Beach Shelter Shade

Choosing a Beach Canopy

In finding the perfect beach shelter you will need to do some research to familiarise yourself with the product and decide what features you want. You won’t find all the types available on one website so it’s best to shop around. Some canopies can even be bought at discounts but that’s not much use if you don’t know exactly which type of canopy you need.

Canopies vary in price and if you are after one which is superior and has a lot of expensive features then you will have to pay a matching price. Therefore, if you are not willing to spend a lot, you must know which features are absolutely necessary and which can be omitted. You may also need to decide if you would prefer a beach canopy that is pop up or an umbrella type.

When purchasing a canopy, price is not the only factor which to consider. You should also look for good quality, as you don’t want your shelter being blown away by the wind or tearing.

As with any other product, you should also take notice of the guarantee offered and find out the rules for sending the product back. No one wants to use a product that’s faulty but not all products can be exchanged or returned easily so be careful while speaking to the store salesperson or looking online. Knowing the policies and guarantee in advance can save a lot of heartache after purchasing, if a problem should arrive.

The purpose of a beach canopy is to provide shade and to keep you cool while enjoying the beach and its many pleasures. Therefore the following are some things you should consider when making your choice:

Weight – Ideally, you should be able to set up and take down your canopy without much extra help. The heavier it is the harder this will be.

Size – How compact is the canopy? Make sure it can be folded down to a reasonable size toenable easy carrying from one location to another.

Canopy case – Does it come with a case? This is necessary, especially if your canopy is heavy. Without a case it will be less mobile and in some cases you will also benefits from wheels on the case.

Vented top – In cases where the heat is too much, having a vented top can make the canopy cooler. This also keeps your canopy sturdy in windy conditions and less likely to topple over.

Owning a beach canopy will make your days out at the beach so much more enjoyable and safe. You will be able to relax knowing your family can take shelter from the sun’s harmful rays and uncomfortable heat, should they need to do so.

Technorati Tags: beach canopies, shade, shelter, sun protection

Beach Canopies

Remember back in the old days, before you had a beach cart, when you had to make 3 or 4 trips back and forth to the car to tote all the beach chairs, coolers, beach umbrellas, and beach blankets? By the time you transported everything and got it all set up the kids were already bored and asking to go home. And after you got everything set up a little breeze would come along and knock over your beach umbrellas which in turn spilled all your drinks, messed up your towels and got sand in the sandwiches?

Aren’t you glad you don’t have to do THAT anymore?! Now you have so many more options to choose from. Today’s beach canopies are made of light weight vinyl and plastic or aluminum tubing and all fold for easy transport. Some even roll or fold into backpacks for hands free carrying so helping you get everything from the car to the beach in just one trip. Take a look at some of the different varieties of beach canopies:

Beach chairs with canopies – These light weight folding beach chairs come with a canopy attached. And the plus is they also have straps attached so you can fold them up and carry them like a backpack. Leaves your hands free to carry the cooler so you can carry everything in one trip.

Fold up beach canopies – These light-weight nylon canopies come in a variety of styles and sizes. Choose an all-in-one dome type that includes a canopy and flooring, or a half-dome type so you can still feel the ocean breezes.

Tent-type beach canopies – Available in a variety of sizes and styles that range from a simple canopy to a full beach shelter with either screen or vinyl walls. Secured with poles and ropes for a more sturdy structure.

There’s nothing better than a day at the beach, but a full day in the sun can take its toll. Using a beach canopy to protect yourself from harmful UV rays will ensure your day is a comfortable and healthy one. Also, they are just the thing to protect you from the sea breeze should things turn a little chilly.

Technorati Tags: beach canopies, sun protection

My Jogger Stroller Helped Me Lose Weight

If any readers are still carrying excess weight after the birth of their baby I thorough recommend they buy and use a jogger stroller. I gained 20 pounds more than I should have when I was pregnant and I was a bit worried about how I was going to lose all of that excess weight once my baby was born. I had a feeling I would be stuck with it. One of the nurses at my doctor’s office told me that I should look into getting a jogger stroller.

