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. Be comfortable and safe even when sleeping in the outdoors when you have the Ozark Trail 6-Person Connect Ent for a Straight-leg Canopy (SOLD SEPARATELY). This 100 sq ft. tent comfortably fits ozark trail canopy 2 queen air beds or up to 6 sleeping bags, so you can have your family or group of friends under one roof. The Ozark Trail 6-Person Connect Ent easily sets up in about 10 minutes by clipping into your 10 ft. x 10 ft. straight-leg canopy (SOLD SEPARATELY) to convert it to a roomy sleeping area. Center height means even tall members of your crew can stand up in your tent.
Each canopy was set up and broken down repeatedly to assess its ease of use and craftsmanship, separating the well-designed from the failure-prone or confusing models. Methodically, we used each tent in its intended environment — plus some unintended ones — to see just how much use we could get out of them. From whipping wind to sweltering sun to relentless rain, we set up these canopy tents across multiple weather scenarios to test them in the worst and best elements.
The Ozark Trail 6-person Connect Ent comes with a sewn-in floor to help keep bugs out. The Ozark Trail Commercial Canopy is packed with the features that you need. The frame is powder coated aluminum and steel with push button locking on the frame and height adjustments.
Over the years, I have evaluated gear for magazines including Wired, Popular Science, and National Geographic Adventure, where I was a senior editor. The REI Co-op Screen House Shelter is easy to set up and pleasant to use, providing good protection from bugs, sun, and gentle rain showers. A high ceiling makes the tent feel brighter and more airy than other camping shelters with a similar footprint.
Its fully enclosed design protects users from sun, wind, rain, and bugs, making it a perfect shelter for camping. It was followed closely by the Eurmaxand E-Z UP Pyramid, though neither has sidewalls for complete bug protection. The Tagalong and Caravan V-Series scored slightly lower than our top scorers, but they still have straightforward setup processes. The setup for both was simple; however, they scored lower because of additional variants that affected the overall ease of the process. The aluminum poles are quite long and awkward to maneuver, and it takes extra time to slide them through the fabric sleeves and bow them into place. We found the V-Series just as easy to set up as the other cathedral canopies we tested; however, it scored a little lower because it still incorporates spring-loaded adjustment pins to lock it into place.
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. Heavier cathedral-style canopy tents can often be challenging because of their weight; however, most are fairly simple to deploy. The Eurmax and E-Z Up are counted among these heavier tents, but setting them up was surprisingly straightforward. It’s constructed with heavy-duty 210-denier poly oxford walls and the heftiest bug-blocking no-see-um mesh we’ve encountered in any tent.
This shelter is also fully surrounded by a 10-inch-wide ground skirt, which goes the extra mile to keep creepy crawlers and flying annoyances at bay. 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. The price tag may also be too high for some shoppers, but we feel the quality increase is worth it if you can swing it. 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.