ALPS Mountaineering Tri-Awning

I used to have a 10*10 metal frame shade. It was too heavy to carry. They are made with wheels now, but still it is too heavy, and difficult to setup by one person. (But if you have two people, and weight is not a problem, then I would prefer it) So I was looking for a shade for 4 people, chairs, food cooler, and small portable table that would be relatively light, compact, and for one person setup. We use is at the lake to provide shade for our family. This seems to fit all my criteria. I tried to set it up in my back yard, and so far am happy with the purchase. The setup is not supper easy, but possible with one person. Do count on needing about 25 feet by 25 feet space available for setup/breakup. But when setup, then only need about 13 to 15 feet, which is fair, to shade enough space for all the things I want to shade.

This is a nice shade provider but don't count on it to keep rain off as it doesn't seem to be designed for that.

Tested this out on a canoe camping trip. I usually hang a tarp in addition to tenting as I want to have large usuable outdoor space when it rains vs. holing up in a small tent. This is 11 lbs, but it fits the bill easily and I love the expandable space beneath it - also comes with one of two possible windwalls which is nice. Previous reviews noted difficulting in setting up but alone I got this unpacked and standing in 8 minutes without even reading the instructions. Only gripe I could have is that once taking down, you have to pull out each pole-set and because the poles slide through tubes rather than connect with clips, they can get stuck in the rainfly tube / sleeve...annoying, but you can easily shove them out. The fiberglass poles are also not extremely tight - the bungees were a bit loose, but this is minor as the benifits of expandable shade far outweight that inconvenience. Overall - this will be a canoe camping staple for me where I'm not limited by weight. Also seems to stand up well to wind and we plan to use at the beach in the future. Great gear - I'd have some recom's for ALPS but I'll save that for them, its too pesky for this site.

I got this product to use in my backyard. Will also use it for car camping & beach. I particularly like the flexibility this shelter has regarding height & area covered.Our backyard is gently rolling; a lava flow never bulldozed, with a 'lawn' of weedwacked weeds. Alps is the perfect design for me. Also lots of rain & tho no claims about waterproof, so far so good.

Nice and roomy.