Portable gazebos have long been a popular part of Aussie campsites. They can come in many shapes, sizes and build qualities. The most common sizes are 3x3m and 6x3m. Regarding build quality, many people who are after a heavy duty portable gazebo often make the mistake of buying a lightweight models that’s not much more than a sun shade. While these are definitely the cheapest models, they’re not suitable for camping scenarios where you use your portable gazebo to establish a solid base camp.

The lightweight, often flimsy sun shade shelters are best left alone if you’re after a sturdy, solid gazebo shelter that can handle wind, rain, harsh sun while protecting you and your family at Australia’s best campsites.

Kings portable gazebos aren’t built like any ordinary gazebo. They are built tough to ensure they are strong enough and provide years of service and value for money for those who use them. In the past you may have seen how portable gazebos can bend, buckle or collapse under the weight of a pool of water on the roof, or a gust of wind that whips through camp.

Like our best-selling range of Kings 4×4 side awnings with heavy duty alloy knuckles for superior strength, Kings gazebos are built extra strong to minimise the risk of them folding when the weather turns sour.

Before you purchase a gazebo, take the time to research what material the frame is made of. Because portable gazebos are self-standing, they don’t have the benefit of being anchored to your car or 4WD for added strength and support like a retractable awning does. For this reason, you simply cannot compromise on the frame construction of your portable gazebo.

Kings gazebos use reinforced heavy-duty hammertone steel frames on both the 3x3m and 6x3m models. While these aren’t as light as other frame types like aluminium, they’re much stronger and far less likely to bend or bow. After a persistent wind blowing against the wall of your gazebo for hours on end, an inferior frame will often bend in that direction and store that bend in its memory. That then makes them much harder to fold away and unpack. Kings portable gazebos won’t do this.

Run your hand over the button mechanism that is on each gazebo’s leg and is used to change the length/height of your portable gazebo. It should be solid – almost heavy to push in – rather than so lightweight that it lacks the rigidity to hold up in bad weather. Similarly, the feet of each leg need to be made of a thick material too. The Kings gazebos use wide, thick, heavy duty plastic feet that are impact resistant. These give a solid footprint for you to bang your peg through and will not bend or crack when anchored on hard ground. Because the feet of the gazebo often transfer a lot of the energy that’s built up from the wind blowing against the gazebo through to the ground, you can’t rely on thin metal or plastic strips to act as feet – they will fatigue much quicker and aren’t as likely to stand up to many years of use and abuse.

Apart from a long-lasting steel frame, the other equally important part of your portable gazebo is the material that protects you from the wind, rain and sun. Again, some cheaper models can cut corners with this essential part of your portable gazebo, while the Kings range does not.

Heavy duty 420 denier oxford weave polyester used on Kings gazebos is 100% waterproof. It is also independently tested and verified as UPF50+ rated. That’s the highest possible UV rating material like this can attain. Take a look at the detailed photos of Kings gazebos on the 4WD Supacentre website and you’ll see that all efforts to reinforce and strengthen this material have been taken as well. Look at the corner contact points where the material connects to the heavy duty steel frame. You’ll see they’ve got extra layers or material and stitching to make sure these contact or rub points don’t wear thin. Many cheaper gazebos use the same amount of material on all parts of their shelter, meaning the bits that get the most wear like the corners will develop holes quicker than the rest. When that happens, you no longer have a durable and waterproof shelter.

Before you order your portable gazebo, make sure you do your research. Gazebos need to be hard-wearing and heavy duty because their purpose is to protect you from the elements. With the Kings range you know you’re getting very tough features at incredible prices. Gazebos around the same price point (under $100 for the 3x3m model) often aren’t built as tough as a Kings unit, and those on the market with similar quality features can often cost a fair bit more.

Don’t settle for low price or high quality – with Kings, you can have both!