I had never been into jogging, but I loved to walk, so decided to follow her advice. Of course, just because it is called a jogger stroller doesn’t mean that you have to jog with it. It’s just designed to be more durabe should parents be into exercising while taking their child for a walk.

At first, I was discouraged by the prices as I had no interest in paying more than $100 for any type of stroller,es pecially as I alreday had one. However, two weeks after my daughter was born, I was reconsidering that. I tried to take her for walks outside but the regular stroller just seemed too big and bulky for walking at a faster speed. It was a great for everyday uses but not for exercise.

So, once again, I priced up the jogger strollers. My husband told me that it didn’t matter what the cost was, as long as it would help get me out of the house and feel healthier and happier again. We ended up getting a middle priced one for more than I wanted to spend, but less than what we could have spent. The moment we got home and figured out exactly how it worked and went together, I was off.

I was absolutely amazed at how quickly I could move and how much more comfortable it was for me to handle. What was even more surprising was how quickly the baby fell asleep. I suppose it provided a much smoother ride for her than the more bulky stroller had. She could be incredibly grumpy before being put in the stroller and then within a few minutes of being strapped in, she was as happy as can be.

I loved being able to be outside and not feeling like I was so cooped up in the house all of the time. There were days that it was dreary and rainy, but luckily, the stroller had a nice little roof for her and with a raincoat for me, I was still content. I managed to take off a few pounds each week. I had my doubts at first about the jogger stroller, but it turned out to be a wonderful investment after all.

Guest Article by – Mandy Holt

Update: This year’s summer find that I couldn’t live without is my baby beach tent.

Technorati Tags: babies, children, infants, kids, strollers

Beach Lounge Chair Choices

Lounger chairs come in a variety of styles. Some are very portable, such as the folding beach chair, some allow you to lie out flat and other have more substantial frames and are designed for home use only.

Wooden loungers are more commonly used at home or in hotels because they are more substantial and longer lasting than their portable counter-parts. The chair part can come in a number of different materials from rattan to cotton and may have removeable covers. Cleaning is a consideration when the lounger is going to be used outdoors because certain materials easily absorb suncream and can look grubby and unsightly very quickly.

A portable lounger is suitable for any outdoor occasion. You can take them camping, to the beach, to concerts or sports events. They are light and usually fold down, athough some are deemed to be portable simply because they have wheels. In such cases a better term for them might be “movable” but really it depends on the weight.

Generally, a beach lounge chair will have less padding than the ones that are designed for use at home, in the garden or conservatory. And, of course, the frames will be less sturdy. They are also designed to open out flat which is particularly useful if you like to lie on your tummy to sunbathe or maybe read a book. Many allow you to vary how far you can recline so you can just put your feet up and relax, sit completely upright or lie well back for sunbathing or snoozing.

Some have even more elaborate designs. Even when a lounger reclines to a horizontal position it can be uncomfortable to read as the only way to do so is to hang over the end of the chair. This leaves your head without support and your arms at awkward and uncomfortable angles. The Ostrich chair has resolved this problem by strategically placing holes in the lounger.

The primary hole is for your head. When sitting in a normal position it is covered by a headrest or pillow that is flipped back when you want to use the head apperture. Further down there are a couple of armholes which allow you to reach through and turn the pages when reading a book which needs to be placed on the ground underneath the hole for your face.

As with any purchase it is important to think through exactly what you want before you hit the stores. At it’s most basic, are you looking for a beach lounge chair or a more permanent chair/recliner. Do you need to move it around? Will it be used inside a conservatory or outside where it will be open to the elements?

Technorati Tags: beach lounge chair, lounger chairs, ostrich chair

Beach Cart Basics

If you’re planing to spend the day at the beach, chances are you will have lots of things to carry with you. you might have towels, beach toys, loungers, coolers, beach umbrella, wind break, food, barbecue and more. Even if you can park adjacent to the beach you will still need to carry all this stuff to your chosen spot. This is not such a problem when there are a few capable adults in your party, or older children but if you’re planning a trip with babies or older adults you could end up with more stuff than you can carry. At such a time a beach cart will come into it’s own.

