Best Canopy Tent For Tailgating

Cassie Blake
3 min readAug 25, 2017

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Image: Phillipspn/ Via flickr.

With football season just around the corner, most of us will spend our Saturdays and Sundays glued to the television watching hours upon hours of uninterrupted football. However those diehard fans know that sitting on the couch won’t be good enough, so they’ll buy tickets and drive to their favorite college campus or the stadium on the outskirts of their city to enjoy the game in person. And these fans know that just as important as the game itself, the tailgate is what most of us are really looking forward to. Burgers and hot dogs on the grill, coolers filled to the top, tailgating games strewn across the parking lot. Family, friends, and fans all gathered around the tailgate enjoying themselves and inviting friendly banter with opposing fans

Image: Lori Burden/ Via flickr.

While it might seem easy to prepare for your upcoming tailgate there is one particular item on your checklist that we need to focus on, the pop up canopy tent. In fact, we’re not even sure you can call your tailgate a tailgate without one. We’ve spent hours upon hours scouring the internet and local stores, getting our hands on as many different canopy tents we could to find the best pop up canopy tent for tailgating so you can focus your efforts on other aspects of your upcoming tailgate.

Why do you need a pop up shelter for your tailgate you might ask? First, it is the most effective insurance policy you could have to protect your tailgate from bad weather. In an instant weather can change and wreak havoc on your fun. Especially as the season progresses and temperature begin to cool, being cold and wet before the game even starts is not our idea of a good time. Not even to mention the food. All that time prepping, grilling, and setting up the tables with full platters of delicious finger foods could be in doubt when the rain starts coming down.

Image: Jarrett Campbell/ Via flickr.

Second, the start of the season is only one month removed from August, the hottest month of the year on average. Especially for those SEC games which can reach in the 90’s early in the season. Provide ample shade with an instant pop up shelter to protect yourself from sun burn, dehydration, and exhaustion. Lastly, an often overlooked benefit of a pop up canopy is that they provide a physical boundary to your tailgate. Parking lots are often jammed with cars as tightly as possible. Having a canopy tent at your tailgate will prevent your neighbors from encroaching on your space. The best pop up canopy tent for tailgating will provide all of these things.

What should you look for when purchasing one? We break our reviews down into four components; affordability, durability, portability, and ease of use.

Image: Chifirefans/ Via flickr.

For the purposes of tailgating we see affordably and durability as the two most relevant. Look for one that is engineered with a full truss cross system. These shelters have a cross section of support through the center of the canopy which is less vulnerable to pressure on the sides and rotational pressure. They greatly outlive their counterparts with only perimeter trusses. As for affordability, look for a tent that delivers the best value.

You don’t necessarily need the most expensive tent when a more affordable one will provide exactly what you need. We’ve done all the research and compiled the top 5 best pop up canopy tents because we know you’re busy and have more important things to do before your tailgate. Happy tailgating!

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