If you’re looking for a high-quality screen house that will keep you protected from sun, rain, and insects then look no further.
The Eclipse Refuge by Bass Pro Shop (sold at Bass Pro Shop in the USA and Cabela’s in Canada) is a top contender for the best lightweight screen house you can get your hands on for car and canoe camping, backyard picnicking, and music festivals.
So, why is it so great you ask?
Well, weighing 16.8 pounds and costing $120 CAD (sale price, before tax), the Eclipse Refuge screen house is 26% lighter and 60% cheaper than similar sized screen houses on the market.
Its footprint is 12’ x 10’, which is more than enough space to cover a standard sized picnic table plus plenty of room to walk around. The domed roof is also designed to maximize both interior space and overhead clearance.
Article Contents:
Product Specifications
A screen house, also known as a screen tent, is a portable shelter made of cloth or mesh material supported by poles. The roof is typically constructed of an impermeable fabric to provide protection and respite from the sun and rain.
The Eclipse screen house is built to provide you shelter from sun, rain and insects.
Its simple setup design and construction makes it very portable, and easy to assemble and disassemble.
- The canopy roof is made from 190T polyester taffeta with a waterproof polyurethane coating rated for 800mm.
- The tallest part of the canopy stands at 88 inches (7’-4”).
- Poles are made from lightweight fiberglass and high strength steel.
- Dual zipper walls allow for access from either side.
- 8 built-in rings allow you to hang items throughout the screen house.
Pack Weight
One of the key features of the Eclipse screen house is its low pack weight.
The low weight makes it perfect for most types of outdoor activities. From car camping and canoe camping, to picnicking and festivals, the Eclipse can easily be carried and quickly set up.
- The Eclipse screen house has a pack weight of 16.8 pounds.
The average camping screen house with a comparable footprint weighs 21.3 pounds. That’s approximately 26% heavier.
Footprint Dimensions
The next key aspect to look for in a screen house is footprint dimensions. If you want to set up a screen house around a standard sized picnic table, it has to be at least 8’ x 7’ in dimensions minimum.
- The Eclipse screen house has a footprint of 12’ x 10’.
There’s ample amount of floor space inside to set up seating. It can be placed over a picnic table with plenty of room to walk around inside without feeling squeezed.
Because of how the screen house walls are supported, pretty much all of the measured footprint area is usable.
By that, I mean the walls aren’t angled inwards, like some screen houses, which would then limit the overhead height at the edges.
Setup Time and Effort
Some screen tents are extremely heavy and complicated to assemble, usually requiring more than one person.
The Eclipse screen house is simple to setup and only requires a single person to erect. It’s so easy, Chetna was able to do it on her first try, solo, without instructions!
- Setup time takes approximately 10 minutes solo, and 8 minutes with a partner.
- The poles and screen tent pole connections are all colour-coded for easy assembly.
Poles either slip through sleeves and are held in place with pockets, or they pop into plastic hubs at the corners.
- Each corner has grommets and a guy-out line for anchoring the erected fabric to the ground.
Because everything is lightweight and made from durable materials, it comes together super fast. So, when you arrive at your outdoor spot, you can have a shelter in no time.
Cost Comparison
A large selling point of the Eclipse screen house is its affordability – It only cost us $120 CAD (sale price, before tax)!
That’s a bargain when you look at other name brand screen houses.
I’ve listed below the cost (in Canadian dollars, eh!) of popular screen houses with similar product dimensions:
- Eureka – Nobugzone Screen House (12′ x 9′) – $349.95 CAD
- Sail – Shield Kitchen Camping Shelter (10′ x 10′) – $499.99 CAD
- Coleman – Instant Screened Shelter (11′ x 11′) – $179.99 CAD
- Woods – Lookout Instant Screen House (12′ x 12′) – $399.99 CAD
- Woods – Lodge (11′ x 9′) – $259.99 CAD
When you take the average cost of the screen houses listed above ($338), the Eclipse is a whopping 65% cheaper.
Why It’s Great
I’ve always been a minimalist camper, only taking the essentials. But, ever since my wife purchased the Eclipse screen house, it’s substantially elevated our camping trips.
Superior Protection from Bugs
In Southern Ontario, where we’re from, the flies and mosquitos can get very bad. It gets so bad sometimes that you can’t spend more than 5 minutes outside without getting eaten alive.
It can be especially tough for kids who have a lower tolerance for bugs and are more vulnerable to bites.
The screen house mesh walls provide excellent protection from insects, especially horse flies, deer flies, bees, wasps, and (my nemesis) mosquitoes.
During dawn and dusk period, when the mosquitos come out in droves, I find respite inside the screen house. Otherwise, I’ll be an itchy mess and uncomfortable all night long.
The only pitfall is that the bottom of the walls can’t be anchored down, which may result in a gap. But to fix this, you just need to adjust the four vertical posts to allow for more slack on the fabric.
Ambient Light
The screen house all-mesh walls mean you have a 360-degree view of your surroundings. You can sit inside and watch the sunset unimpeded.
The all-mesh walls allow for ample ambient light to illuminate everything inside, even during low light periods of the day.
So, when the sun starts to set, you can still sit inside and enjoy golden hour.
Large Usable Interior Space
I’m 5’10” and walking around inside doesn’t feel cumbersome, even near the walls.
That’s because the overall design maximizes overhead height at the walls, so that you don’t have to bend over if you need to navigate around the edge, even with a table placed in the middle.
The roof sloping is most pronounced at the four corners, so it really amplifies the amount of interior space.
Air Flow During Hot Days
Another reason I like this screen house is that the all mesh walls allow for maximum air flow inside.
This is especially helpful on hot and humid days where being in stagnant air makes it a lot worse. Thus, having that cross breeze really helps to keep you cool.
The only drawback is that if you want to cook inside of the screen house. The mesh walls provide no wind protection, which can make using a stove a little more challenging.
However, there is a solution! A wind wall, which must be purchased separately, can be hung up to stop excessive wind gusts from affecting your cooking ability.
Since we have a stove with a built-in wind screen, we decided not to purchase the wind wall, for now!
Superb Build Quality
My main concern before purchasing the Eclipse Refuge screen house was the build quality. Since it was an in-house product, i.e., built Bass Pro Shop, I was concerned that they would cut corners.
Typically, store-branded products aren’t built to the highest of standards in my experience, hence the lower prices. Thankfully, my concerns were immediately eliminated.
After inspecting the screen house, I couldn’t find any defects!
- The stitching was done well without any loose threads or fabric.
- There were no holes or tears in the mesh.
- The poles were all finished nicely.
Final Thoughts
Although we’ve only had it for one season (purchased at the start of 2023), we have put it through it’s paces with exposure to extreme heat, high winds, heavy rain, and horrendous bugs, and it’s holding up very well.
So far, it’s a solid 10 out of 10 and will be a normal part of our standard camping equipment.
We hope that you find it suits all your needs as well!
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