There’s no shortage of companies to choose from when shopping for a custom canopy tent for your next event. Search engine results show you everything from the big box stores, like Amazon and Wal-Mart, to companies like us — TentCraft — specifically focused on professional custom tents and structures.
If this is your first time shopping for a custom-branded tent, the experience can feel a bit overwhelming. You’re bombarded with technical specs and tent lingo that likely means nothing to you, and all you want to know is which tent company is best for me and my business?
Oh, and don't forget about all the one-off print shops that have a "quality tent" to sell you (spoiler alert: Those tents will fall apart immediately).
We get it. We've seen it all. And we want to help.
With more than 15 years in the tent industry under our belts, we know a thing or two about this industry and what the different companies offer. And as the only company that solely manufactures the tent frame in the U.S. — Traverse City, Michigan, to be exact — and using raw material sourced from the U.S., we feel like we bring expertise in highlighting our fellow competitors, all to help you make the best possible purchase — whether you're a vendor or work for an experiential marketing agency.
It’s important to note that a majority of the pop-up canopy industry imports its frames from overseas — mostly from China. TentCraft is the only company that manufactures its tent frames in the U.S. and follows a build-to-order business model. That commitment to American manufacturing and producing high-quality, durable solutions that last a REALLY long time is a big reason why so many businesses trust TentCraft.
But TentCraft isn’t a good fit for everyone. Sometimes our prices don’t fit your budget. Or our solutions might be overkill for what you’re trying to accomplish. That’s OK! We’re more concerned about finding a good fit than we are landing a sale.
When that’s the case, we’re asked, “If I don’t go with TentCraft, who would you recommend?” Well, in no particular order, here’s who we would point you toward:
ExtremeCanopy
Founded in 2003 (21 years)
Headquarters: Huntington Beach, California; Australia, New Zealand
Frame manufacturing base: China
Tent Products: Pop-ups, frame tents, inflatable tents, shade umbrellas
Extreme Canopy is part of Extreme Group, which is in California, New Zealand, and Australia. The group manufactures its tent frames in China inside a 75,000-square-foot production facility named Extreme Tent Technology Co. and then imports frames to Europe, Australia, America, the Middle East, and Asia. The custom-printed canopies are printed in-house in California for those ordering in the United States.
Extreme caters to a wide array of customers, from recreation consumers to commercial clients. Their recreational pop-up tents use steel hexagonal leg profiles and come in three sizes. Their commercial and professional models utilize a stronger and lighter aluminum framework (see steel vs. aluminum frames) and start at about $1,275. Extreme pop-up tents come in eight different sizes.
In addition to a lineup of frame tents geared toward larger events and inflatable tents in a bevy of designs, Extreme is also a big seller of shade umbrellas. That lineup includes consumer umbrellas for patios to custom-printed commercial options.
Ins’Tent
Founded in 1997 (27 years)
Headquarters: Huntington Beach, California
Frame manufacturing base: Overseas
Tent Products: Pop-ups, frame tents, inflatable tents, shade umbrellas
Ins’Tent is a business-to-business custom canopy seller based in California. Since 1997, this family-owned business has offered four main pop-up tent frames. The company imports its tent frames and assembles them at their California production facility. An in-house graphic design and sewing team handles the fabrication of the custom canopy material.
The company’s “good” model is made from powder-coated steel, while its “best” model uses a 2mm-thick anodized aluminum frame with a 50mm diameter hexagonal leg. The frame comes with a 5-year warranty.
Ins’Tent only offers three sizes of pop-up tents, according to its website: 10x10; 10x15; and 10x20. The sizes can come with various configurations of walls, tables, and flags.
Ins’Tent also offers custom-printed frame tents (The Marquee) for larger events.
The company also runs a wholesale business, giving distributors access to a wholesale portal to expand their reach.
Instant Promotion
Founded in 2003 (21 years)
Headquarters: Morrisville, North Carolina
Frame manufacturing base: China/Overseas
Tent Products: Pop-up tents, inflatable tents, umbrellas
With locations in North Carolina and the United Kingdom, Instant Promotion is in he business of events. In addition to its selection of pop-up tents, the company is also a seller of event signage and trade show accessories.
Customers shop on the company’s website by either selecting a stock canopy tent or choosing from a collection of templates. A Classic Digital Package features a custom canopy, while an Instant Expo Package includes a custom-printed canopy, custom walls, a branded podium table and custom event flags.
Pop-up tent sizes range from 5x5 to 13x26. The frame uses a spring-loaded center pole.
