C.J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Why We Bought a Sunsail Shade and a CoolCabana
Article updated: 8/8/23
Article originally published: 7/29/22
Beginning 8/8/23, we collaborated with a great brand to get you a discount! Visit sunsailshades.com, add one or more of their awesome beach shades to your cart, enter code CB10 at checkout and receive 10% off!
2023 UPDATE-a personal Note to my super creative and amazing readers:
We love our SunSail and it’s super kind creator and CEO, David for many reasons. Due to questions from some of our readers, it’s time to publicly share why I cannot recommend one of SunSail’s competitor, Shibumi and how we found the brand, SunSail. My husband and I had an extremely horrible experience with the Shibumi brand and it’s creators/CEO.
A SunSail is less than 5 lbs.
While I had a DIY version created for my amazing and creative website readers like you, we were unfortunately threatened by Shibumi if we didn’t take the post down. I consulted with an IP lawyer and decided to move on from this project (not my circus, not my monkeys, as the saying goes) and purchased one from another company (SunSail) because they were incredibly kind to me. I am not even able to share a photo of what I created.
We love how portable the SunSail is
I love working with brands (see some of our collaborations by clicking here) and always love to support those that support me and my many talents. SunSail was incredibly supportive, but Shibumi was not. This is the first time I’ve ever been threatened by a brand in the way they did and it was not a fun experience. I also know the now former Shibumi Shade CEO (which was one that contacted me) has not been kind to many others. Kindness goes much further with me than anything in this world.
I would have gladly listened to Shibumi without getting a lawyer involved or offered to worked with them to support their product if they had been kind. I have great website traffic and a collaboration with their actual product instead of what I created (as I do with many brands) would have been welcomed.
We love collaborating with great brands like Sunsail
This experience taught me to know my rights as a creator and you should too if you are creative like me. “Dupes” of many products cannot be protected by law, especially when it comes to recipes, fragrance and more. Get an Intellectual Property lawyer involved if you are ever faced with the same situation. It should always be FREE to consult with a good lawyer.
We have lots of experience working with lawyers over the years, especially when we had to hire an amazing team of them to help us with Hurricane Ian damages to our Sanibel property. Click this link for our Hurricane Ian story if you are interested in all you have to deal with if you live in a coastal area. At 10 months in, we are still dealing with it all and will be for a while.
Thank YOU for your support!
Read on to learn why we love SunSail and CoolCabana products.
After living at the beach for almost 3 years, you learn a lot. You learn what days and times of the year will be the busiest, you learn about the need to fill in all holes (especially during sea turtle season), you learn how NEVER to remove or keep live shells from the ocean, you learn how salty air can destroy anything metal in a short amount of time, and you learn a lot about beach umbrellas, beach tents and beach shades.
You learn things that you never thought of like how some work on windy days, some don’t. Some are large enough for a family, some aren’t. Some are safety hazards, some aren’t. After trying numerous types of beach shades, we have finally found some that we love. Read on to learn about why we bought a SunSail and a CoolCabana.
At 5’1” I fit perfectly under a Sunsail Shade
Until this year, we made due with a budget-friendly Sport-Brella and a regular/basic (but cute) beach umbrella. They were merely inexpensive and did provide shade. However, neither of them did well in any kind of wind. We used sandbags to keep them from launching and while they worked, I was kind of tired of using them. I finally decided to do some research and find something better.
Get my favorite beach tote- The Simply Southern tote - by clicking here!
In my countless round of research, I found an interesting wind powered beach shade on TikTok. While it looked very interesting and it seemed to hold up well in the wind, it had a SANDBAG attached with a string. It was LOUD too, which would be terrible for my friend with a hearing disability that was coming for a visit. That’s what I definitely didn’t want.
It also appeared to be a tripping hazard because the sandbag was attached by that string to the front of the shade. Who wants to worry about tripping over a cord or a sandbag that sits out in front of their tent? Not me. I was determined to find something better, and so I did.
Please note: No beach shade or beach umbrella is perfect. Everyone will have their opinion of what the best is and this is mine. In 2022, I purchased the items I am reviewed in this article so I could write an UNBIASED review.
In 2023, SunSail redesigned their shade, and sent me the new design (complimentary) to test, as we established a fun connection over the last year, which lead to a collaboration. You just never know how our trials in life will bring some people together.
