I just finished a 3 day outdoor show with my new Sam’s Club cheap EZ
up, and we had severe storm warnings Saturday, with high winds
Friday and Saturday, and rain Saturday. My EZ up did fine, the
sandbags I use on each leg held it nice and firm even with one side
wall down to cut wind through the booth, and it did NOT pool rain.
Unfortunately, the person next to me did not have an EZ up, whatever
she had DID pool rain, which got caught by a gust of wind and
cascaded onto my earring display. Which, needless to say, did not do
anything good for the earring cards! Fortunately I carry extras, so
it was ok.
So maybe the EZ up bashers are used to the old ones, not the new
ones? I was certainly pleased with the way mine performed this
weekend.
Now if we had gotten hit by any of the tornadoes that formed, I
don’t think it would have made any difference what tent anyone had!
On a related note, if the show specifies in their literature that
you should bring weights for your tent, and you don’t (over half the
tents had NO weights!), and the show lets them stay set up with no
weights, and the tents fly into other tents - does the show share
liability? I was very concerned when we had the severe storm
warnings! Just wondered if anyone on the list knew…
Beth Wicker
Three Cats and a Dog Design Studio
http://bethwicker.ganoksin.com/blogs/
Beth, The EZ-UP bashers have fairly good reasons to do so. I have
been doing shows for 20 years, I have owned 2 EZ-Ups. I now own a
light dome. The light dome has gone through 4 times the shows that
the EZ up’s went through and is still going strong.
Yes, the durability of the EZ-Up and all tents does depend on how
they are staked and weighted, but in general its like cheap clothing
vs. well made clothing. One starts to unravel after a few washes and
the other is still wearable after a number of years.
I staked and clamped and weighted and hula-hooped the corners of my
EZ- Up, I still lost my top. I had the ceiling collapse because the
top is made of cheaper fabric and you must be there to remove the
pooling water. Your EZ-Up is new, and I guess there is a chance they
suddenly started using a fabric for the top that won’t start sagging
and collecting rain, but that would be something totally new. After 3
years my legs were difficult to slide up and down, the top was a
mess, the side walls never stayed attached properly and 2 of the 4
feet you stake to the ground had snapped off.
I have also seen damaged Light domes and Craft Huts, but not nearly
the number I have seen of EZ-Ups. I have been in tornadoes where the
craft hut next to me bent but stayed intact and my light dome had a
mild bend to it, there must have been a couple dozen EZ-Up’s in a
pile at the end of that show. In addition, if my leg is bent during
extreme weather, I order a new leg, you can’t really fix the EZ-Up.
I think your EZ-Up is great for someone new to doing shows that is
trying to save money but I also think if you go to the best shows
there is a very good reason all the seasoned artists have heavier
duty tents.
Karen, in Chicago where the wind is a big factor.
I too just did a show in not-so-great weather with my EZ-Up. The
only issues were with water wicking through the seams, but I
waterproofed them after I got home (and the tent dried out), so
hopefully that is a thing of the past. Weights are absolutely
critical.no matter what the weather forecast. I learned that a few
years ago when a beautiful fall day turned a bit windy! My tent did
not do its Mary Poppins impression, but I did spend a good bit of my
time nonchalantly leaning up against one pole, holding it down!
Wanda Kalbach
www.WandaKalbach.com