2 photos
Shade
Straight-leg shade frame
A heavy straight-leg frame. The pop-up canopy it came with fails in the wind.
Buy this early
A real frame is often $150–400
Opens in a new tab.Best shade structure for Burning Man
The cloth is the last layer. A tarp bakes the camp, and a frame that isn't lagged will leave.
5 min read
Sits beside How to anchor shade for playa wind/Renting an RV for Burning Man/Best tent for Burning Man/Shade anchors for Burning Man
Shop the shade anchors. Each piece is its own listing. We don't ship a kit as one box.
Most of the misery that sends people home early is the sun. Shade has to still be there at 2 p.m., not only in the photo from when you set it up at 9. Wind out here isn't a breeze you lean into. It picks up anything that wasn't really anchored.
Cloth
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Read the note
A solid poly tarp traps heat. You will sit under it and bake. Reflective knitted shade throws light and heat and still lets air move. The 10 by 15 we opened is an 85 percent knit with holes you can see through. Larger cuts are on that size menu. Greenhouse cloth rated to block almost all light can do the opposite of what you want if it kills airflow. Mesh is not waterproof, and we are not repeating a temperature-drop claim.
The frame and the ground
The frame we point people at has straight steel legs, ten by ten or bigger. The 10 by 10 we opened is a straight-leg Impact frame. Slant-leg pop-ups walk. Put the open silver knit on it, and leave the solid top that came in the bag in the car. The mesh sidewalls in that kit are not a dust wall, and they sail. Hold the frame with the 12-inch hex-head lags we checked, one at every foot, or with rebar you cap. Skip the short spikes that came with the tent or the canopy. A lag screws in, holds, and backs out with a socket. Rebar is what you drive when there are a lot of points. Cap every exposed end, or bend it into a candy cane. Clip the hem so the cloth can move a little. Two clips are a start. Ratchet straps still carry the load, including one across the middle so the panel doesn't balloon into a sail. A hemmed tapestry can close a west wall. No fringe, and it comes down before a wind event. If the wind is winning, get people clear and get the cloth down. Angle the anchors away from the load. Gloves on. Pull every stake when you leave. A piece left behind finds a tire.
If you do not already have a frame, do not buy cloth and hope. Borrow a camp's shade, or build the structure on purpose before you add the pretty layer. An umbrella is the shade you can carry while you walk. The Survival Guide's should-bring list includes umbrellas and parasols for midday sun away from camp. It is not the frame. A whiteout turns it into a kite. Close it, put the goggles on, and bring it home.
Heat
- Blue tarp
- Traps it. You bake.
- Open Aluminet
- Throws light and lets air through.
- Straight-leg frame
- The structure the cloth hangs on.
Wind
- Blue tarp
- A sail.
- Open Aluminet
- Still a sail if it is only tied at the corners.
- Straight-leg frame
- Lags or 18-inch rebar at every foot.
What we buy
- Blue tarp
- Leave it in the car.
- Open Aluminet
- The roof.
- Straight-leg frame
- The frame, then the cloth, then the caps and straps.
| What changes | Blue tarp | Open Aluminet | Straight-leg frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | Traps it. You bake. | Throws light and lets air through. | The structure the cloth hangs on. |
| Wind | A sail. | Still a sail if it is only tied at the corners. | Lags or 18-inch rebar at every foot. |
| What we buy | Leave it in the car. | The roof. | The frame, then the cloth, then the caps and straps. |
Who it is for
- Slant-leg pop-up
- A backyard afternoon.
- Straight-leg canopy
- One tent and a table.
- EMT camp build
- A camp that builds it on purpose.
What holds it
- Slant-leg pop-up
- The short stakes in the bag.
- Straight-leg canopy
- 12-inch lags or rebar at every foot.
- EMT camp build
- Their lags, guy lines, and a plan.
What we link
- Slant-leg pop-up
- We don't.
- Straight-leg canopy
- The 10 by 10 we opened, plus the knit.
- EMT camp build
- The city's securing page, not a kit we pretend is a camp build.
| What changes | Slant-leg pop-up | Straight-leg canopy | EMT camp build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | A backyard afternoon. | One tent and a table. | A camp that builds it on purpose. |
| What holds it | The short stakes in the bag. | 12-inch lags or rebar at every foot. | Their lags, guy lines, and a plan. |
| What we link | We don't. | The 10 by 10 we opened, plus the knit. | The city's securing page, not a kit we pretend is a camp build. |
How the lags, the rebar, and the straps get used, and when to drop the cloth, is shade that stays put in the wind. Why a tent stake is not a shade lag is tent stakes for this wind. The hours you are not under the frame are sun protection for the walk.
Shade
Tarp clips and ball bungees
Clips and short bungees for Aluminet and the tapestry walls.
Buy this early
A 30-and-30 set is often about $10–20
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Shade
Long lag bolts, or 18-inch rebar
Screw-in lags hold the shade and back out. Rebar is the other honest point.
Buy this early
Rebar by the bundle. Lags by the handful.
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Orange rebar caps
Mushroom caps so an exposed rebar end is visible, and not a bare point.
The 80-pack was $35.90 when we opened the listing.
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DEWALT
DeWalt 20V impact driver, tool only
The driver that puts lag bolts in, and takes them back out.
Buy this early
Often about $130, tool only.
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Keeper
Ratchet tie-downs, 1 inch by 12 feet, 4 pack
For the shade, the bins, and the thing that shifted on the drive.
Often $25–40
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Shade
Camp tapestry
A hemmed cloth wall for privacy. The roof is still Aluminet.
Buy this early
A large hemmed one is often $20–50
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Camp
Leather work gloves
For rebar, ratchet straps, and the bin lid that fights back.
Often $12–25
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Repel Umbrella
Compact travel umbrella
Shade you can carry while you walk, and cover if the sky actually rains.
Often about $23
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Impact Canopy
Impact Canopy 10 by 10, straight leg
A straight-leg steel frame. The solid top that comes with it stays in the car.
Buy this early
Often about $250
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HROMIGRY
Lag bolts, 3/8 by 12 inches, 25 with washers
Twelve-inch hex-head lags. One at every foot, and they back out.
Buy this early
Often about $35
Opens in a new tab.Coghlan's
Coghlan's tarp clips, 2 pack
Two clips that bite a hem. A start, not the whole roof.
Often about $10
Opens in a new tab.Questions
- What shade structure works at Burning Man?
- A straight-leg frame, open reflective knit, and an anchor at every foot: 12-inch lag bolts or rebar you cap. A solid tarp traps heat. A slant-leg pop-up with the stakes that came in the bag walks. An EMT build is a camp project. Read the city's securing page before you copy one.
- Will a pop-up canopy survive Burning Man wind?
- The short stakes and slanted legs are the failure. The straight-leg 10 by 10 we opened still needs lags or rebar, and the solid top that comes in the bag stays in the car. If the wind is winning, get people clear and get the cloth down.
- Is a blue tarp good Burning Man shade?
- No. A solid tarp traps heat and becomes a sail. Open Aluminet throws light and lets air move. It is still a sail if it is only tied at the corners. Mesh is not a roof for rain.
RV rental
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A kit is the shopping list for one job. Each piece is its own listing. We don't ship it as one box.