The company also guarantees a 12-month UV anti-fade canopy.
Instant Promotion has more than 400 ratings on Trust Pilot. About 94% of those ratings are five stars.
Mastertent
Founded in 1993 (31 years)
U.S. Headquarters: North Carolina
Frame manufacturing base: Europe
Tent Products: Pop-up tents, inflatable tents, pavilions
As the former North American partner to Mastertent, we know their products and business pretty well. Manufacturing is done across Europe; their U.S. business is handled out of North Carolina.
The company offers a bevy of professional pop-up canopies for the event industry that come in 12 different sizes.
The S1 is the company’s heavy-duty model, utilizing a full aluminum frame and joints, 2” leg diameter with 2.5mm aluminum walls, and stainless steel footpads. The tent comes with a 5-year warranty. The company offers less heavy-duty models as well. The Series 3, for instance, uses a square leg profile with a thinner aluminum wall.
Mastertent doesn’t sell frame tents, but does offer custom-printed pavilions with a handful of design layouts, including hexagonal and octagonal. It also sells a lineup of inflatable tents.
KD Kanopy
Founded 30+ years ago
Headquarters: Denver, Colorado
Frame manufacturing base: Overseas
Tent Products: Pop-up tents, frame tents
KD Kanopy sells everything from recreational pop-up tents (10x10 steel frames) to aluminum frames with hexagonal leg profiles for commercial clients. It also sells a frame tent model that ranges from 10x10 to 20x50.
The company prints and fabricates its canopy material in Denver, but imports its frames from overseas.
There isn’t much information about the company on its website.
E-Z UP
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Founded in 1983 (41 years)
Headquarters: Huntington Beach, California
Frame manufacturing base: China/Overseas
Tent Products: Pop-up tents
When it comes to the pop-up tent industry, there’s no name bigger than E-Z UP. What started as a small business in a California garage has grown into a massive, worldwide business. The company has such great name recognition that people often use the word pop-up tent and E-Z Up Tent interchangeably.
The company manufactures most of its pop-up tent products in Hong Kong, China.
While the company is primarily geared toward consumers looking for a cheap shelter (for their backyard or at the kid’s weekend soccer tournament), it also makes a number of pop-up tent models designated as “business solutions” that can be custom printed.
In terms of price, E-Z UP is the cheapest option on the market since they focus more on high volume (you can purchase their canopies at big box stores like Walmart and Lowes) instead of build-to-order solutions.
Strike Visuals
Founded in 2012 (12 years)
Headquarters: Centerville, Utah
Frame manufacturing base: Overseas
Tent products: pop-up tents, inflatables, and event signage.
Strike Visuals brings a dozen years of event promotion supplies experience to the events industry. Based north of Salt Lake City, the company specializes in custom tents, signs, flags, and inflatables that they import from overseas and print here in the states. Because of that business model, turnaround times are typically longer (the company estimates 11-14 days for most jobs).
Strike offers a unique lineup of custom tents, including a frame lineup made from magnesium. The 10x10 version of the magnesium tent weighs about 30 lbs, which is great for portability, but not the best in protecting against unexpected wind gusts. They also offer aluminum frames, which are heavier and more commercial-grade. Their 50mm hex frame tent is described as “indestructible.”
You can find Strike tents at big trade shows, inlcuding the Sea Otter Classic.
Companies appreciate their lifetime warranty across their lineup. One reviewer said he needed to file a warranty claim three times, but "appreciated the customer service."
TentCraft
Founded in 2007 (17 years)
Headquarters: Traverse City, Michigan
Frame manufacturing base: Traverse City, Michigan
Tent Products: Pop-up tents, frame tents, truss, inflatable, geodesic dome, tent accessories (flags, table covers, etc.)
Oh, hey! That’s us.
We don’t particularly like tooting our own horn. Still, we are confident enough to say we’re a viable option for businesses looking for a company that can deliver high-quality, custom event- and industry-related structures in a really short amount of time.
We’re also confident in the lifespan of our products. Our heavy-duty pop-up tent, MONARCHTENT, comes with a lifetime frame warranty.
If “made in America” is important to you, we’re a no-brainer.
And if you absolutely need impeccible customer service, we have countless reviews to back that up — plus this video which walks you through our battle-tested customer experience:
If you’re interested in learning more about our company, or even want a video walk-through of our production facility with one of our sales reps, send us a note and tell us what you need for your next event. We can’t wait to help.
