Outdoor Products Sunshade

Unmitigated hot sunshine can ruin your day at the beach, your campsite hangout time, or even make your own backyard inhospitable; this sunshade creates a shady retreat anywhere

We strongly recommend the Outdoor Products Sun Shade because, with a few practice pitches, it sets up in less than a minute and creates a large area that’s shady but breezy, enabling safe and pleasant enjoyment of the beach, the park, the campsite, or your own backyard during the long days of summer.

Let me start off by being candid about the first time I set up this sun shelter: it um… it sucked. It took a solid 10 minutes for me and my father-in-law to get the damn thing properly constructed, and halfway through the process, I was starting to think it wasn’t worth the effort. But it was. And to be honest, we hadn’t bothered to look at the instructions, given that I’ve pitched dozens of different types of tents over the years and figured this would be even simpler than most of those were. Which it is, once you (bother to) learn how to erect it properly.

The problem? We didn’t fully extend the retractable poles that give the shelter its shape and rigidity. Once you know how to set this thing up, you really can do it in less than a minute, and I say that having done so multiple times single-handedly.

The second issue to address is whether or not you really need sun shelter. Doesn’t a big umbrella do the same thing when you’re at the beach? Doesn’t a tent provide shelter at the campsite? Is it worth setting up a shelter for a short visit to the park or a backyard or whatnot?

These are indeed questions I asked myself when considering this sun shelter, and now, having used it extensively, I can answer like this: No, an umbrella is not the same, because the sun moves and shines down at angles and umbrellas also tend to blow away. Yes, a tent provides shelter, but can also become sweltering during daytime hours, permitting minimal breeze even with those mesh windows. And yes, it’s worth it, if you consider spending about three minutes all in, on setup and takedown, to create a safe, shady, and cooler space for yourself and, more to the point, for your kids.

Once pitched, which is easy on your own and a snap if you have help, this sunshade creates an area with plenty of room for two adults and two kids to sit or lounge, and it can even accommodate a couple of chairs occupied by adults with a kid or two tucked between. A moveable sidewall can block the sun if it’s coming in from one side or the other, while the closed rear panel and dome-roof already create plenty of shade.

Untethered, the wind can pick up and toss this shelter with ease, but it can be secured by stakes or by weight added pouches stitched at the base of the poles – you can use sand or stones or anything else heavy. Got a super windy day? There are guylines that can be used for even more secure tying down. Inside, a pair of mesh pockets can keep phones, snacks, or other little sundries off the ground and away from water, sand, dirt, and little hands.

Sitting in the shade can make you feel up to 15 degrees cooler than sitting in direct sunshine. While in fact, this sensation is perception, as the ambient temperature is still the same, what counts here is that the shelter blocks the solar radiation that causes burns. So it’s a matter of comfort, sure, but it really is about safety, too, which is especially important when you are out there with small kids.

And if it starts to drizzle, the shelter will keep you dry, too. Downpour setting in? Probably time to pack it up and head home. Or move into your tent.