Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Why the Soli Inflatable Canopy is the Ultimate Shade Solution
If you are tired of heavy metal frame canopies and all the headaches they bring to your life, it’s time for you to discover The Soli Inflatable Canopy—your portable shade solution for the beach, sports games, camping, and outdoor adventures. Easy to set up on many surfaces and inflate, lightweight, and perfect for families on the go. We put the Soli to the test and here’s our thoughts.
Buy the Soli
Buy the Soli Air Canopy here or use the code CAROLYNBRADEN at checkout to get 15% off your entire order! If you shop Amazon, you can get it using this link, but you will not receive our discount.
This sets up on many types of surfaces
Our Problem:
With both my husband and I having skin that quickly burns in the sun, finding reliable outdoor shade solutions has been something we are always in the market for. We wrote about our love of some other beach shades and you can read about them here, but when we saw the Soli, an inflatable canopy for outdoor shade, we could easily see it was more than a beach canopy as it can be set up and remain stable on sand, grass and even concrete.
My husband, carrying the Soli
Our Solution:
The Soli team sent us a Soli Air Canopy to test and we got right to work. We are writing this post from our honest experience, as we want you to know exactly what to expect when you chose to bring the Soli into your life!
The Soli Air Canopy Backpack
We chose the 12-foot Heat Wave Orange version (Texas and Tennessee football fans and tailgaters…this color is for you!), but it comes in a 10-foot size and in Ultra Marine Blue, Sage, and Cool Grey, allowing you to fit in with many sports team colors if you like to do that.
Unroll the Soli in place
What is The Soli Inflatable Canopy?
Just like the Soli website explains, the Soli inflatable canopy is a lightweight and aerodynamic (it’s curved design helps air flow over it and you can see it on a windy beach on their website and it does great even on windy days!) canopy that is easy to setup and provides you with shade for as long as you need it.
The Soli air pump
The Soli is Perfect for…
Sports: Use the Soli Air Canopy at the sidelines, for tournaments, and practices. I’ve had friends get burned while watching their kids practice soccer and with the Soli, you’ll always have a place to escape to when the sun freckles start popping out! I’d use it for tailgating too as it sets up quickly in parking lots and more!
Beach: The Soli is a great NOISELESS portable beach canopy for family trips or group outings. I recommend laying out a tarp like this one first IF the beach is really shell packed, like my current local Sanibel Island beaches. The sand falls right off of the Soli itself (if you are worried about it being a sandy mess to take home) so a tarp is not necessary. Get the larger one if you have a big family.
Pool Shade: Some comments on the Soli website have people telling stories of how it floats in their pools, being a perfect pool shade. If your pool is not wide, you could still inflate it over your pool, letting the legs stand on the edge of the pool.
Camping & Hiking: The Soli is a great inflatable camping shelter or sunshade at campsites or rest spots. You could even inflate it next to your camper or RV! Buy more zippable walls for a very private shelter. It has a place to hang your lantern or fan or light/fan combo inside at the top too! Place this cool light up rug (I saw it in the RV section at Walmart and loved it!) under it for ultimate RV fun vibes!
Tanning events, model changing rooms: If you need a spacious place for models to change clothing on shooting locations or for fitness competition tanning, buy more zippable walls and use this! It’s water resistant, so wipe it down before putting it away if using it for spray tanning events.
Backyard & Parks for Special Events: Have a graduation, picnic, outdoor wedding, festivals, birthday or just need every day shade in your yard? The Soli is perfect for this! Think: backyard movie nights too!
Indoors: Have a slumber party scheduled for your kiddos? Inflate the Soli (as long as it will fit in your home) and let the kids use it as a “tent” for the night!
The Soli, inflated
Key Features That Make the Soli Stand Out
Quick inflation & easy setup: We first tested it in our side yard in the grass. We followed all the instructions provided. We used the highly functional backpack style bag to take it outside. The bag unzips from the side, making it easy and quick to slide the Soli in and out. It’s lightweight as far as canopies go, as most have a metal frame that are quite heavy. The Soli is only 17 lbs., so if you cannot lift that much weight, place it on a wagon to wheel into place, like our favorite all-terrain wagon from Amazon.
You can put the wall on any side of the Soli
What it comes with: The Soli comes with the air canopy, a zippable shade wall, a rechargeable air pump (good for 3 uses until recharged), 8 ground stakes, 4 tether ropes, 2 patches (as accidents happen!) and the backpack that also has a pocket to hold the accessories. You can buy more accessories like additional shade walls, sandbags and more from Soli.
The tethers are not necessary, but helpful in high wind
To inflate, we unrolled it in our yard, placed the attached covers over the “feet”, my husband inserted the pump (we charged it prior to use), started the pump and it inflated in about 4 minutes. When it was done inflating, you simply lift it up and it goes right into the canopy shape. You can stake it like we did, leave it as is (unstaked if it’s not windy) or you can use the included tethers. The Soli has metal loops for the tethers, which can be used with sandbags, buckets and more.
The tethers attach to the metal rings on the Soli
My husband easily zipped on the shade wall, which you can zip on any side of the Soli Air Canopy. Or, you don’t have to use the wall at all. It was SO HOT the first time we tested this, and that wall was very nice to have to keep some of the sun out. The quick set up was also welcomed on such a hot day. The less time you need to set up a shade canopy in sunny weather, the better!
To deflate, we placed the pump on the hole (using the deflate part of the pump), turned it on and within minutes it deflated. My husband simply rolled the ends towards the center, it fit perfectly back into the provided bag. It really was that easy.
The Soli is very easy to set up and take down
Durable and weather resistant: We could instantly see that Soli is durable and weather resistant. When we got ours inflated, it sprinkled outside (though it was sunny…ahhhh….Florida weather!) and we got under the Soli and stayed dry. My husband is 6’2” and can stand up fully inside our Soli as it’s about 7 foot tall inside it. It’s slightly over 8 feet tall as a whole. It also gives you a UPF of 50+ UV protection, blocking out 98% of UV rays.
Use this for tailgating, beach shade and more
Benefits of Choosing an Inflatable Canopy Over Traditional Options
The Soli has no poles or complex parts.
The Soli packs small and is easy to carry, roll on a wagon or strapped onto a bike basket like we added to our ebikes.
The Soli sets up and can be taken down in minutes.
It rolls back up easily for storage
Tips for Getting the Most Out of The Soli
With being able to anchor this on sand, grass, or pavement, it’s a great way to get more bang for your buck for a shade canopy. It’s also large enough to pair it with chairs, coolers, and other gear. Here are some of our other favorite outdoor gear loves based on our experience with living at the beach AND owning an RV.
See our former RV in our YouTube video below or via our channel @carolynjbraden:
Final Thoughts
We truly love the Soli and really enjoyed testing it. We plan on trying it out at the beach soon too as we love the sunshade aspect of it. If you are in the market for an ultimate outdoor shade solution that can be used for many purposes, try the Soli.
It makes a great tailgating canopy and more!
Discount Reminder
Buy the Soli Air Canopy here or use the code CAROLYNBRADEN at checkout to get 15% off your entire order! If you shop Amazon, you can get it using this link, but you will not receive our discount.
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Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. 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 Ways To Help 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.