As always, when purchasing a new piece of equipment, the first thing to do is make a list of what you want it to do. In the case of a beach wagon you need to write down exactly what you usually want to take to beach with you so you can make sure you buy the right size and/type of cart for your purposes. Carts can range from a load capacity of 50 pounds right up to 600 ponds.

Also, consider whether you might want to use it in other situations. Some common examples of where you can do so include:

• fishing trips
• around the garden
• soccer matches
• volleyball practice
• use as a utility cart
• camping
• picnics in the part
• concerts

If you have limited storage space at home or in your car you will want to look for a mini or folding beach cart. They have less capacity than the larger varieties but can often still carry 3 or 4 beach chairs a cooler and addtional smaller items such as books, sun cream, toys etc. The bigger carts take up more space because of their wider wheels. They tend to have pneumatic tires that distribute the load well, preventing them getting stuck in sand or other soft, uneven surfaces.

Finally look out for beach carts that cunningly have more than one purpose. There is one, for example, that is a sort of rolling beach lounge chair and another that turns into a table once everything has been unloaded.

Technorati Tags: beach lounge chair, beach wagon

Baby Beach Tent Essentials

Taking your baby to the beach can be a wonderful sensory experience for him/her – the sound of the waves, other children playing, the feel of the sand or pebbles – but don’t let her day be spoiled needlessly. Babies and young children are especially at risk from sunburn and heatstroke and need to be protected from the sun’s harmful rays.

Babies can burn in just 10 or 15 minutes, even on a cloudy or overcast day, so make sure you apply a high factor sunscreen, preferably one specifically for infants, before you venture outside. Allow at least 20 minutes for the sunscreen to activate.

Once on the beach it is a good idea to put up a baby beach tent to provide shade. You will still need to monitor the temperature inside, however. If you’re concerned about this look for a tent with ventilation flaps or mesh windows that can be opened to let the breeze blow through.

Other features to look out for:

• strong UV protection of, eg. SPF 50
• velcro fastening flaps
• side pockets
• user friendly storage case
• pop-up mechanism
• locator flag
• ground stakes
• easy wipe surfaces

Also, ask how easy they are to put up and take down and how much they weigh. The last thing you need when carting all your stuff to the beach is a heavy tent to manage aswell.

Some baby beach tents are multiple purpose. You can get ones which are also a travel bed and, for older kids, there are ones that come with a play tunnel. Some have movable floors which allows them to play directly on the sand.

As you can see there are a large variety of styles of beach cabanas available so it’s worth taking some time before you shop, to think about exactly what you are looking for in a baby beach tent. Then it will be an easy job to find the one that suits your family, make your purchase and get ready to enjoy worry-free and comfortable days at the beach.

Technorati Tags: babies, children, infants, kids

Beach Shelter Basics

Now that summer’s here more and more of us are spending our leisure time at the beach. So now’s a good time to do a stock take of your current beach paraphenalia to make sure that you have all that you need to make your trips to the beach, safe ones.

Recently a young baby received second degree burns because her mother had ommitted to provide a beach shelter for it. For the very young sun tan lotion is not sufficient and you need to be thinking in providing beach shade if not for all of your time for some of it at least. Especially when the sun is at it’s hottest.

There is a great range of beach cabanas and tents available so you’re sure to find something that suits your familie’s needs and budget.

In very hot weather and with young children it is worth investing in a UV beach tent. These shelters not only shade anyone sitting beneath them but also filter out dangerous UV rays and come with an SPF factor rating, usually SPF 50.

When considering the best beach shelter for your family you need to consider the size when the tent is up and also how much space it takes when it is packed away. Most are very easy to assemble nowadays but they need to be sturdy enough, once erected, to withstand wind and some are better than others at this, so do your research carefully.

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