I have updated this article and will be speaking to the redesigned SunSail shade in this review, as there were some improvements that made something I already loved, even better! I tested each shade on different days, in many different weather conditions. Read on to learn what I learned!
The Sunsail
The Sunsail Shade is tall enough for tall people
See what a Sunsail looks like in action, set to our favorite dance song via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden or below:
That first wind powered beach shade I disovered led me to a similar wind powered beach shade that had no sandbags attached called a SunSail. I actually ordered one while trying out a copycat CoolCabana called a Qipi. Even though many Amazon reviewers loved it, the Qipi was not working out for us as it was a VERY windy day.
At less than 5 lbs., SunSail is a very packable beach shade
While the Qipi may be a good alternative to a CoolCabana on a non-windy day (but even the CoolCabana doesn’t do great on very windy days and I’ll explain that later), it was time for me to not worry about the expense and buy what actually works.
How it works: Instead of having poles that are placed directly into the sand and is held up by wind and a sandbag like other beach shades, the SunSail has two spiral anchors. You first place the anchors in the ground, slide the large shade (which is made out of flag-like material) over the tent poles after you connect them together and place the ends into the anchors.
Hear why we love our Sunsail in our 15 second video below or via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
SunSail provides shade for up to 6 adults
After testing it out on multiple days (in various weather conditions) here is what we learned.
Pros:
SunSail is not only for the beach! The anchors allow you to use the SunSail on grassy surfaces. Think soccer fields, summer/fall cheerleading practices, football sidelines, wedding receptions and more. It only takes a little bit of wind to power the SunSail shade.
It provides enough shade for at least 4-6 adults. Please note, as the sun shifts in the sky, you will have to slightly adjust your SunSail for optimal shade, but I have to do that with most of our beach umbrellas
It’s strong, well-made and is a perfect shade option for windy days.
One person can assemble it. My husband assembled it on his own to test this and it truly works with one person and it can be assembled quickly (about 3-5 minutes).
It’s tall. If you are a tall person, you will appreciate that it will be able to accommodate your height. My husband is 6’2” and can stand easily under the SunSail.
It’s lightweight and portable. At less than 5 lbs., you can easily throw your SunSail into your luggage and take it with you on vacation. It comes with a storage bag with a handle for easy traveling. This makes it great for riding your bike with it to the beach (as many people do in my area do) and taking it to sporting events and more.
It has an UPF50+ rating, which blocks 98% of UV rays…but you still need sunscreen!
It’s pretty and comes in different colors to suit your taste
I’ve actually connected with the owner of SunSail and he is a VERY nice person. I love it when a product I fall in love with also has an owner that is lovely and kind.
I believe it is worth the money. If you spend a lot of time outside or on the beach, spend the money and get what works.
Check out the the SunSail website to learn more and enter code CB10 at checkout for a 10% discount!
One person can easily assemble a SunSail
Here’s our less than one minute tutorial on how to assemble a Sunsail Shade via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
Thank goodness for nature being so resilient post Hurricane Ian!
Cons:
Like all wind powered beach shades, a bit of noise is going to be involved. We found it was only “noisy” on very windy days. The 2023 redesign made it aerodynamically better and there is noise reduction. It’s not super loud (think: flag flapping in the wind) and I could not hear it over the beautiful ocean waves, which I tested while standing simply few feet away. However, if you have hearing issues (partially deaf or are highly sensitive to noise), this product may not be for you to sit under.
If there is zero wind, this will not provide shade. While we always seem to have some sort of breeze on our Southwest Florida beaches, we haven’t had to worry about this. Due to it’s curved redesign, it seems to need even less wind, in what I’ve observed.
As I’ve already stated, it may need to be adjusted if the wind shifts. This is a factor that will need to be done with many beach umbrellas or beach shades though, so it is what it is. It is not hard to adjust. You simply pull the anchor out of the ground, move the end to get the “sail” adjusted to the direction of the wind. It’s kind of the concept of a sailboat catching the wind to sail.
The Sunsail works great, even on less windy days
The CoolCabana
Our lemon print CoolCabana
While I was at the beach (around the time I was testing our SunSail) I saw some cabana-like umbrellas popping up and so I went over to some people and started asking questions. This is what I do when I see something I’m interested in!
I learned that these cabana umbrellas are called CoolCabanas. The CoolCabana company is currently estimated to be doing 100+ million in sales, so I’d say that they are pretty popular with lots of people. But I tend to be leery of what a crowd likes sometimes and wanted to see for myself if the CoolCabana lived up to the hype.
