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Boston Globe
04-08-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
‘They're like living rooms.' How oversized beach tents and cabanas are taking over the shore.
Well, last Tuesday, I got my answer. I rose before the traffic, drove to Orleans, handed over $32.50 to the parking attendant, trekked across the upper lot, and finally— sweating — crested Nauset Beach. But wait. The beach — where was it? I scanned the vista, but there was no ocean. No sand. What was I even looking at? As far as the eye could see, there were only cabanas and tents and canopies and umbrellas, and more cabanas and tents and canopies and umbrellas, and more and more, until it all began to feel kind of depressing in a strange and colorful way, like suburban sprawl had finally reached its inevitable destination: the shore itself. Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up Some of the shade systems were striped and so big Advertisement In beach chic circles, their brand names are well-known – CoolCabana, Shibumi, Neso They can cost hundreds of dollars, and have such serious SPF ratings — 50 — that it makes you forget that people once went to the beach for the sun. Advertisement By noon, the Shade Mahals were threatening to overwhelm the old-school umbrellas, and it felt like the sand itself was being gentrified. That vibe was enhanced by the fact that the shade structures were marring the view. That was true even for the lifeguard, Adam Legg. Sitting in his tall chair, he said the tents set up on the berm were making it harder to see 20 feet of shoreline. Orleans beach safety director Anthony Pike surveyed the scene at Nauset Beach, where people's beach setups have become more elaborate. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff 'They cover the whole beach,' retired fire chief Anthony Pike said as he stood at the base of the lifeguard chair. Pike, now the town's beach safety director, scanned the beach — or rather the pop-up city of shade — and noted with a mix of amazement and resignation that in decades of patrolling this beach, he's never seen it like this. Some of the structures provide more than 120 square feet of coverage. Between the space and the amenities — people stock them with luxury beach mats, tables, sound systems, and coolers with built-in blenders — it now seems possible to be at the beach without having to interact with the sand, the birds, the snack bar, the water, or, god forbid, other people or the sun, now that it's gone into beast mode. 'They're like living rooms,' said Bob Bronson, a WROR host and a judgmental witness of shadezillas he's observed at Wingaersheek and Hampton beaches. 'What's going on inside is crazy,' he said. 'I've seen blow-up couches and easy chairs, and [full-sized] fans. The Bluetooth speakers have gotten out of control.' Advertisement The day I went to Nauset, it was nearly 90 degrees and the sun was punishing, but no matter. The only people who actually had to deal with it were the dads (and somehow they were all dads). Brian Wood from Hampden struggles as he pulls beach chairs, blankets, a cooler, and a pop-up tent in his cart across the soft sand of Nauset Beach on July 30. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Wherever you looked, there was a man wearing an enormous backpack cooler — the $325 Yeti Hopper holds 22 pounds of ice — and sweating as he pulled a heavy and expensive beach wagon, no doubt highly rated on Amazon, that was somehow not quite gliding over the sand. 'I'm a mule,' Peter Wanamaker, a vacationer from Buffalo, said cheerfully, pointing to the enormous and overflowing cart he'd schlepped across the sand. His family was ensconced in a Kennedy-style compound, with not one but two large tents joined by an umbrella. Alas, as pleasant as a day at the beach can be, the regular rules of life and real estate are still in play, and many people sitting under seemingly ideal tents or cabanas are in fact eyeing better set-ups. The cabanas, tents, and umbrellas were out in full force on a hot day last week at Nauset Beach in Orleans. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff 'I'm a little envious,' Margaret Johnson, of Bethesda, Md., said as she looked over at a CoolCabana that appeared to be larger than the one she was in, which her sister had bought. 'You're a freeloader,' her sister, Kathie Johnson, said, mock-offended. Meanwhile, on the Vineyard over the July Fourth weekend, one group was facing an even more extreme challenge. Liza Cohen, an inside the house — including specially selected pillows for each guest — she is not a 'beach person' and hence didn't realize that the game had been upped. Advertisement The first day of the trip, they hit the beach with towels only, and even though the dad was immediately sent to town to buy a CoolCabana, there were none to be found. That meant they all had to spend the entire long weekend as if it were 1970. No shade. No gourmet meals. No blended drinks. Considering the arms race a day at the beach has turned into, the outcome was almost shocking. 'It was amazing,' Cohen said. 'We had the best time.' Beth Teitell can be reached at
Business Insider
03-07-2025
- Climate
- Business Insider
I live at the shore and have tested over 30 beach umbrellas — this secure Anchor Works is the one I recommend to my friends
Last year, I wrote about a breakthrough canopy-styled beach umbrella that uses sandbags to prevent it from cartwheeling down the shoreline in windy weather, while providing great coverage and an easy set-up. While my CoolCabana is great for an all-day excursion to the beach with a group of friends and family, there are times I just want to sit on the sand solo with no need for a big cabana. However, I've never felt comfortable using a unipole umbrella because I've seen too many launch out of the ground — missile-style — on windy days. