I’ve been using my Quick-Shade Weekender for two seasons now, and have come up with some tricks to shorten your learning curve if you decide on this style.

• If your canopy comes with nail-head stakes, replace them immediately with stakes that have an eye at the top. You can get them from Quick-Shade for less than $10 for a set of 4. The eyes are MUCH easier to pull out of the ground.
• Add a hammer to your kit. It will have you secure your canopy properly in hard ground, and will give you some leverage for pulling the stakes out.
• Get help putting it up. As I mentioned above, you can do it alone, but it puts a terrible load on the structural parts in directions they weren’t meant to go, resulting in component failure and shorter lifespan.
• I’m amazed at the people who struggle while putting up their pop-ups, even with help. One simple trick will avoid all this: the two people stand across from each other, each grabs the middle of the accordion frame, and they simply step back away from each other. The frame will spring into shape. Collapsing it is just the opposite: grab the frame and walk toward each other.The Quick-Shade even has “Open” and “Close” labels so you know exactly where to grab.
• Unless something has changed, the covers that come with the low-end models are junk. EZ-Up sells heavy-duty carry bags. Otherwise, use a large duffel bag or find another solution, because you will want to protect your canopy for longer life.
• In the rain, always clamp your side tarps UNDER the eaves of the canopy – if you place them on top, you will create a straight path for the water INTO your area.You’ll have a nasty surprise in the morning if you thought you were protecting your environment overnight.
• Some of the thinner canopy material develops pinhole defects over time. This is not a huge problem, even in the rain, if you follow a simple rule of physics: water has surface tension, and will actually span the pinhole instead of penetrate it IF you don’t touch the fabric and break the surface tension. Backpackers and campers have known this trick for years.

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Last updated 11/07/2010

© Holly Newman 2000-2016. All rights reserved.
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