We tested our CoolCabana at our home beaches of Sanibel Island Florida
In talking with some strangers (and while seeing them struggle to get the CoolCabana up on a very windy day and admitting they didn’t do well in lots of wind) and in speaking with some of my friends, I decided to order one to test it out. They were on sale, I liked how they looked and thought it would be a great thing to have on less windy days.
How it works: The CoolCabana is like a large square umbrella. You drive one pole into the ground, pop open the “umbrella-cabana”, and slide that part into the pole that’s in the ground. Once the cabana part pops open, you unfold the “arms”, then fill the attached bags with sand to anchor each corner.
Before you say “Hey Carolyn! I thought you hated sandbags!”, let me clarify. I don’t like sandbags that are connected by a string in which I could trip on and I don’t like having to remember to bring sandbags with me. The CoolCabana has the “bags” basically built into the product, and I am okay with that.
I like the CoolCabana lemon print
Pros:
It is easy and quick (2-4 minutes) to assemble. While it isn’t quite as quick to assemble as a SunSail (due to having to fill in the sandbags), it is simple. Both the SunSail and the CoolCabana have easy to follow directions. If you can assemble IKEA furniture based on their directions, you could assemble this with your eyes closed…lol! If it’s a very windy day, the assembly can be a CON…read my cons below for my experience.
It’s pretty. I decided on a lemon print. I wanted the tropical leaves pattern, but it was sold out. I actually like the lemon print better, but now I want matching chairs!
It’s portable. It comes with a storage case with a handle. You cannot pack this in a suitcase like you can with the SunSail, but the storage case does make it easy to haul it in your car.
It’s clean. I thought the sand from the bags would make it a big huge mess, but the sand fell off the fabric easily, making it stay clean.
It has an UPF50+ rating, which blocks 98% of UV rays…but you still need sunscreen!
It’s quiet. It won’t get noisy unless it’s very windy and in that case, the only noise you will hear is from people yelling at you telling you it’s about to blow away
It’s well-made however, I know that over time the canopy arms will rust. This is why I plan to store it in my home to help it last longer. I also store my SunSail in my home to prevent rust When we stored our “rust-resistant” Sunbrella and beach wagon in our garage area, they rusted in our salty air, but of course. I should have rinsed them with clean water to HELP prevent this, but alas, I did not.
It’s usable on grassy fields (think sporting events and wedding receptions!) as it has tabs for stakes at the bottom of each “sandbag”. You can either buy the CoolCabana grass kit OR you can just use some of your own stakes.
Like my first SunSail, I purchased my own CoolCabana (with my own money) and believe it is worth it. If you spend a lot of time outside or on the beach, spend the money and get what works. If you can afford both the SunSail and the CoolCabana, get both. We have many, many visitors and love being able to offer our guests both options AND love having both so we all have shade at the beach.
The large CoolCabana fits about 4 adults
Cons:
It is not great on very windy days. Because it’s not “wind-powered”, it will not do well in high wind. This is one of the reasons I have both a SunSail and a CoolCabana-so I can use one or the other depending on the weather.
You need a shovel. We had some small sand shovels already, but if you don’t have any, get some if you buy a CoolCabana for the beach. You need shovels to fill in the sand bags, unless you don’t mind using your hands.
It isn’t super large. I did the measurements before ordering one so I understood how large it would be and saw it in person, but it still was a little underwhelming when I assembled it myself. I ordered the largest size they currently have and it was large enough for a family of 4. The smaller size would be best for 2-3 people.
It sits low to the ground. If you are over 6 foot tall, you won’t be able to stand up fully under the CoolCabana. I think they made it sit shorter to the ground to help the wind not carry it away easily, but this did bother my husband just a little.
It may need more than one person to assemble, especially on a windy day. I’m only 5’1” and very petite. It was a little bit of a struggle for me to assemble it alone on a somewhat windy day. On a wind-less day, it was easy for me to do on my own.
A CoolCabana is good for less windy days
Overall, I am pleased with both the SunSail and the CoolCabana as our go-to beach shades. I know not everyone can afford these (as they are both over $150), so if you cannot purchase these, a basic umbrella will, but of course, work for a short beach vacation option. Just make sure you anchor them down with those dreaded sandbags on windy days. We’ve watched one too many umbrellas launch out of the ground, so it’s something to think about.
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C.J. (Carolyn) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Little Ways to Get Back To You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.