The Ultimate Guide to Shade Structures

General Notes

• We choose what we carry based on extensive research on what's the best value to our customers (e.g., price given performance & durability features) across all the top brands. We specifically do not carry every brand & model; for details on why we do/don't carry certain items in the following What To Use & How To Choose section
• Buy prices are MSRP with tax, i.e., what you see is what you pay. Prices may differ in-store due to change in models or discounts, but this is rare. If we don't sell what we rent, we list MSRP value with tax
• Rent prices are the starting prices; enter trip dates on our Catalog to get exact prices (based on total trip length, not per day!). We also don't charge sales tax, an automatic savings of almost 10%!

	Camping shade style
Model
	Big Agnes Three Forks Shelter
Buy MSRP with tax + side wall	$217 +$27
Rent includes side wall (see below)	$20+
Weight + side wall weight	7lb 6oz + 9oz 3.3kg + 255g
Carry size & notes	Similar to a 4-person backpacking tent

When you rent online, you can select from available options or we'll pick out something for you. You can also write-in any preferences on the last page of checkout. This section describes the majority of our models & options, but sometimes we carry others.

Included

Key factors

Cool zippers, new waterproofing, etc... sometimes it's easy to get lost in all the hype (over-spending happens on features). Our guide focuses on the fundamental factors you should always keep in mind (thus, this short list is similar across all items). Then only at the end do we have some questions to get you thinking about other minor features.

• Type or Style
• Price

We highly recommend reviewing Type or Style first, where we review what you can use to address the Core function--a regular item you have at home may work! The other factors are secondary & depend strongly on the Type or Style you've picked.

While we encourage you to use regular items wherever possible, as an outdoor gear shop, we only carry outdoor-specific products

Type or Style

We've organized the most commonly used items people use to address the Core function below, with example images, characteristics, features, etc.

Our category name		Beach shade	Camping shade	Event shade
Example qualities & features	Example images
	Set-up size	Sitting height ~50in (1.3m) Designed for you to sit or lie in	Standing height ~6ft (1.8m) Designated 'entries' are standing height, but other side(s) may slope down to be less than standing height, to provide more shade, so may feel more enclosed	Often greater than standing height ~7ft (2.1m) Same height all around, feels completely open to walk in/out all around, so may provide less shade at side(s)
		Around the size of a 2-person tent (e.g., like a twin air mattress in floor area)	100 square feet (9 square meters)	At least 100 square feet (9 square meters)
	Pack-down size For how you will transport it	Packs down like a tent (cylinder <2ft/ 0.6m long), 5-10 pounds		Doesn't break down as much (more rectangular shape >4ft/ 1.2m long), usually >30lbs
	Susceptibility to rain	It depends Many models are water resistant; some may have a rain cover, like a tent rainfly, that can be sold separately
	Susceptibility to wind	Less than camping shade Lower to ground, so picks up less wind, but usually doesn't come with guylines	High Should definitely guy-out (guylines almost always included)	It depends Low end models (Easy Pop-up or instant types) are known to be quite flimsy; highest end models can be very strong. May come with weights for support
Effect on secondary factors	Price	$50-100	$100-250	$70-500
	Rationale	Less technical & less material		More technical & more material
Why we do/don't carry it = we rent = we sell		Not as versatile for multiple use cases	Versatile for most outdoor uses, therefore more worth the money	Not specific enough for outdoor use, as an example it's very big, bulky, and can be hard to set-up. It's better for sidewalk events!

Minor features that may be important

Here, we give you a list of questions to start thinking about minor features. We hope our approach of savings these features for last gets you to more critically think about what you need & not get caught up in the hype of what's cool and over-spend your budget.

• How does it anchor down in the wind?
• What accessories are available (e.g., side walls, rainfly, etc.)
• Is it fully enclosed or open?

Very similar to tents except that you don't have a footprint or rainfly (but you may have an extra side wall that usually hooks into the shade structure once it's fully standing), review that gear guide for info on keeping dry, using guylines, etc. Please note that shade structures should not be used as tents, because they do not have any floor (to protect from wet ground), or any sides (unless you choose to add them on, even then, they're not designed to fully keep out the elements or bugs).

If you want to use a shade structure as additional shade over a tent, you'll need to really check size configuration, since a tent (especially a larger 6+ person), may not fit underneath it. For this purpose, we'd recommend keeping the tent rainfly on and using tarps.

Repairing

We can either provide parts or repair services in some capacity for the following; check our Gear Repair page for details:

• Zippers
• Grommets
• Holes, rips, or tears
• Poles (shared shipping only)

Waterproofing: There are 3 components to waterproofing. It is entirely possible to buy these items & repair yourself, however unless you're treating a spot (in which case Tenacious Tape can work just as well), it can be difficult to get a large piece of fabric back to original performance integrity. (Honestly, this is true even for most manufacturers, who will often ask you to replace the piece that's no longer waterproof.) Rainy Pass Repair can help re-waterproof. As a benchmark, tent-sized fabrics may cost up to $100

• Seam sealant: The seams where the fabric has been sewed together are water-proofed either by a seam tape, or a liquid seam sealant that's applied. With a tape, you may be able to visibly see it peeling away. While you can buy either to do at home, liquid seam sealant is more readily available & easier to use. Seam tape, which is more prevalent in clothing, requires you to match the exact fabric you're repairing, and each fabric has different application settings (e.g., appropriate temperatures to help the tape stick)
• Waterproof coating: Sometimes, the seams are fine, but the fabric fundamentally is losing its resistance to water (you can tell if it's shedding or flaking out white stuff), which is derived from a polyurethane or silicon based coating treatment (different from the coating treatment below)
• Water repellant coating: Called DWR (durable water repellancy), this is a coating treatment (different from the treatment above) that causes water to bead up & roll off the fabric. It can often be applied either as a spray or a detergent that is washed-in (we like products by NikWax or Granger's)

Cleaning & Storing

Gear not in use should be cleaned & dried and then stored loose & in a dark environment, check out our entire protip on the topic here.

We have a general protip on how to store & maintain gear that we highly recommend reviewing as well. If you send us video or a good photo series, we may be able to help you evaluate your repair needs.