Rio Beach UPF 50+ Portable Beach Tent & Sun Shelter

We bought this shelter because of the brisk winds on the Oregon coast. Wanted one big enough for the headline requirements plus fairly easy to put up and take down. Our chairs are full-sized folding chairs, and there is plenty of headroom (I'm 6 ft). The reviews for some of the pop-up shelters were downgraded because they weren't wind resistant, and some of the others looked too complicated to put together. After a practice run in the back yard, this one took under 5 minutes on the sand, and less time to take down. One thing I like about this shelter is the shock-corded poles don't have to slide through sleeves. You extend the poles the full length and then clip them onto the shelter. 2 poles on the back side and then one across the top. There are metal pegs on the 4 corners to hold it in place, but I don't think they would help much in a gusty wind. Some of the other shelters have pockets that you can put sand in, but all you need is 3 or 4 1-gallon zip bags filled with sand. We didn't need to use those because we erected the shelter on the firm damp sand and it stayed in place just fine. If you spend a long time on the sand, you can rotate the shelter easily to stay in the shade; just remove all but one stake and rotate the entire shelter. Some shelters had skirts that extended out the front; this one doesn't but you can buy an inexpensive folding mat from Amazon (as in the picture) that you can use other places, such as a concert on the grass or a picnic. It would help too to remember how the shelter folds up so you can make it compact enough to fit in its bag with the poles and pegs. This shelter will go with us to every coast visit and other places as well. It would be helpful to watch a video done by another reviewer. BTW, the stroller in the picture in for our 12-1/2-yr-old Sadie who has mobility issues. She loves the stroller and sits up and sticks her head out the top and barks at other dogs on the beach - there's no leash law on our beach. It's available on Amazon too.

I liked this product so much I decided to share my review based on my initial experience. I was looking for a portable sun shelter/umbrella to take with us in the plane to our vacation trips and avoid paying the ridiculous $25/day rental fees. It definitely meets my first criteria. The first photo is the product in my carry on bag. It also had to be relatively easy to assemble. Now, it does require some assembly but after a recommended "dry run" assembly or two, it is relatively easy to set it up even under windy conditions. I took all the photos, but the last one, during my first assembly. It took me 30 minutes because I read the instructions as I was doing this. Careful not to step over the plastic snap on clips. I broke one but used the one fabric loop to pass the rod through instead. The last photo is the assembly on the beach during our first vacation day. No wind. It was easy. Two chairs, backpacks, cooler, etc. There was room for all of our stuff, and some room to spare. The wind picked up the next couple of days and I used the bag as a windsock tied to my cooler to figure out the wind direction, laid the shelter downwind and placed the stakes in the sand first so it wouldn't fly away. Then, I proceeded to install the fiberglass rods and snapped them to the shelter's ties. It would take me about 15 minutes to assemble it, at most, even in moderate winds. If the shelter was not facing the ocean after assembling it, I'd simply remove all stakes but one and pivot the shelter until it was right. Then replaced the stakes in the sand. The shelter will hold against moderate wind until it is time to get up and leave anyways. The fiberglass rods flex to give way to the wind, even if facing against the wind. The windows allow a great breeze to flow inside and reduce drag. In this particular beach in St. Pete's, FL. the sand was very coarse and had a lot of crushed sea shells, which was perfect for gripping the stakes provided. The last day I broke a couple of fiberglass rod ends while disassembling the shelter. I'll repair them and get a few more days out of this one. Even if I had to buy one for every trip, I'd save a lot of money on rental fees that are better spent on entertainment.

I have used this tent for 6 years now and about 8 times.Once you learn how to setup it's easy. With 2 people only takes 2 minutes to to setup. 1 person in 4-5 minutes max.Invested in 10" spikes (Coleman), If you angle them into the sand, the tent stays in place on fairly windy days. Not expecting it to take sustained 20+MPH winds. Always point the opening away from the wind!!!Only drawback is I wish the overhang fly was a little wider to avoid sunburned feet, but still okay if on a chair.I really like the zipper windows, where you can open opposite the sun side to cool it down when hot.Best thing about this tent is that the poles break down to only 21" long and 2" diameter. Other popup tents today have poles that take up much more space.Take care of if, and will last for years, and certainly that once-a-year vacation.

I am really sad to say that on my 2nd use of this item, it broke. It provided adequate shade and was a nice size for (2) adults. I just which it held up a bit longer.... Our issue was a gust of wind came & our staked corner (on the right) ripped from the black ground tab (where you lay the stake) from the corner of the shelter. We might be able to sew it back on--but I really shouldn't have to after my 2nd use. We literally hadn't spend more than 6 hours using the thing total.....I also wish the thing was a bit more aerodynamic for windy beaches. The (2) open windows don't really stop the thing from turning into a kite on the southern California coast. I even invested in sand-spikes before using this & combined them with the spikes the shelter came from to ensure they stayed down. You just can't win.....

Very pleased with this purchase. The material could be better quality (feels thin like it could rip easily, and wry wrinkly) but for the price I can’t complain. I haven’t had a chance to use it yet so I can’t comment on durability, but the size is much bigger than I expected and has good height (about 5 feet) which seems to be more than many others and was what I wanted. It’s not as easy to set up as a pop up tent would be and does require a bit more work, but nonetheless the set up is relatively easy and prob wouldn’t take more than 5 minutes (esp if you have two people). The poles snap into little brackets easily which is much better than having to thread long poles through a tunnel or something. It packs up surprisingly very light and portable. I would recommend this.

Es de buena calidad y esta espaciosa, pero el piso se me hace algo corto, en la playa la arena llenaria todas las cosas. Tiene bueba ventilación y es lo suficientemente grande para tres adultos sentados. Me agrada que tenga un factor de proteccion solar alta, aunque no me gusto que estuviera logeada, se ve un poco fea

No le doy 5 estrellas solo por lo estético, ese letrero del el sol tachado está enorme, por los dos lados y se ve horrible, la vdd le mata todo a tan buen producto, cubre bien el sol y es amplio para 2 personas o 3 muy apretadas, otra cosa que añadiría es unas pijas más largas para poder clavar mejor en la arena la carpita.

This shelter is well-designed. The structure makes it quite solid. I have to see it in a wind yet. The floor is made of the same sturdy tent fabric, not plastic. The sun-blocking material is very good. The windows are a great idea, especially if there is a wind, as these can be opened to allow airflow. I see no reason why this would not stay erect in a moderate wind. It is very quick to set up and take down. It is easy to put away in the bag. The one thing it needs is sandbags. The pegs are far too short to use in sand. I would definitely recommend this shelter for the price!

We went for a beach vacation and we couldn't survive without it!! We used it every single day.It's very light to carry around but very spacious. We are family of 3. My hubby (6'2'), me and 4yr old son can all sit and have snacks comfortably, and even we changed clothes. Provide good sense of privacy. This is not a pop-up tent, but it's simple enough and fold easier than one of pop-up tent we have. and these assembly parts became handy to hang towels and clothes and stuff. This shelter can be carry-on in airplane size wise, However, luggage officer rejected as the tent peg parts are too pointy so we had to go back to checkin counter to check the shelter.