Folding tents

Folding tents: up in a few minutes

A folding tent, also called a pop-up gazebo, is a tent with a concertina frame that opens out like an accordion. Two people put one up in a few minutes, without tools. That makes it the standard item for markets, sporting events, open days, promotional campaigns and everything that happens away from base.

We supply folding tents to companies, local authorities, sports clubs, associations, market traders and event organisers, in standard form or fully printed in your house style.

Where the quality differences lie

In a brochure, folding tents all look the same. You only notice the difference at the third storm.

• The frame. Steel is heavier and cheaper; aluminium is lighter, does not corrode and is the sensible choice if you set up and break down often or work alone. The leg dimension and the wall thickness of the profile say more about strength than the brand does.
• The hinges and joints. Plastic joints are the first to break. Metal hinges last for years.
• The fabric. The weight per square metre, the waterproofing and the UV resistance decide how long a tent keeps looking presentable. Cheap fabric fades visibly after one season in full sun.
• The height adjustment. Several settings are useful, but the locking mechanism must remain operable with wet hands.

That is why we first ask how often you use the tent. For a club that puts one up twice a year, a light version is fine; for a market trader who stands under it every week, that is money thrown away.

Versions and dressing

The usual size is three by three metres, which fits most market pitches and a van. There are also longer versions and tents that can be linked together into a continuous canopy.

The dressing is where the tent starts working for you. A blank white tent is a tent; a tent with your logo on the valance and your name on the side walls is visibility. We print roofs, valances and side walls, and supply separate side walls with or without a window, door or zip, so you can add them as the weather demands.

Safety: ballast is not optional

This is the point where things go wrong in practice. A folding tent is light and has a large roof area - in wind it becomes a sail. A tent that flies away is a real danger to bystanders, and the liability lies with the organiser.

Always add ballast, even in fine weather, because wind gets up. That can be done with weights at every leg, with fillable feet, with straps to ground anchors where the surface allows, or with a combination. On hard surfacing ground anchors are not an option and weights are the only route. We include that ballast in the proposal as standard rather than mentioning it afterwards as an accessory.

Maintenance and storage

Never put a folding tent away damp. Fabric that goes into its bag wet comes out mouldy two weeks later and those stains never come off. Let the tent dry before it goes back into the bag, even if that means leaving it standing open in the shed for a day.

Beyond that: check the hinges annually, store the side walls separately, and put the bag on a trolley instead of dragging it.

What determines the price?

Folding tents have no fixed unit price. The cost follows from the choice of frame - steel or aluminium - and the profile thickness, the size, the fabric weight and quality, the number of side walls and how they are made up, the print and the number of printed surfaces, the ballast, and the number of tents, because with a series the cost per unit falls and the set-up cost of the print is spread.

Give us the size, how often it will be used and your house style, and you will get a quotation per version.

Request a proposal

Send us your logo and tell us how often and where you use the tent. We will propose a version that stands up to that use, and show you a design before anything is produced.