Posted by John Hartung on August 18, 2009 at 5:01pm
My Canopy DilemmaI have a Show Off Canopy and love the frame. It's strong and easy to setup. I love the telescoping legs and frame. This and their limited number of parts make setup easy. Most of it is aluminum making it light, but it has steal corners to make it strongest in the most vulnerable area.However, my 2nd top I've had for the canopy in 7 years is again turning colors. The skylight material is turning a rusty redish color. It's surface very sticky (like sap). It's top is developing more and more leaks in the roof.My first top I owned Show Off blamed me because I had used bleach to keep it white. So this time I followed their directions. I only washed it with regular soap. If I had to pack wet, I'd dry it out the next day. Nevertheless the fabric is giving me the same problems.I look around at shows and notice many of the Show Off's with redish skylights and others complain of it feeling sappy. Anyone with a Show Off found a solution for these problems? On my first top I discovered bleach did temporarily make it whiter, but then would turn red again (even worse).I like both the Trimline's and the Light Dome's fabric better. One option I'm considering is getting a whole new canopy, but I don't like either of their frames as much as Show Off. Today I contacted both Flourish and Light Dome to see if they'd be willing to make a custom top for me. Flourish said straight out "no" and Light Dome said they would consider it but was concerned the zippers wouldn't be compatible.If I were to get a new canopy system, I'm leaning toward's Light Dome's "Finale". They seem a bit more difficult to put up and not as strong as the Show Off, however much easier to setup than the Trimline and not nearly as cumbersome and heavy.What I don't like about the Finale the most is their seems no way to zip tie your booth at night, as there is no rings near the zippers to connect to.I've contacted Show Off with my disappoint of their material. They have offered me a 20% discount on a new top and say the fabric has improved UV protection as of 2 years ago, but I'm losing faith in them and not sure they are worth another try.Am I being unrealistic how long a canopy top should last? My 2nd top did last with great care for 4 years. Doing an average of 30 shows a year that's 120 shows.Okay, so I'm open to hearing any love or hate things people have to say about their particular canopy. Any advice on care of the material is also welcome!
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