Customer Reviews

Swiss Gear Smart Shade 10- by 10-Foot Screenhouse

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I had wanted a pop-up canopy for some time, primarily to use at the outdoor shooting range, and after the last range trip where we had no shade whatsoever, I finally bought the Swiss Gear screen house. Although EZ-UP has more name recognition, I was looking at the Quik Shade 10x10 Recreational model because I'd used them at work and really liked the vented canopy. However, the legs were flimsy.

This screen house had good reviews and although the price was higher than comparable products from competitors, I decided on the Swiss Gear. (Their reputation was an additional selling point.) It's taken me a long time to learn the "pay once for quality" lesson, but I've finally learned it (and this purchase reaffirmed it). I was initially disappointed to learn that the canopy is designed to be removed from the frame every time you take it down, but I got over it.

We have no cover over our patio at home, so I decided to set this canopy up as a temporary summer solution. I put it up by myself in about 10 minutes. I would have preferred to have help, as I had to lean the canopy on two legs and I was afraid of bending them as I did the Quik Shade, but the legs are sturdy steel (vs. aluminum) and held up nicely. I have yet to attach the screen panels but I expect them to perform as well as the canopy itself.

Overall, it's fantastic and worth every penny. It looks great and works as advertised. Bonus: This past Friday we had our first family backyard barbecue in 14 years!

Update 11/16/08: Each time I use it, it makes me happier. This past weekend I took the canopy to an outdoor car show. My uncle commented on how easy it was to set up, and said, "Boy, you got the deluxe model." I attached one of the screen panels (it comes with two; they attach to each other with zippers and attach to the canopy with Velcro and metal hooks) and was again pleased with the ease of setup and the quality of the product. This time when I folded the canopy, I left the top cover on the frame and it required very little extra effort to put the whole thing into the storage bag.

One suggestion: I'd like to see a rubber or plastic bumper around the bottom of the storage bag. I dragged the bag about a foot before I realized I didn't have it on its wheels, and the asphalt wore through a couple of layers of nylon. My fault entirely, but a skid plate would be a nice touch.

Update 12/31/10: I had some high-wind experience with this canopy recently. The wind was blowing directly perpendicular to one side of the canopy, and as we were trying to secure it with sandbags and guywires, I noticed that two of the bars on the "accordion" part of the metal frame had actually bent in the middle. We took it down immediately, and I was able to bend the piece back into reasonable shape later. It didn't affect the canopy's performance at all. I'm not sure that any canopy is really going to stand up to high winds (by design or otherwise), but maybe Quik Shade's vented design has an advantage over a non-vented design that seems to act like a kite by catching as much wind as possible.

Update 6/6/11: I contacted Wenger NA about acquiring replacement parts and received a prompt reply: "I apologize but wind damage isn't covered under warranty, and the poles / frame are not available for purchase separately." So when the wind picks up, take it down.

Update 7/17/11: I hate to do this after so many helpful votes, but I'm taking a star away for this canopy's poor performance in the wind. I took it to the beach yesterday and there was a stiff breeze (certainly not gale force), and even though I'd staked the legs and attached guy wires, I had little confidence that it wouldn't just fold up. The bent bars were on the leeward side of the canopy and yet that side collapsed inward. What really irritated me was seeing EZ-Up and First Up and no-name canopies standing tall against the wind without guy wires.

NOTE: I don't know why the price on this screen house keeps climbing (almost 50% in three years), but I see no reason not to buy the Swiss Gear 10- by 10-Foot Smart Shade Canopy and then buy the screen walls separately if you want them. That will save you a bunch of money.

Year after year ordering tent after tent. Finally, this one is fabulous! Easy to put up, sturdy, well made, sharp looking, and easy to move. Great detailed construction. Comes in a great zippered carry bag with pockets and wheels, similar to a golf travel bag. Zippers very good quality. Great fitting screens. Vertical walls give great room and coverage. The fabric is a very nice and much softer white than in the pictures. Frame is one big piece that unfolds like an accordian. 5 minutes max to put up. Much better than I expected. I put three together and now have 300 square feet of a new summer home. Could not be more pleased!

All of the comments regarding the quality of the canopy are true, but we ran into a problem with rain. If the rain is steady enough water can pool along the edge of the fabric top, and the weight will cause the side to buckle. If you're handy with tools you can fix this problem by adding a brace to the top arms. See the picture on the main page. The brace is made from a short piece of aluminum L-channel with holes drilled in the ends. Holes will need to be drilled in the top arms on either side of the plastic connector. The connector has two nubs sticking out on the side. The trick is to drill a hole in in one top arm, connect one end of the aluminum brace, position the other end of the brace on the other top arm such that the top edge of the brace is under the nubs. This will form a shallow arch. Mark and drill the top arm and attach the other end of the brace. You need to do this once for each of the four cross arms. Doing this will slightly arch the canopy top causing water to run right off without pooling.

