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Pop Up Tent Canopy Advice

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Thos13

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I am just getting geared up for starting to compete next spring. I am looking for advice on buying a couple of good quality canopy tents that wont break the bank. I know there are many brands such as EZ-UP, Caravan. Any advice is much appreciated.
 
I have two, and EZ-UP and a Get Under Cover...the later in my opinion is a much better one. It is much more substantial and has UV protection. On a hot day it is 10-15 degrees cooler under the getundercover tent http://www.getundercover.com/
 
I have the 99 dollar blue one from Sams. Works well and has made it through two seasons. Side walls are pricey for it though.
 
It looks like sams quit selling the EZ Up they carried and now have a 199.99 Z Shade commercial unit. I was a little skepical because I couldnt find any reviews but Ive used a few times now and see nothing wrong. Has the internal framing and a heavy duty canopy. Side walls are thin, but I dont think the EZ UP they carried had heavy sidewalls either.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/10-x-10-comm-canopy/prod12310102.ip
 
I wouldnt toss the Z Shade out as inferior just yet.

I tried justifying spending the 500+ range on a real good EZ Up, but the reality of the same big storm thats going to destroy the 200 dollar is more than likely destroying the 500+. Your taking the Ez Up down no matter what when you get the severe gust/storm warnings at the contest.
 
Untraceable said:
It looks like sams quit selling the EZ Up they carried and now have a 199.99 Z Shade commercial unit. I was a little skepical because I couldnt find any reviews but Ive used a few times now and see nothing wrong. Has the internal framing and a heavy duty canopy. Side walls are thin, but I dont think the EZ UP they carried had heavy sidewalls either.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/10-x-10-comm-canopy/prod12310102.ip
Click to expand...

Yeah I haven't seen them at Sam's in about 6 months. My Coleman broke at a competition back in April and the following Sunday I went to Sam's and they actually had both the EZ Up and the Z Shade. The EZ Up had the 4 walls and some awning thing I haven't messed with yet. I bought the EZ up because the brand is well known and so many people love them. For $200 with 4 walls that is hard to beat.

Not sure how that Z Shade is. Came with all the same stuff from what I remember. But now that is all Sam's has.

The thing I like about my EZ Up is they have parts for it if something breaks vs having to buy a whole new one. Not sure if the other brands do this. I actually had a leg get bent and break last week at the Royal when the wind was crazy. I went online found the outer leg part I needed and it was waiting for me at home when I got back. Part was $16 plus $6 for shipping.
 
The higher $$ EZ-UPs are definitely more sturdy than the Sams version... how much more... i dunno. I've got both and the better quality one has withstood some pretty significant wind, rain, hail, ice, and snow... I wouldn't trust the other one in the same conditions. That being said... you can replace the Sams one 2-3 times for what you pay for one of the others...

Nordy
 
Also, when deciding what to buy, you need to anchor it down. Lots of comps are on pavement, plus stakes pull out of grass. We use 5 gallon "homer" buckets. Just fill and you have a very portable 45 lbs weight. Cinder blocks might seem like a good choice, but they are hard to transport and lighter than 5 gallons of water. If you really want a solid anchor, buy 15 gallon min-drums.

Buy some 550 paracord and pre-make your tie down ropes.
 
personal opinion here but I would get a straight legged one. easier to walk around, set up next to a trailer or anything else.
 
Our Undercover canopy lasted 9 years and went through some crazy weather until my daughter borrowed it and left it outside overnight and a thunderstorm came through :(

I bought a commercial Ez-Up because I could get leg extensions for it so it could go over our toy hauler ramp but the darned thing it so heavy that we rarely use it.
 
fnbish said:
Yeah I haven't seen them at Sam's in about 6 months. My Coleman broke at a competition back in April and the following Sunday I went to Sam's and they actually had both the EZ Up and the Z Shade. The EZ Up had the 4 walls and some awning thing I haven't messed with yet. I bought the EZ up because the brand is well known and so many people love them. For $200 with 4 walls that is hard to beat.

Not sure how that Z Shade is. Came with all the same stuff from what I remember. But now that is all Sam's has.

The thing I like about my EZ Up is they have parts for it if something breaks vs having to buy a whole new one. Not sure if the other brands do this. I actually had a leg get bent and break last week at the Royal when the wind was crazy. I went online found the outer leg part I needed and it was waiting for me at home when I got back. Part was $16 plus $6 for shipping.
Click to expand...

Here is a interesting tidbit on the z-shade website. It's on the about us page:

"We were the exclusive licensee and manufacturer for E-Z UP and have been producing canopies for such customers as Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale, Cabela’s, Academy Sporting Goods, Big 5, K-Mart, to name a few. Perfecting the manufacturing process with industry leading innovations has lead us to create our own line of Instant Canopies (launched in 2014) under the Z Shade brand. We are dedicated to providing our customers with innovative, top quality Instant Canopies that are convenient yet functional and supported by a 2 year warranty."
 
I was frantically trying to find all the info I could on the Z shade at the sams regional and what I came out with was some bits that the company was somehow in cohoots with EZ UP.
 
I picked up 2 of the 10x10 ez up's with the side walls, etc from my local sam's club this past weekend for $130 a piece. there weren't many left, so I'm guessing they were clearing them out at the end of the season. It may be worth checking your area to see if they have anything similar.
 
Burnt at Both Endz said:
Buy a Caravan, ours have already made it through two storms of 50-60MPH winds.
Click to expand...

I also have two Caravan Traveler canopy's that have held up well (even the gusts this past weekend in AC).

One of the teams in AC had a Eurmax Canopy that was even more heavy duty. I am looking into getting one of them now.
 
In my experience, the higher end EZ UPs are worth the extra money if your budget can handle it. We used to get 1 season out of cheap tents. We are now on our fifth season with an aluminum frame Eclipse II. It even flipped in an 80mph micro burst once. Replaced one part, and it's still going strong. (Of course, you could buy 5 cheap tents for the same price, so :becky: ...)
 
I have four of the EZ-Up that we mainly use for flea markets and fairs, they are on the cheap side but work fantastic. Two of them I have had for about 4 years now, I did have to replace the plastic corners on top of the uprights but I had them milled out of aluminum, the latter set that I purchased work like a champ and I have no complaints about them.
 
First of all, check craigslist.I bought a commercial grade ez-up yesterday that was used twice at an indoor trade show for 95 bucks with sidewalls. The commercial ez-ups are a lot sturdier, have heavier material, and go up and down WAY easier that even the regular ez-ups. Next, get the sidewalls. Do a comp in mid october in ohio and you will be glad you sprang for the sidewalls! Third, straight legs are a must. With straight legs on all the canopies, you can but them all up together and not have legs going in all different directions the way angled leg canopies do. With the straight leg canopies, you can get plates that loop around the triangle shaped feet that you can put buckets of water on top of and the canopies will not blow away.
This past weekend at the comp, I had my regular ez-up next to my teammates commercial ez-up. While mine collected rainwater in the top and deposited it at random bursts on anyone that stood in the wrong place, his did not. So yesterday I bought a commercial one :)
 
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