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(More customer reviews)I ordered this from Beach Mall thru the Amazon site. It was delivered (to CT) within 3 days. Pretty good performance from the seller. The only minor problem was that I ordered the blue shelter and Beach Mall shipped me the green one. Not a big problem for me. My wife voted for the blue and I wanted green. I ordered the blue (really I did) to please her. The two are identical except for color and the green shelter uses a black mesh sleeve to hold the poles whereas the blue shelter uses the same solid nylon fabric as the tent body.
As for the product itself, it's pretty much what I expected from the description. The tent fabric is a good quality 75 denier nylon. The mesh is very fine but allows air to flow through as intended. It appears to have a water repellent coating but I haven't exposed it to any thundershowers yet. There's also supposed to be some sort of silver compound in the coating that helps block UV radiation. I don't have any way to verify that but based on the overall design and quality I don't doubt it. The poles are a solid but lightweight fiberglass and they're permanently attached. So, nothing to assemble or lose and nothing to rust. The shade this provides is much better than a beach umbrella. Basically the entire interior gets shade corner to corner and you can put 4 beach chairs inside with room for a cooler and beach bag.
Setup can be accomplished by a zombie. It's dead simple for one person.
1.) Just lay the shelter out on the ground and fold out each of the four corners.
2.) Then stick your hand inside the front opening and grab the central hub where the poles are joined and raise it up so the poles are off the ground.
3.) Now pull down on the long nylon cord inside and the hub will snap shut and lock the poles into position.
That's it. Like opening a big umbrella.
To take down the shelter it's basically the reverse except that instead of grabbing the long cord you pulled to close the hub, you grab a shorter nylon loop with a plastic sheath on it and pull down. The hub opens and the shelter frame collapses. From there it's just a matter of folding up the four corners, rolling up the folds of fabric, and stuffing it into the carry bag.
There is one major flaw in the design but it's easily and totally correctable. The shelter comes with 6 nylon cords and 12 slim six inch plastic stakes to anchor it against wind. There are also little sandbags attached to each corner. When I say little I mean LITTLE. The sandbags are too small to provide any anchor in typical winds you'd find at the shoreline. Likewise the plastic stakes are just too puny to provide any holding power. The nylon cords were perfectly sized and of more than adequate strength. So, off to Home Depot. I picked up six 3 inch aluminum carabiners with a black anodized finish to match the shelter trim for 99 cents apiece. Then I grabbed six 10 inch Tuff Spikes in the paint department at $2.43 each. These are some meaty polymer stakes with good surface area / holding power. They are used in construction and surveying. So, I have about $21 additional dollars invested. I threaded one end of the nylon cord through each stake and the provided tension adjustment plate. At the other end of the cord, I tied a two half hitch knot around the small end of one of the carabiners. Voila! Now I have stakes that will hold against any reasonable wind that are easy to drive into sand with a sneaker and I can attach to the shelter in seconds with a spring loaded carabiner that just snaps on. The 10 inch Tuff Spikes still fit into the carry bag. They also make a 15 inch Tuff Spike. I was tempted for more holding power in soft sand but they are HUGE. There's no way six of those vampire killers would fit into the carry bag.
So, in the end I think this is a great alternative to a beach umbrella. It provides much more reliable shade all day long without forcing you to shift yourself or an umbrella constantly as the sun changes position. It also provides much more shade than an umbrella, enough for four adults to fit comfortably. And with my six Tuff Spikes I think it's more stable than any umbrella. We don't use the floor as we like the sand under our feet but it's a heavy affair laminated with a polymer coating. If you want to avoid the sand, it clips onto each corner pole quickly with a resin clip.
Highly recommended!
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Platinum Plus Beach Shelter UPF 70 - Jumbo Pop Up for 4 personsProduct Description: This exclusive and uniquely designed pop up beach tent has a large amount of head and shoulder room, and latest in ventilation design technology with quick setup in seconds and down in a flash! Its extended 2 short poles on the ceiling from the durable mechanism provides better stability and increases the overall head and shoulder height across the ceiling of the beach tent for extra room. The largest easy popup beach tent in the marketplace! This beach tent is sure to be beach, campsite, soccer event favourites this season.
*Storage Pouch for cell phone, wallet, mags on the rear panel *Open Dimensions (ft.): 8.2 Wide x 8.2 Deep x 5.6 ft High *Lightweight of 8.8 lbs (incl. sand bags, heavy duty pegs and carry bag) *Folded Dimensions (inches): 39.7 L x 5.9 W x 5.9D
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