Which canopy/tent is best?


 

David B.

TVWBB Fan
Hello all,
I wanted to ask the members of this forum which canopy/pop shelter they think is best? I am going to stay away from the inexpensive models because I know their construction is flimsy. I'm not afraid to pay for something that is made right, just a little confused by what is out there. I've attended bbq comps, attended trade shows, and watched bbq competition shows on tv and noticed they almost all use the EZ Up brand. I've also read some older threads on here and seen that it seems to be the go-to brand of choice. I'm looking for something I can use for competition, tailgating, and most of all grilling in my backyard. I will be having frequent family get togethers and would like to have something I can quickly setup over my patio area to provide shelter from the rain during a cookout. I've had mother nature not cooperate with me in the past and it makes things difficult when you have to grill in the rain or keep an eye on your WSM for temp fluctuations or just having the thing get water-logged during a thunderstorm. I'm not needing anything too big, a 10x10 or 12x12 should work perfectly. I also have a couple of gift cards from dick's sporting goods leftover from xmas, so i was hoping to go with purchasing one from there since it's like having cash in my pocket. Here is the link to what they offer:
http://www.dickssportinggoods....=4414990&pg=1&ppp=52

They make several different models, so my first question is:
1) Which model(s) are some of EZ UP's better styles?
2) Will the EZ UP be able to be used over a gas grill when temps get 600+ degrees when doing some searing? I see some of their models are flame-resistant or flame-retardant?
3) Do the EZ UP's leak or do they protect from the rain pretty well?

All advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to look at and answer my questions.

David
 
all I can say is we had 2 EZ Up Sierra 2's and one lasted about 30min in the Iowa wind. due to some creative stake and twine usage, it made it through the weekend and fortunately Cabelas return policy is great. I would stay away from the Sierra II EZ up. The guys had had EZ ups that were sturdy cost about 700 bucks FWIW.
 
Canopy should be fine over the gas grill. I would recommend getting the EZ-Up with the straight sides, rather than the ones that are splayed out at an angle. The splayed out one is called the "Sierra II" I think. The vertical support one is slightly more expensive but it looks better imo.

They protect from rain pretty solidly, you just have to make sure to have it properly weighted down, i.e. at least 40 lbs per leg, because it can and will blow away in winds much calmer than you would expect.
 
I just buy the EZ-Ups from Sam's. Not sure what exact model they are.

I'm finding that I get about a year's worth of events out of one (~12-14 events). By the time I get to the end of a year they are a LOT darker than when I started and they're starting to really show the wear and tear.

Of course that assumes that I don't get into the middle of a wind storm. I lost one about a year ago at Mulberry when a really bad squall line came through Friday morning. It wrecked the EZ-Up really bad.

Russ
 
There are three aspects to a canopy. Geometry of the support, quality/durability of the support and quality/thickness of the canopy. As it seems you are leaning towards ezup, as you move up in their line, the better each of the categories are above.

Just have to decide what you are willing to pay.
 
I bought the EZUp from Sam's about 3 years ago along with the weighted sand bags from EZUp direct. It has lasted me these past 3 years doing about 8-10 comps per year.

Check out Impact Canopies if you want top of the line quality and price.

All canopies though are going to be subject to extreme winds, it's just a matter of how you anchor them in windy conditions.
 
I went through 2 of the Dick's canopies in a year, then bought the EZ UP from Sam's. They will all become a kite in strong winds, but the ones from Sam's do pretty well in the 20mph wind catagory it seems
 
We used to go through the Dick's canopies fairly regularly. Until we made a bracing system for them out of 1.5 in pvc pipe with a 4 way union. The pvc pipe is notched on the ends to allow the scissor bracing of the canopy to fit inside the notch, then the 4 pieces of pvc are put inside the union. This gives the canopy considerable more rigidity. I can't recall the exact measurement right now, but if any one is interested, I will try to post them, along with a photo.

Matt
 
The best I've had are the EZ Ups that have the internal bracing (Express II line IIRC). I've had those get blown over but due to the framing they just flip over instead of collapse. I've had 3 of the Weekender brands & all have collapsed at one time or another one of which was right out of the box brand new. The Express are about $140 at Academy but sometimes are on sale for $100-110. My suggested features to look for in any brand would be straight legs, internal frame instead of frame around the edges & the thickness of the metal used to make the frame/legs. Remember you get what you pay for - pay a cheap price, you normally get a cheap product as it's cheap to be disposable not long lasting.
 
I am about to starting looking for another pop up and was also wondering why there seems to be 20 different EZUPs.

I have about 20 events on my $89 First Up from Walmart. It is still in great condition but I need a second one.

Properly securing the pop ups is the most important thing. Mine has always been properly secured and has had no damage, even in 30+mph winds. As mentioned above, even the best pop up can be flipped and trashed in those conditions.

I think I am going with the EZUP at Sams next that is about $200 as I want something a little more sturdy. Then again, I'd rather buy an $89 one every couple years and wait for it to break than spend $200 and it break in a year because it wasn't secured right.
 
What is the Best Pop-Up Canopy?

Hey! I wanted to give my 2 cents real quick. Before I do, I have to admit that I am part of the team at http://canopytentreviews.com so I might be a little too passionate about this topic. We review and rank what we feel are the best canopy tents on the market. I am a Weber owner and love this forum, but I never thought about posting until I read this thread.

Jeff jordan (a few comments before me) made a comment that I can't emphasize enough. He said, "The best I've had are the EZ Ups that have the internal bracing (Express II line IIRC). I've had those get blown over but due to the framing they just flip over instead of collapse."


All of the EZ-Ups, Coleman's, Quik Shades, etc, that are in that $100 range. They will all perform the same. You will get a few years out of them, but eventually the joints in the centers of the edges of the frame ceiling are going to deteriorate. Your canopy tent will loose its strength and sag. So, if you are going to go cheap, I recommend that you go as cheap as you can because the high end cheap shelters are still going to fail.

pyramid-frame.jpg


The cheap canopy tents that I am talking about have what is called a pyramid frame. The image above shows what I am talking about (if the image insert option actually works on this forum). The expanding struts form a dome that supports the canopy when fully expanded. The single best investment that you can make, in my opinion, is upgrading the frame to a cross-truss frame. You will recognize these because they have the "internal bracing" that jeff jordan is talking about. That means that there are cross struts that form an "X" across the ceiling of the frame. This prevents the edges of the frame from bowing. The canopy is supported by a pole that extends vertically from the center of the "X".

cross-truss-frame.jpg


These are going to be more expensive. They will probably run you between $150 and $250, but it should last you forever if you use it for recreational uses. There are a lot of other things to consider like Canopy Ultra violet light protection, water resistance, frame material, types of anchors, etc, but I don't want to start rambling and make everybody bored.
 
You get what you pay for. I have been using 2 Impact canopies that were retired from our marketing fleet. These canopies have been put up and taken down literally hundreds of times before I started using them. Night and day from the cheap recreational stuff. I have used them at least 25 times and they are bombproof. They do weigh a lot more (about 45 pounds) but they are much easier to set up and take down by 1 person as they are not flimsy. We have used them in heavy wind by using tie downs attached to the trailer and 5 gallon buckets of water on the outside. Rock solid. If you can afford it it's a no brainer. Im sure there are other brands equally as good. Don't throw your money away on a cheap canopy unless you aren't going to use it much.

Disclaimer - We paid full price for our canopies and do not have any marketing or sponsorship relationship with Impact Canopies. We used them because they could meet our delivery timelines.
 

 

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