Recommendations for a sturdy beach umbrella or shelter
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would AVOID COOLCABANAS - We recently purchased their large cabana for a beach trip. The concept is great - it was easy to put up and take down, however, the quality and customer service are terrible. On the third day of trip, it was windy and the sand stake bent. After what we paid for the Cool Cabana, we were certainly expecting more than three days of use out of it, and hoping that the company would provide good customer service and send a replacement stake. Unfortunately, that is not the case. After contacting customer service, I was asked to send in a photo and then promptly received an email telling me to order a new $25 stake on the website, with no explanation as to why it would not be covered by the 1 year warranty listed on their website. When I inquired further, I was simply told "It takes a decent force to bend the sand spike, people bend them by not lifting the Coolcabana vertically off the pole, not filling sand pockets fully allowing it to rock around in the wind or drove over it etc." The pole was bent while still in the sand, the pockets were filled to the top (with wet packed sand) to prevent it from rocking around, and no, we did not drive over it.
Save your money and get a much less expensive option online - there are plenty of them out there - and as we noticed on the beach the day our Cool Cabana bent in the wind, the shade structures other people had put up around us were fine. All we have been told by customer no-service is "We;ll we test Coolcabanas up to decent winds but it seems it was just too windy so warranty was voided" - so basically, if you purchase this and it is windy at the beach and the pole gets bent, they will just void the warranty.
I know beach unbrellas can be a weapon, when they go flying in the wind. My DH will tie the unbrella, to his beach chair, and it becomes very sturdy. I would get a couple of big unbrellas and tie them to your chairs.
Hello! We live in the Raleigh area and make occasional day trips to the beautiful NC beaches. We're looking for recommendations for portable shade that will withstand the wind! When we first moved here, we got one of those cheap umbrellas. That didn't last long. Then we got one of those canopy tents since we wanted something sturdier for our family. It provides a good amount of shade, but it's really heavy, bulky, and the structure quickly started bending in the wind. We've reinforced with guy-lines, but it's at the end of its life. We're looking for something lighter and more durable that will provide enough shade for at least 2 people. It needs to be easy to set up and take down, and to withstand the sand and salt that gets into everything. I've been researching online, reading "the best beach ..." articles, but reviews from real consumers don't always match the promises. I don't want to spend a lot of money on something that's going to collapse the first time we use it. I'd like something that'll last a few years. I'm considering sunshades, cabanas, etc. I thought I'd check with people on the Coastal NC forum to see if you've found anything that works. Thanks in advance for the advice!
Best umbrella I've ever used is called the Beach Bub,beachbub.com, been using this for going on three years now, solid as they come and doesn't budge in the wind.
I would suggest the Shibumi Shade, https://www.shibumishade.com/. Lightweight and built to function in the wind. Made in North Carolina. They were on backorder when our family was going down to the beach in late July. We sent them an email and they were able to provide one for us to enjoy on our trip. Give it a look.
Shibumi Shades are worthless if there isn't a lot of wind.
When we were at Emerald Isle a few weeks ago we saw these and initially we thought they were sere neat and wanted one. However on day 2 at the beach there was surprisingly no wind and they were effectively useless and falling in on the people that had them. I wouldn't get one of these for that reason, you are dependent on wind.
We ended up getting an Otentik Sunshade after looking at a bunch of reviews and have been quite happy with it so far.
I have a friend with a Sportbrella that she likes a lot.
We have some plain old umbrellas, but are always careful to dig deep to plant them and then to close them up if we walk away from them. Open umbrellas catching the wind and tumbling down the beach ready to impale someone is not my idea of a good time. I have caught a few runaway umbrellas over the years (usually someone else's).
We also have camp chairs that have a shade that we use more often now. They are pretty good shade and super easy set up.
We live a few miles from the beach with a 1 year old. This beach tent is what we bought:
[url]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0834LWKT9[/url]
Tried it for the first time and had it up in one minute. It withstood the winds (make sure you kept the window rolled up) and kept us safe from the sun. The dark interior of the sun shade makes a difference.
If you're interested in other models, visit their website: [url]https://www.easthillsoutdoors.com/[/url]
I would AVOID COOLCABANAS - We recently purchased their large cabana for a beach trip. The concept is great - it was easy to put up and take down, however, the quality and customer service are terrible. On the third day of trip, it was windy and the sand stake bent. After what we paid for the Cool Cabana, we were certainly expecting more than three days of use out of it, and hoping that the company would provide good customer service and send a replacement stake. Unfortunately, that is not the case. After contacting customer service, I was asked to send in a photo and then promptly received an email telling me to order a new $25 stake on the website, with no explanation as to why it would not be covered by the 1 year warranty listed on their website. When I inquired further, I was simply told "It takes a decent force to bend the sand spike, people bend them by not lifting the Coolcabana vertically off the pole, not filling sand pockets fully allowing it to rock around in the wind or drove over it etc." The pole was bent while still in the sand, the pockets were filled to the top (with wet packed sand) to prevent it from rocking around, and no, we did not drive over it.
Save your money and get a much less expensive option online - there are plenty of them out there - and as we noticed on the beach the day our Cool Cabana bent in the wind, the shade structures other people had put up around us were fine. All we have been told by customer no-service is "We;ll we test Coolcabanas up to decent winds but it seems it was just too windy so warranty was voided" - so basically, if you purchase this and it is windy at the beach and the pole gets bent, they will just void the warranty.
Stay far away from cool cabana knock offs, purchased one on Amazon, though I would save myself a few bucks, quality was so poor, it ripped the first time I put it up.
I purchased a cool cabana, quality is great, so easy to put up and take down.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
