Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Of all the EZ UP type canopy's out there, in your experience which is the best.

I have had 4. An EZ up, A Quest and 2 Quick Shades.

First off if theres only you to put it up the phrase EZ should never be applied. They should be referred to as "Almost impossible to get UP's"

But of the 3 I have had I think the Quick Shade is the most durable and lightest. With the Quest being the worst, but functional and the best with available options.

Happy Trails

Len

I have to come up with a tarp and a couple of tent poles... ez ups are heavy.. and they take 2 people to put up easily. if alone, I have to walk around about 8 times pulling the legs out a little bit at a time...

Even now when I'm alone, I request a passerby to give me a hand.

I've never tried any of the others.. but a tarp attached to the tear on one end and two tent poles with tie downs is getting real appealing... much lighter and easier to haul.

We have an Aluminum Rapid Shelter we got from REI. It's going on it's third year now with minimal signs of wear. Thats saying alot since it spends alot of time on the beach.
The +'s are the aluminum frame that doesn't rust and the top is waterproof unlike the ez-ups. I have seen alot of ez-ups get blown down the beach in rainstorms while I was under it watching.

http://www.rei.com/product/767459

Tried the EZ-up...not necessarily so...the Quick Shade is what I have now and I LOVE it. I also had a few other generic brands when they first came out like "Rugged Terrain" or some other insane name cuz it did not last the weekend and kept coming apart. I like the ease of the Quick Shade, storage puller is handy, but never can seem to get it all back into the bag like it should go.

Joanie
TDN

I choose the Quest because that is the only kind that I have used. I have 3 of them in the 12 x12 size with both screen and solid sides. I have put them up by myself, but it really is not an easy thing. Not too bad with two people, but much easier with 3 or 4 people.

I have the EZ up Dome II, and has been great so far. However! some pop ups, have vertical legs, and some slanted. In other words, the footprint could be a 10x10, and the upper 8x8. My quest for finding matching solid, or screen wall options has not been easy to find for the EZ-up.

Although, you can order the walls on the EZ up website, it is costly (this is my only complaint). I tried Walmart's First Up screen wall (approx. $36, reasonable) but it only fits a square vertical 10x10. I thought I could cinch it up at the top, but got frustrated in doing so.

Len, you didn't include the Walmart's First Up pop up on your poll. The off the shelf options would fit what it was made for. People who have the First Up seem to be satisfied with it. It would be nice to put the screen walls up for an insect free eating area! I have found an inexpensive wall for my EZ-up Dome, but have not ordered it yet. I think it was at Cabella's

For the above reasons, I also ordered a Pahaque screen room tent. It was a very nice system. It just had to many parts to deal with. A versatile screen room with solid wall also. One of the tent pole anchor ripped out the seam on my first trial set up, and used that excuse to return it. Campmor, was very gracious about taking it back, and even paid the shipping return. Would do business again with Campmor.

I have had the EZ up for a long time, I can't remember, 10yrs +. If I had a reason to buy another, it would be with straight legs.

I've only had a FIRST UP from Wally world.... bought the blue one couple of years ago, and have even had to put it up myself... takes a little longer but doable! Never saw any fading or problems.
Recently sold it to buy the new tan one.

Bought the tan one at Wally's place.... out of the package, one of the safety release buttons had the button part and spring come off and the barrel inside the button was cracked. still put it up for a week, and got it down with no problem. Called the company anyway just to get a new button , and they shipped me a whole new frame and it was at my house in 5 days!

I glued the first button back together, gave the extra frame to a camping friend!

I did notice with this new tan shade though... I had it set up in my backyard for two or three weeks during hot hot hot temps and it's already got fading on the top. Fits a whole lot tighter than the blue one ever did, and I think they made it a little cheaper this time .

It's hard to lump all the EZ-Ups into one category. There are so many grades of them, to suit different needs. They differ in the frame design, frame strength, and canopy thickness. For instance, the one I got is kinda in between. It has the heavy duty frame (weight wasn't an issue) but it has a thinner canvas than the professional ones. It is a bit of a pain to put up and take down but it can be done by one person, provided that they aren't in a hurry.

Yes, mine has blown over and broken but you can say that is was my fault, I don't always stake it down. I should have expected a windstorm in the desert. I learned something from that experience, something Julie touches on. No matter which one you get, make sure parts are available for it and hope they have good customer service.

I'm satisfied with the use I've gotten out of my Quickshade. The fittings are plastic and starting to break, but I got it for a good price and have used it for years.

My main recommendation would to be to purchase a shade with legs that are vertical rather than pointing outward. The legs on my shade angle out about 15 degrees and they are a pain. When we butt two of them together the legs cross each other and get in the way. When I want to use an additional tarp as a "wall", you can't wrap the tarp around the legs to form a corner becuase of angled legs. My next shade will have vertical legs!

Joanne

All I can say is "Don't be cheap". I got a "no-name, bargain" one and it made it to two camp sites. I donated it to the dumpster at Lake Murray after the 4th of July.

I like my QuickShade. When alone, just put a spike in one leg and expand it to open it by pulling on the other legs one at a time until the corner slots can be snapped into place. When taking it down, decrease the leg length until the corner slots can be unsnapped. Then, just take one corner and push and it collapses right back into bag size.

Jim B / Utah

I only have one. It's and ez-up 10x10 and I set it up all the time by myself. Never had a problem. The key is to spike down one corner and then go to the opposite corner, lift the unit and back up. It unfolds no problem. Closes up the same way. What I don't like about it is the way the roof holds the rain water after a heavy rain. I much prefer my 12 x 20 fly even though it's more trouble to set up.