Looking at picking up one of the pop up gazebo’s but there are so many options out there between supercheap, BCF, kings, etc. and they all seem to have mixed reviews… was leaning towards the kings one for $89, but seems like it might not come with a bag, which adds another 45 or so…
Then there is the ‘red track’ branded ones on eBay & Amazon which seem like they could be alright.
Can anyone recommend one particular brand over another? (Or brands to steer clear from)
Thanks in advance!
Yeh that’s the mixed reviews make it hard… I know it won’t get a whole lot of use so don’t need a premium model, but don’t want it falling apart on the 3rd use either.
The oztent screen house and hex house are fantastic but pricey. Sometimes available second hand or on sale (usually store-wide sale) at supercheap
I’ll have to check them out. I know someone who works at supercheap so may be able to get one with a staff discount.
the hex house is only good for sunny nice weather, if you take it camping to where there's slight chance of heavy rain and wind you'll soon find the roof collapse downward and wrecking havoc on every thing inside it. Last time I camped at Wilson prom and at least 3-4 camper with this had this issue, plus one with regular square framed type lost his but probably because he didn't secure it to the ground enough.
I got the coleman one around $220 from Bunnings which is quite decent: light weight, sturdy enough, easy to set up. Don't go too cheap on them and try one of the physical store so in case it breaks you can have recourse because it will. The cheaper end tends to be very bulky and heavy so you need to factor it in if using it for camping. Also BCF and Anaconda pretty much have them on special for around $100 mark a few times each year at least.
And remember there's always risk of it being damage in heavy wind/rain, last summer camp at Wilson Prom there was gusty wind around 50-70km/h and the neighbour camper next to us lost his gazebo and had to be out in the dark rescued his stuff when his gazebo frame gave way, tried to tied the fly to a few tree branch as alternative but finally gave up. There were a few other had issue too, most commonly the portable one with frame within the fly type and mesh wall having roof collapsed inward. If you don't secure it well there's high chance it'll collapse. There's another time we had ours retracted itself down due to heavy rain and not securing the fly to the frame but it's still functional to this date.
Thanks for the info. We would be using it just for shade at day events, not camping.
Will have a look at the Coleman one; but probably a bit more than I’d like to spend for the relatively limited use it would get.
Probably just pick a random one and cross my fingers 😅 they’re probably all coming outa the same factory anyway.
Which Coleman one? can you provide a link?
Thanks in advance
https://www.bunnings.com.au/coleman-3m-x-3m-grey-heatshield-…
Anaconda also sell similar one at higher price I think, but different fly colour.
The 4.2m dome one also popular around camp-site based on my observations.
cheers for the link - yeah I've been eyeing out that one too.
yeah my mate has one and it takes a bit of an assemble to put up, he says its an absolute pain to put up on your own.
I think ill stick to the 3x3.
Are there any that's waterproof?
@horus85: That coleman is waterproof but waterproof or not is not a problem, the biggest risk is water pooling causing it to collapse or break under strong winds. So sometimes the leaky one is a blessing lol.
and yes one man set up is hard but you can peg down one leg firmly to the ground and pull the rest out.
Not sure I’d agree with cheaper being more bulky and heavier. IME cheaper equals a much lighter frame (flimsy) and lighter weight cover which doesn’t last as long.
Mate, just go in bcf or anaconda and pick one of their $99 every day house brand and compare with the coleman and you will see the difference.
Also your post below speaks for itself. I had the coleman in torrential rain last Easter and it survived, we woke up with about 5cm water on the ground and some even made into the tent.
You said:
The cheaper end tends to be very bulky and heavy
As I said, I’ve found the opposite. The cheap ones are lighter, not built as strong. Maybe they are a little more bulky because they don’t fold as well, but not my experience.
While there is a cross over point, budget stronger ones are steel and have heavier bits so they are heavier. The expensive ones (commercial grade) I’ve assembled in the last few weeks are aluminium yet still more bulky and sturdy becuase they need bigger cross sections for strength. In the middle are slightly heavier steel frame that tends to be bigger sections as well because typically bigger = more robust.
I do agree you should go and see one in person to see if you think it’s sturdy enough for your use case.
@Euphemistic: Of course when mentioning bulky that means the size when folded because they all have the same size when pitched. I visited and test all of them before buying so I can confirm. Those are important factors to consider if you use them for camping. The commercial grade one should be left out of the discussion altogether because they are built with price tag and constant use that won't break after a single storm.
We had a ridge rider from SCA one for a while. The cover started to stretch a bit and sag when it caught rain. They pretty much all do the same, but more you pay better you get. Our ridge rider died on a night we had massive rain while camping. Collapsed under the weight with the frame buckling and cover ripping. After That night there was dozens of gazebos collapsed with only a couple left standing.
Got another from anaconda at around $199RRP but on sale. So far, so good.
There’re all pretty much equivalent at the same price point. The cheapest ones will have a lighter cover that’s less water resistant and a lighter frame that’s easier to damage. Going up a model or two seems to be worth the spend.
Interested as well. I've been keeping an eye out but reviews are so mixed that it's hard to choose a specific one. Keen on the Coleman's but they seem to be over priced but maybe they are better quality?