Abccanopy Pop Up Canopies and Canopy Tents

What Abccanopy makes for camp

Abccanopy sells shade: pop up canopies, gazebos, patio and beach umbrellas, and the parts that go with them (replacement tops, sidewalls, weight bags, roller bags). It also does a big custom-printing business for vendors and teams.

On this site the brand covers one type, canopies. The grid above shows its listings on Amazon right now: mostly 10x10 straight-leg pop ups, an 8x8, and a 10x20, sold bare or in packages with sidewalls, window walls, an awning or a storage wall. The listings change, so I'll write about the frame series and what separates the packages, not about this week's count.

The gazebos and umbrellas aren't covered here. This site doesn't list them. Canopies across brands are on the canopy tent page.

Here's the thing about pop up canopies in general. The frame is a folding scissor truss with four legs, the top is a fabric roof you throw over it, and everything else is accessories. That's why the frame series matters more than the color in the picture.

How Abccanopy names its frames

The maker sorts its pop ups into numbered series, plus a budget line. Each series page lists the frame tube, the metal, the height settings and a wind rating. From the maker's own spec tables:

• S1 Nova Base: square steel; the Lite version has 3 height settings, the Frame Pro has 30 mm tubes and 5 settings
• S2 Crux Start Core: 32 mm square steel, 5 height settings
• S3 BenchMark Brio: 55 mm hexagonal aluminum (the Fort version), 5 height settings
• S4 Alpine Master: 44 mm octagonal aluminum, 4 height settings
• Low Crest: a lower steel frame, 3 height settings, its own top and no standard sidewalls

The Amazon listings in the grid don't always print the series name. Some say "Heavy Duty," "Commercial," "Stable" or "Patio Commercial-Series" instead. Match the listing's frame material, peak height and wall count against the maker's series pages before you assume which frame you're getting. That's a measure-twice step, and it takes five minutes.

Lineup notes: frames by series

S1 Nova Base: the steel packages

The S1 Nova Base Lite is the frame under most of the maker's packages: with sidewalls, with window walls, with an awning. The maker describes a powder-coated steel frame with nylon brackets, square legs, a thumb-lock latch and a 400-denier polyester top with a PU lining (a waterproof coating on the inside). Denier is a measure of how heavy the fabric's threads are; a higher number means heavier cloth.

The S1 Lite package with three sidewalls and a door wall comes in at 65.7 lb for the 10x10, per the maker, with the wheeled bag, four sand bags, ropes and stakes counted in. The awning page says the frame withstands 50 km/h of wind.

The S1 Frame Pro steps up to 30 mm square steel tubes, five height settings and a choice of 400D or 600D top. The maker rates it for wind up to 45 mph and lists a three-year limited warranty.

S2 Crux Start Core: heavier steel

The S2 uses 32 mm square steel, five heights, and a choice of 400D, 600D or vinyl top. The maker lists the 10x10 at 23.15 kg, about 51 lb, and a wind rating up to 50 km/h. Warranty: three years limited, per the series page.

S3 and S4: the aluminum frames

The S3 BenchMark Brio Fort uses 55 mm hexagonal aluminum legs, a 600D top and a stated wind rating up to 70 km/h. The 10x10 is listed at 22 kg, about 48.5 lb, which is lighter than the S2 despite the thicker legs. Aluminum does that.

The S4 Alpine Master uses 44 mm octagonal aluminum, a 600D or vinyl top, four height settings, and the highest stated wind rating in the lineup, up to 75 km/h. The 10x10 is listed at 26 kg, about 57 lb. Both aluminum series carry a seven-year limited warranty on their pages.

Low Crest: the lighter, lower frames

The Low Crest pop ups are the budget end. Per the maker, the 10x10 with two sun walls weighs 37.5 lb, uses a silver-coated top, and has three height settings. The 10x10 with a storage sidewall is listed at 39.1 lb with a mesh storage wall and a 45 mph wind claim. The maker warns that standard sidewalls are too long for this frame.

When the subject is canopies, Danny reads the weight line before anything else, because he's usually the one carrying it, and the walk back always feels longer than the walk in. The gap between a Low Crest and an S1 Lite package is roughly a full sack of feed.

