These pop-up tents are a major upgrade to the standard that are worth the investment. I tried these pop-up tents from Soli, Shibumi Shade, and Veer.
There is nothing better—in my humble opinion—than a day at the beach with a full cooler, a charged speaker, and a comfortable chair. Parking it for the day in the sun hanging with friends and family is an unmatched must come summertime, though when temps climb above the mid-90's there's only so much cooling off in the water can do. A pop-up tent is what you need to keep harmful rays off the body and provide some relief from the blazing sun. The best pop-up tents are lightweight, portable, and made of UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) materials. While pop-up tents shine in the summer on the beach they're just as useful during tailgate season and good for year-round park hangs. We even used them for my nephew's birthday party in the backyard to give the little ankle-biters some shade between playing. With all my beach days and afternoons drinking in parking lots waiting for a football game to start, I wanted to test out pop-up tents. Tents that were a bit more elevated than the standard budget ones you grab the day before and may not make it past the weekend. I tried a couple of pop-up tents along with Cat Bowen, Senior Editor at our sister publication Best Products, to find models that are durable, easy to transport, and are likely to hold up year after year. Best Pop Up Tents What We Looked For If you look at a lot of pop-up tents, it doesn't take long to realize that the vast majority have the same design: an aluminum frame that pinches fingers when it's folded in and a canvas top that fits around the corners. It's a design that's tried and true and we respect the staying power, but we wanted something better. We searched for pop-up tents that were supremely compact, easy to carry, and a snap to set up and takedown. The tents we decided to test have carrying cases included that are compact and under 20 pounds, whereas traditional pop-up tents can weigh as much as 40 pounds with cumbersome cases up to 4-feet long. The ones we landed on have different ways…