A heavy-duty pop-up tent is a professional, commercial-grade structure manufactured with an all-aluminum frame. This is a solution designed for agencies and power users who demand the highest-quality custom tent for their event or application.
As the sole U.S. manufacturer of pop-up tents, TentCraft has developed two pop-up tent models — MONARCHTENT and mightyTENT. Monarch is our heavy-duty pop-up tent; Mighty is our medium-duty solution.
Heavy-duty canopy tents are battle-tested. Whether you’re having high school cross country athletes set it up before the big race, or need your business to stand out at an important event, heavy-duty tents are tough, easy to set up, and extremely reliable. No matter how many times you need to use a heavy-duty tent throughout the year, you can rest assured it quickly pops up each and every time.
So, what exactly makes a pop-up tent heavy duty? As the manufacturer of heavy-duty tents, we employ a team of engineers, metal fabricators, sewers, and product specialists who are in a great position to educate buyers on the ins and outs of heavy-duty tents.
The Anatomy of a Heavy-Duty Pop-Up Tent
You’ll see us describe MONARCHTENT as the “strongest pop-up tent in the industry,” but what exactly does that mean? Let us break down the individual components of a heavy-duty tent.
Frame Material: Anodized Aluminum
If you’re a first-time buyer of pop-up tents, you’re going to be inundated with options. When it comes to frame material, though, there are essentially only two choices: aluminum and steel.
We’ll make it simple for you to understand the difference. Cheap recreational tents typically are built with steel frames, while professional, commercial-grade tents are made with aluminum.
Steel is much cheaper to source, which allows companies like E-Z UP to sell a pop-up tent for about $150. But remember: you get what you pay for.
Steel is significantly heavier and denser than aluminum, meaning your tent’s weight adds up fast. The legs of steel tents tend to be thin, making them more susceptible to breaking. If manufacturers made steel-leg tents as thick as heavy-duty aluminum tents, a 10x10 tent would weigh three times as much — more than 200 pounds!
That’s right! Aluminum is a third of the weight of steel, allowing manufacturers like us to make our thick tent legs for ultimate durability. As a bonus, we build our tents with anodized aluminum, making the oxide layer on the surface nearly as hard as diamond. Good luck destroying these legs!
Our heavy-duty MONARCHTENT uses 12-gauge aluminum — about 2 mm — which is more than double the thickness of a typical recreational pop-up tent.
Connecting Joints: Aluminum
A big differentiator between a heavy-duty tent and a medium-duty tent is the material of the frame’s connecting joints.
Heavy-duty tents utilize aluminum connecting joints. In other words, heavy-duty tents feature an “all-aluminum” frame. Medium-duty tents use engineered nylon-glass plastic connecting joints.
Leg Design and Diameter
Leg diameter and design are important factors of a heavy-duty pop-up tent. Many leg profiles use a hexagonal or octagonal leg profile. That allows for a better grip on the surface area.
In terms of diameter, a heavy-duty tent should have legs with a diameter of at least 2 inches.
Footpad Design
A big difference between TentCraft heavy-duty tents and our competitors’ options is the design of the footpad. We have strong feelings that a footpad needs to be tough because it’s the piece of the tent that’s being dragged across parking lots and other surfaces.
Our heavy-duty tent features a thick footpad that’s about a quarter-inch thick made from cast aluminum. Cheaper alternatives use a steel plate that’s typically around ⅛” thick.
Frame Weight
Frame weight is an interesting topic when shopping for the perfect pop-up tent. Obviously, a 600-pound tent would handle quite well against heavy wind, but it would be insanely difficult to transport.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a 25-pound tent is really easy to transport, but there’s no way it would hold up in bad weather.
A heavy-duty tent finds the sweet spot thanks to its higher-gauge aluminum. A 10x10 MONARCHTENT weighs in under 70lbs with the canopy. That’s a manageable weight for someone to pick up on their own, and one that allows us to manufacture a tent with thick, strong legs. (Don’t worry; we include a wheel kit to make that trip with your tent from your car to the event location much easier.)
Eye-Popping, Durable Canopy
It’s easy to talk on and on about the hardware of a heavy-duty tent, but what good is any tent without a great-looking — and durable — canopy?
Heavy-duty tents should use a polyester canopy that’s tough on wind and rain. TentCraft takes it a step further. We developed a proprietary fabric called Duranti that’s specifically designed for rugged outdoor use. It’s water, mildew, and UV resistant.
The printing method we use is also considered “heavy-duty.” We customize our canopies using the dye-sublimation method of printing, meaning the ink literally becomes part of the fabric. In return, you don’t need to worry about your logo and art cracking or peeling. This is a great solution to a pain point for our craft brewing clients who bring their custom brewery tents on the road multiple times a year and want to keep their canopy in tip-top shape.
Design Possibilities with a Heavy-Duty Tent
Heavy-duty tents need to be tough, but also versatile. So, while many customers prefer the look of a traditional 10x10 pop-up tent, we believe a heavy-duty tent should also give you some creative design options.
In addition to the traditional roof style, TentCraft offers its heavy-duty tent in five other styles across a number of different sizes.
Who Uses a Heavy-Duty Pop-Up Tent?
The biggest users of heavy-duty tents include experiential marketing agencies and well-known brands, like REI, Comcast, Jack Link’s, who demand the best-of-the-best.
Here’s an example by FarmRich. The snack company needed to stand out at an SEC football game between Alabama and Florida.
TentCraft works with several small business owners and farmers market vendors who need a high-quality solution for constant use. For those instances, a heavy-duty pop-up tent is necessary.
Wind Ratings of Heavy-Duty Tents
One of the first questions customers of heavy-duty tents have is, “How much wind can it handle?”
No doubt, the wind is a huge concern for pop-up tent users, which is why a heavy-duty tent should come with a certified wind rating from an actual engineering firm. When shopping around, you might see some companies show off how their tents can handle 70+ mph winds, but that’s typically a gimmick. When you have a tent properly ballasted and blast a straight gust of wind at it, there’s a good chance it’s going to stay in place.
But that’s not how wind works! It swirls in all sorts of directions, which is why it’s important to have an engineering firm test it as such.
Our heavy-duty MONARCHTENT is rated at 35mph when properly anchored to the ground. And while it could probably handle winds closer to 40mph, we would never recommend it. Those are pretty intense winds and if you find yourself in that type of wind storm, it’s best to take your tent down for the sake of everyone’s safety.
Warranty of Heavy-Duty Tents
If you’re going to call a tent “heavy-duty,” you need to back it up with a promise. At TentCraft, we offer a lifetime frame warranty on all heavy-duty tents and a 7-year, pro-rated canopy warranty. If something fails due to a manufacturer’s error, we’ll repair or replace it for free.
Cost of Heavy-Duty Tents
In the world of pop-up tents, you get what you pay for. So, expect to pay more for a heavy-duty pop-up tent.
Most heavy-duty tents start at aout $2,500 and go up based on size and custom printing specifications.
Invest in a Heavy-Duty Tent
Are you convinced of the benefits of a heavy-duty tent? If so, it’s time to contact our team and start planning your project.
