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. A canopy tent is a purchase most regular car campers ozark trail screen house consider after stocking up on the basics. After all, you can find plenty of smaller and less-expensive items to help you fight bugs, guard against the sun, and shrug off rain. Our favorite of the eight canopy tents we tested, the REI Co-op Screen House Shelter ticks all those boxes. However, it isn’t meant as a place to sleep; for that you should choose a regular car-camping tent.
So, for those of you who are enticed by the cheap prices of slant leg canopies, we’re here to warn you to not waste your money – even if it only costs you $75 or $100. The Pacific Breeze Easy Up and the Qipi Beach Cabana came in just behind the top scorers. This position is primarily due to their larger packed sizes, which makes them slightly more difficult to carry and store. The Qipi, in particular, has a much longer packed size and, at nearly 10 pounds, it’s heavier than the others mentioned above. The Easy Up may have been the lightest in our list of top scorers, but it also comes in a longer packed size, which affected its overall score.
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.
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. We don’t find that to be a noteworthy drawback as the nylon handles and shoulder strap work just fine in carrying the tent. The Clam Quick-Set Escape was by far the toughest canopy tent we tested. It’s made with reinforced polyester and heavyweight no-see-um mesh, and it comes with the strongest stakes we’ve seen on any tent.
A later check of the weather at nearby Point Mugu Naval Air Station confirmed top recorded wind gusts of 40 miles per hour. We later used the shelters on group trips at Wheeler Gorge Campground near Ojai, California, and at the La Jolla group campsite at Point Mugu, as well as on a trip to the El Mirage Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. 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. The Eureka Tagalong scored a little lower but still holds its own in terms of craftsmanship. It is a lighter-weight product, which inherently involves thinner, less durable materials.