No Shade — You Need to Upgrade Your Pop-Up Tent (2024)

There is nothing better—in my humble opinion—than a day at the beach with a full cooler, a charged speaker, and a comfortable chair. Parking it for the day in the sun hanging with friends and family is an unmatched must come summertime, though when temps climb above the mid-90’s there’s only so much cooling off in the water can do. A pop-up tent is what you need to keep harmful rays off the body and provide some relief from the blazing sun.

The best pop-up tents are lightweight, portable, and made of UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) materials. While pop-up tents shine in the summer on the beach they’re just as useful during tailgate season and good for year-round park hangs. We even used them for my nephew’s birthday party in the backyard to give the little ankle-biters some shade between playing.

With all my beach days and afternoons drinking in parking lots waiting for a football game to start, I wanted to test out pop-up tents. Tents that were a bit more elevated than the standard budget ones you grab the day before and may not make it past the weekend. I tried a couple of pop-up tents along with Cat Bowen, Senior Editor at our sister publication Best Products, to find models that are durable, easy to transport, and are likely to hold up year after year.

Best Pop Up Tents

What We Looked For

If you look at a lot of pop-up tents, it doesn’t take long to realize that the vast majority have the same design: an aluminum frame that pinches fingers when it’s folded in and a canvas top that fits around the corners. It’s a design that’s tried and true and we respect the staying power, but we wanted something better.

We searched for pop-up tents that were supremely compact, easy to carry, and a snap to set up and takedown. The tents we decided to test have carrying cases included that are compact and under 20 pounds, whereas traditional pop-up tents can weigh as much as 40 pounds with cumbersome cases up to 4-feet long.

The ones we landed on have different ways of assembling that are a lot easier whether you’re by yourself or with a group. The pop-up tents we tested can be set up using just a couple of tent poles, an included air pump, or even just the wind and some sand in a bag.

What We Found

The pop-up tents we write about admittedly aren’t cheap. They’re upper echelon options that are an investment to use year after year at the beach and outside of the stadium. These pop-up tents are made of durable materials with considered design to make setup and takedown fast and simple. While a traditional pop-up tent is good in a pinch—and we use them frequently as well—these pop-up tents are worth considering and worth the money.

Best Pop-up Tent Reviews

The Soli Air Canopy opened my eyes past the standard folding tents I used for years at tailgates and beach house weekends with family. Whereas other pop-up tents are heavy, cumbersome, and hard to drag in the sand, the Soli is super portable. It packs down neatly into the included backpack and takes up very little space in the car. It’s comfortable to walk down the beach with while trying to find just the right spot.

Setting up the Soli is as straightforward as blowing up an air mattress. It takes a couple of minutes to fully inflate with the included rechargeable air pump and then stake down. The stakes that come with it are quite sturdy—they’re basically large, heavy-duty plastic screws that turn easily into the ground to secure the canopy in place. Even in high winds the Soli stays in place: On a particularly windy day on the beach in the Gulf Coast, our traditional pop-up tent was blown off kilter and we had to jump to grab it before it tipped. Meanwhile the Soli was unaffected as was my cousin who stayed comfortably seated under it, not even putting aside his beer. My coworker Cat also has the Soli and is a pro at setup and takedown.

“We use the Soli consistently whenever we’re bringing our whole family to the beach – which is pretty often.” she says. “ It sets up in seconds, and between the mesh wall and the solid wall, we can configure it for maximum shade and sun filtering.” She likes that there’s enough room to stand (and she’s quite tall) and the overall ease of use. Taking down the canopy admittedly isn’t as easy as blowing it up but still simple. You have to get all the air out so that it can fold and fit back into the backpack as compactly as it came. She suggests laying it flat as you pump out the air, and then roll the arms in toward the center to get the remaining air out when taking it down.

The domed shape provides ample shade for a group of six though the legs come in towards the center top and can encroach on standing room. Luckily, the arms of the canopy are filled with air after all so they’re soft—bumping your head happens but isn’t so much bumping your head as it is pressing it into a pillow. The zip-in shade wall is also handy to have and we used it to shade my nieces and nephew while they napped in the sand. All these included accessories make the Soli well worth it in my opinion. Sure, it’s expensive, but with the bundle you get is everything you need.

The Shibumi Shade is tailor-made for the beach which is probably why I see at least eight to ten, no exaggeration, every time I bike to the Rockaways. The sand is dotted with these sea-colored tents that look more like banners flowing in the wind declaring each beachgoers own territory. After a summer and half of eyeing these, I wanted to try one.

The Shibumi is the most lightweight pop-up tent I’ve ever tried. At just 4 pounds, a kid can carry it and it isn’t awkwardly long or cumbersome. It fits in my backpack riding to the beach but I can’t close it all the way. I position it to fit straight up and close the zippers around it so it stays in place—it’s not a perfect fit but most other pop-up tents wouldn’t be able to travel by bike, period.

I was skeptical about setup initially but it was as easy as the reviews I read. You just assemble the single pole (it’s basically a single tent pole) and thread it through the shade; it was easier than expected and didn’t snag along the way and the pole never came apart. Then you fill the carrying case with sand to anchor the arch to the floor which keeps things consolidated but also messy. At the end of the day, no matter how much you shake the carrying case/sandbag, there’ll still be sand in it.

The shade catches the wind pretty fast and only requires three-mile-per-hour winds to be functional. Using this in minimal wind on a partly cloudy day was still a breeze (had to). It provides ample coverage for up to eight people so there was plenty of shade for my three friends and I with beach gear in tow: coolers, speakers, towels, and chairs.

The main complaint with the Shibumi Shade is that it can be noisy as it flaps in the wind—a complaint I frankly don’t understand. Yes, I can faintly hear the tarp in the wind but I’m mostly hearing waves crash, the Bluetooth speaker we brought along with us, and our own conversation more than the Shibumi Shade. Even on a weekday when the beach would be less crowded, it’s still a pleasant cacophony that the sound of the wind in the tarp wouldn’t affect.

I like the ample coverage of the Shibumi and the ease of setup. It’s super lightweight and easy to transport to the beach on a bike. If you’re driving it’ll take up minimal space (virtually none) in a car. While the Soli Air Canopy is easier to set up in terms of steps, the Shibumi is just as fast and simple but requires you to do some of the work instead of an air pump.

I personally haven’t tried the Base Camp but it’s a favorite of Bowen’s. Here’s why:

“The Basecamp is our go-to sun shade. It’s just enough room for two adults and two kids, and putting it up and taking it down couldn’t be simpler. The mesh bottom is a particular favorite bit as sand flows right through it, keeping it off our feet and away from our snacks. The zippable walls allow for tons of air flow while keeping the shade, and since the whole thing is so light, I’ll take it out even if I’m going to the beach alone.

Depending on how precise you are when you take it down, it can be a huge pain in the ass to get it back into its case because the case is sized so specifically for the tent when it’s folded perfectly. My issue with the Soli is that you have to be pretty diligent about getting all of the air out of it before you roll it up.”

More Pop-up Tents We Recommend

We haven’t had a chance to try out these pop-up tents, but based on our intel from getting our hands on several models and from rigorously vetting specs, we stand behind them.