unreinforced joint connectors. This is the highest point on trail but we would not have known if Mark did not tell us the previous night.
That team is also pretty helpful to have when our marketing team needs to explain why a straight leg canopy has more structural integrity than a slant leg canopy. 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. Additionally, its roller bag’s wheel assembly is mostly plastic. Heavier cathedral-style canopy tents can often be challenging because of their weight; however, most are fairly simple to deploy.
As the sun sets we crawl inside our tent, do our final tick check, and fall asleep quite easily to the sound of whippoorwills and owls filling the night air. The house itself has enough room for several people to live comfortably. There is a natural spring behind the house a ways, with clear, cool water gushing out from between two rocks. We spend time exploring inside and then we make our way up to the roof/ rock ledge.