Packages: what hangs off the frame

Most of the grid is packages, so here's what changes from one to the next:

• Sidewalls: from one storage wall to four zippered walls in the enclosed package
• Window walls: the church-window version swaps solid panels for clear PVC windows, per the maker
• Awning: a front extension the maker says adds about 23 square feet of shade
• Curtains: on the 10x20 patio package, per its listing
• Footprint: 8x8, 10x10 and 10x20 in the grid; the maker's site also lists 10x15

Shade area is a simple multiply with straight legs: a 10x10 covers 100 square feet, an 8x8 covers 64. The listings say so, and for once the math agrees with the box. More on sizing is on the 10x10 canopy page and the 10x20 canopy page.

Jess's take on sidewalls: "A sidewall is a sail you zipped on yourself." She's right. Every wall you add gives the wind more to push on, so zip on the windward wall only when you need it, and stake harder when you do.

How to choose within the Abccanopy lineup

Read the wind rating before the size

My one opinion on this page: read the wind line on the series page before you pick the size. The maker's own ratings run from 50 km/h on the S1 Lite and S2 to 70 km/h on the S3 and 75 km/h on the S4. Quick math: 50 km/h is about 31 mph, which the National Weather Service's Beaufort scale puts at the top of a "strong breeze," where large limbs move and umbrellas get hard to hold. 75 km/h is about 46 mph, inside the scale's "gale" band. And the maker's warranty doesn't cover damage from wind, rain or snow, whatever the rating. If your camp sits on an open ridge, that number matters more than the extra five square feet.

Then the weight you'll lift

Somebody has to get it out of the truck. The maker's weights run from the high 30s in pounds for a Low Crest 10x10 to about 57 lb for an S4 10x10, and over 100 lb for a 10x20 S1 Lite package with walls. The aluminum S3 frame weighs less than the steel S2, per the maker. Every series ships with a wheeled bag, and gravel is not where wheels shine.

Then the height you'll stand under

Five height settings on the S1 Frame Pro, S2 and S3, four on the S4, three on the S1 Lite and Low Crest. If anybody at your camp is over six feet or wears a blaze orange hat with a tall crown, look at the peak heights in the series spec tables. Some are in inches, some in centimeters, so do the conversion. A low valance (the fabric edge that hangs down) is the first thing a tall man meets at 5 a.m.

Then the top fabric

400D, 600D or vinyl, depending on the series. The maker's 600D replacement top lists CPAI-84, NFPA 701 and California Title 19 as its certifications, and the maker's setup page files them under fire safety. The S1 Lite page also says its package meets CPAI-84. Heavier fabric weighs more. Everything in this hobby is a trade.

Setup and care that the maker spells out

The maker's setup is the usual pop up routine: take the frame out with the top attached, pull the frame open, extend the legs, latch them. One or two people, no tools, per the series pages. Then the part people skip: weight the legs. Every package ships with sand bags, and the maker's heavy duty weight bags hold up to 29 lb each on sand, rock or dirt (sand not included, which surprised exactly nobody at Hemlock Run).

Tops and walls are matched to the series. The maker warns that some tops have a full-length hook-and-loop strip along the edge and others don't, and that the sidewalls have to match. Write the series name and size on the bag in marker. When the top wears out in a few years, you'll want to know which one to order.

If the wind picks up past what you'd stand in comfortably, take the canopy down. Don't wait for it to decide for you.

Dry the top before it goes back in the bag for the winter. Fabric stored wet in a dark truck box comes out in April with a new smell.

Warranty basics

Abccanopy's warranty page, in short:

• Frames: one year from the original purchase date
• Tops, walls, table covers, roller bags, rain gutters: six months
• Custom-printed items: one year limited
• Needs: proof of purchase, photos, proper use per the instructions, and the correct top and accessories for the frame
• Doesn't cover: alterations, third-party tops or accessories, and damage from wind, rain, snow or other acts of nature

Several series pages list longer limited terms than the warranty page: three years on the S1 Frame Pro and S2, seven on the S3 and S4, two years on the 600D replacement top. Read the page for your exact model and keep a screenshot with the receipt.

Who's behind Abccanopy

The brand's site names the company as International ABC, Inc., with an address in Los Angeles, California. Its About page says the company runs its own factory of 23,000 square meters, without saying where it is, and its FAQ says orders usually ship from a California warehouse. I couldn't verify a founding year or where the canopies are made, so those are left out.

Series name, then the wind line, then the weight, then the walls. The color comes last, and at deer camp it gets covered in hemlock needles by Saturday anyway.