We live in a warm climate with lots of water and woods, which automatically means lots of bugs. The bugs LOVE my 2-year-old son, and consequently he HATES them. The minute he sees one, he's inside. We got this house to enclose his sandbox so he can play happily outside in the summer.

The house is attractive and quite sturdy. There is a strong structure of poles that holds the whole thing up. The poles are mostly already connected and the whole thing basically just unfolds, and then you add the roof and the walls. With 2 people it's a snap to set up and take down. It does not hold up to high winds, but I don't think any bug houses are made for that.

Surrounding the frame is a roof canopy and a screen curtain, which are separate pieces. This is nice if you want the option of having just the shade sometimes. But for us, bug prevention was really the only objective. Because there are two pieces, the roof and the walls, it is not very bug proof. The roof overhangs the screen but there is not a good seal between the two. Bugs like to crawl up the screen and then up into the roof, and then they drop down on your head. In addition to the numerous spiders, earwigs, and other crawly bugs that made their home in our structure during the 3 weeks it was up, we also had tics, which can be real dangerous as they carry lyme disease.

The other problem we had with this was the entry. The walls are very taught, which is good, except that this combined with the zipper location makes zipping and unzipping the thing a real pain. The zipper is in the middle of the wall, and when fully closed the zipper is on the ground. You have to bend WAY down to unzip and it's a two-handed job. If you leave the zipper even a little bit open, then the taught-ness of the walls pulls the screen apart, leaving a HUGE gap and thus nullifying the bug-protection. With a 2-year-old, this is a real problem. I would not want to deal with this either in a situation with a crowd or where I am bringing stuff in and out (like a picnic or something like that).

This is fine for a once-in-a-while event. But I do not recommend for long-term use.

We use a screen house while camping in Michigan. We normally use it to eat our meals in, or sit and drink coffee in the morning. Our old screen house of about five years was getting worn and we felt it was time for something new.
Ease of set up was our main concern along with durability. The Swiss Gear screen house pasted the test. When we first received the screen house, I decided to check it out and set it up by myself. Although this is possible to do alone, I highly recommend two people. The sides are attached to the top with velcro which makes it nice if you would like to open the entire side for easy access. Our old screen house had a strip of material running across the bottom of the doors that people constantly tripped over and this is not the case with the Swiss Gear.
My one complaint, like all camping gear, everything is nicely rolled up in a factory and stuffed in the storage bag, but in a campground setting you cannot get it to fit!
The frame work fit fine but the material would not fit no matter how neatly we tried to be so we threw it in the back of the truck and refolded it when we got home. Like a map it has to be folded just so or it will not fit, but there are no directions on how to fold it so pay attention when you take it out the first time.
Overall I am very happy with the Swiss Gear Screen house and find the price to be reasonable when compared to other Screen houses.

when they say it sets up in minutes, they're not joking. this is very well made and extremely easy to set up/collapse. For $100, you can't go wrong.

I have gone through 2 sceenhouses in 2 years, one took forever to assemble and didn't last a month, the other was pretty easy too assemble but didn't last a week! Both fell victim to a New England summer. Living near the coast usually spells doom for screenhouses, until I stumbled upon this beauty! It survived quite a few storms with winds that exceeded 50+ mph. The MAJOR KEY IS TO SLIDE THE LEGS DOWN when a storm is expected, it lowers it's center of gravity and will stay put through anything, and it only takes a couple minutes. Also it took about an hour to assemble/secure but I used a ramset and drilled the legs into my cement patio. Great product!

We bought this screen tent last summer and found it to be a huge improvement over other screen tents we have owned. Putting it up the first time was challenging, but now we can do it without much trouble. This summer while camping in heavy rain (no wind), a large pocket of water accumulated in one corner of the tent roof over night and broke one of the metal frame pieces. I called the phone number listed for replacement parts and on the third day, after being on hold for over half an hour, I finally got to speak to someone. They were pleasant, but I learned that replacement parts for the frame are not available. I also learned that the warranty does not cover problems that they believe are weather related. (Does that mean if your roof leaks, too bad, the rain caused the problem??!) I didn't know I was buying a product that becomes worthless if one piece breaks! For this reason I would not buy from this company again. I will be figuring out a way to make a replacement part; I can't afford to throw away $169 plus shipping for a new tent.

I set this up in June and took it down in October. Very well made with many quality features. My only complaint is that it is a little difficult for one person to set up. But it can be done. I love this and will be using it over and over for many years. Looks beautiful and functions even beter. Quality product.

We just bought into a time share camping area and our first time there we were attacked by 100's of yellow jackets when cooking and attempting to eat tri-tip. We ran home to order a screen tent and after reading all the reviews purchased this one.

WE LOVED IT!!!! Our next camping trip we were sticking our tongues out at all the bees that were unsuccessfully trying to get at our food.

Set up was easy (I put it up myself, with a little help from my kids).

I like the fact that the screen can come off the top canopy and be used just for shade protection.

Great product- hope this helps!