Though the two tents have the same footprint, the REI’s roof is 6 inches taller; we found that the higher ceiling made the REI shelter feel significantly roomier inside. 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 ozark trail backpack 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. That’s not the case with a slant leg canopy tent which, as you may have guessed, features legs that are slanted and form an angle of less than 90 degrees with the floor.
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. Takedown is similarly simple, though Clam provides an instructional video if you need help. If you’re looking for a daypack, or a carry-on that fits everywhere, this is the deal. I needed a day pack and didn’t really have lots of time to search at REI for the various styles provided having only gone to one store. I also liked how my head wasn’t directly beside the door, which often occurs for an end-door tent. If something crawled through the zipper door it wouldn’t immediately be inches from my face but instead would have to work its way a few more feet to my head.
The Ozark Trail canopy very well might be one of the best selling 10×10 tent brands of all time. The easily recognizable logo has been seen by nearly everyone at youth soccer tournaments or beach vacations in recent years. We wanted to do an in-depth review of this popular instant shelter and ultimately give our recommendation as to if this value brand tent is worth the lower price point vs. the higher quality but more expensive competition. Ultimately, the good design for this product was that it was sized right for what I needed, both in dimensions and weight. Not too small, but not too large (and thus wasteful) – a ozark trail backpack Goldilocks design. After all, I had to be sensitive to weight as we were required to carry our own water for 10 miles as there were no options for filtering during that stretch.
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. That is why we always recommend tents with a full truss structure as they are able to withstand rotational pressure since the cross section of the main support runs through the tent’s center as opposed to outer perimeter.
L.L.Bean’s Woodlands Screen House is remarkably similar to our top pick, REI’s Screen House Shelter; the two canopies have an identical footprint and pole structure. But the L.L.Bean tent’s peak ceiling height of 6 feet 6 inches is half a foot lower than that of the REI tent, making it feel notably darker and less spacious. It typically costs more (in fact, the price has risen substantially—more than $150—since we first tested it) and lacks the convenient strap-equipped carrying bag we like. The canopy tent has mesh walls on all four sides and an edge of polyester fabric (also DWR treated) at the ground that deters mosquitos and other critters from invading from below. Like many tents of this type, the REI Screen House Shelter has a fabric hook in the center of the ceiling that accommodates a small lantern or other light.
Most new tents incorporate this ventilated canopy design to increase airflow and reduce the trapping of hot air, helping to keep those in the shade cooler and more comfortable. The most popular product in their line is the 10×10 Instant Slant Leg Tent with a blue canopy top. It is made with a steel construction frame and polyester material for the canopy, which is in line with just about every shade tent on the market today. The frame is that of a pyramid structure, which are generally found in all value brand canopy tents as they require less material to manufacture vs. that of a full truss system and as a result can keep the price lower. Since 2015, I’ve tested camping shelters and large car-camping tents on weekend trips involving more than a dozen families, and I have talked to dozens more about their tent travails.
At the same time, my head wasn’t zero or six feet from the door, but about two or three feet at all times. Plan accordingly and carry or cache water in case you are not able to find a source close by. For the second overnight hike in which I used the pack, I left the hammock at home and stuffed an REI Stratus insulated pad and lightweight bivy inside. Aside from the main pack bag, there is a small zippered compartment on the front, that, depending on how much you have stuffed inside, is pretty tight. I’ve been attempting to drop weight for the past several years, mostly because my knees can’t handle it.