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 3,000 people are treated annually in emergency departments for injuries related to airborne beach umbrellas. Addressing these numbers, the CPSC has issued a new voluntary safety standard called ASTM F3681-24, which requires beach umbrellas and their anchors to withstand a resisting force of at least 75 pounds or remain secure in wind speeds up to 30 MPH when in the sand. So when a PR rep for a new umbrella company reached out about a patented unipole umbrella focused on safety (it was created after the founder, Derek Conlon, witnessed a beachgoer get impaled by a runaway umbrella), I was all ears. The Anchor Works Classic Beach Umbrella System utilizes a high-quality polyethylene basin (known as the "anchor") that is placed below ground and filled with sand to keep it secure. "Our umbrella satisfies the pull test, defined by ASTM F3681-24, meeting CPSC's standard of 75-pound resistance," says Annieva Conlon, Derek's daughter and a company cofounder. It was very breezy the day I first planted this umbrella into the sand at the Jersey Shore. As the winds picked up, I watched everyone on the beach rush to close their umbrellas, yet mine remained open, protecting me and my husband (a skin cancer survivor) from the sun's UV rays. As people walked by, they wanted to know more about my umbrella system. Here's what I told them about one of the best beach umbrellas I've ever tried… How it works The beauty of this umbrella — it takes less than five minutes and one person to set up. Begin by laying out all the pieces on the sand, then follow these simple assembly instructions: Slip the tray through the pole, tightening the black knob at the spot where you'd like it to rest, which is usually determined by the height of your beach chair. Guide the pole into the anchor, lining up the predrilled holes and securing them with a pin. Dig an 18 inch hole and drop the anchor into the hole. Pack the exterior sides of the anchor with sand, then backfill it with sand up to the white collar. Stomp the sand over the anchor with your hands and feet to pack the weight and set the base. Insert the umbrella into the bottom pole, then line up the predrilled holes and secure them with another pin. Tighten the white knob above the tray. Open the canopy and insert the third stainless steel pin into the predrilled holes below the push button. At the end of the day, don't try lifting the anchor up straight out of the sand. Instead, remove the umbrella canopy by releasing the pin and then tilt the pole to one side — it will easily lift out of the sand. Be sure to dump the sand from the anchor back into the hole to prevent mishaps with other beachgoers. What makes it stand out It's well made. The umbrella's frame features double-spoke fiberglass ribs, which help reduce the canopy's chances of flipping upward in high winds. Powder-coated steel poles, a durable PVC basin, and stainless steel pins ensure the umbrella will last more than one season. It's easy to set up. Some of the newer umbrellas on the market take skill and memory every time you set them up (e.g., the CoolCabana prints instructions on the inside pocket of their bag for easy reference). One viewing of this video or this video, and chances are you won't need a refresher course the next time you go to set it up. The canvas is rated UPF 50+ This umbrella meets the highest UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) rating of UPF 50+, the standard assessment used to measure the effectiveness of sun-protective fabrics. The water-resistant fabric comes in five bright colors — ocean blue, seafoam green, sky blue, sunset orange, and mellow yellow — making it easy to spot friends and family in a sea of beach umbrellas. It's easy to clean. Shake any sand off the umbrella, poles, anchor, and tray before leaving the beach, and hose everything down once you get home (be sure all the parts are dry before putting them back in the bags). If soiled, the fabric can be wiped down with warm water and dish soap. It comes with two carrying bags. The entire system weighs about 9 pounds and comes with two cases featuring carrying straps and drawstring closures — a slim one for the umbrella and pole, and a larger bag for parts including the anchor, tray, and shovel. I'm not a fan of the bags' thin fabric (seems they upcycled material from the umbrella fabric so it wouldn't go to waste) and flimsy drawstrings, and how awkward it is to carry the larger bag to/from the beach. Seems the cofounder agrees. "We didn't place enough emphasis on the bag design during our first production run, which was a huge learning curve," says Conlon. "But we're always working to improve details and have designed an all-in-one duffel bag for our next product release. We may even offer this new bag on our site when it goes into production for those who already own the first model." It's got a 30-day return policy and a 1-year warranty. The company offers a 30-day return policy for valid reasons, like damaged or missing parts. "We don't do automatic 'no-questions-asked' returns, but we're flexible — just tell us what's wrong and we'll work with you," says Conlon. "Our 1-year limited warranty covers defects in materials or workmanship under normal use, and even beyond that, we're committed to making things right if something seems off." Cons to consider Most beach umbrellas have drawbacks; this one is no exception: Although the co-founder notes two to fourpeople can fit under the canopy, I find that number is closer to two. This may be a negative for some people, but I was in the market for an umbrella this size. It doesn't meet the 30 MPH wind speed standard set by the CPSC (it withstands winds up to 25 MPH). Conlon recommends closing your beach umbrella in winds past 20 MPH to protect your gear. The ribs are made of double-spoke fiberglass — strong, but not as sturdy as steel when it comes to preventing canopy inversion. At $119.98, it's a little pricey, but I don't have a problem paying extra for a quality product that will last more than one season and provide peace of mind on the beach. Plus, there's free shipping on their site, and they often run 20 to 30 % off flash sales and discounts. As noted, I'm not a fan of the cheap quality carrying bags. A storage compartment for the easy-to-misplace pins would be useful. What are your alternatives? The AnchorOne Classic Beach Umbrella System is my new favorite umbrella for summer 2025, but there are a few others from our guide to the best beach umbrellas that are worth looking at as well. Ahead, my picks for the season: CoolCabana5: There are so many reasons I love this cabana-style beach umbrella, which uses sand pockets to anchor the canopy. It's stylish, easy to transport (it comes with a quality canvas bag with a shoulder strap), simple to assemble, not noisy, and won't block the ocean views of anyone behind you or blow away with a large gust of wind. It comes in two sizes (covering 43 or 64 square feet) and in a multitude of solids, stripes, and print fabrics. Tommy Bahama Easy-Set Up Umbrella with AnchorX: My daughter and son-in-law are obsessed with this oversize (80" x 42" x 80") monopole-style umbrella that comes with a patented anchor system featuring a ground auger that gets screwed into the sand for better wind stability. And for good reason. Its canopy fabric has a UPF 50+ along with built-in vents for better airflow and maximum stability, and it features a special tilt mechanism for when the sun moves. Some reviewers complain that the plastic handles can break if too much torque is applied. : This umbrella, made of commercial-grade aluminum and stainless-steel hardware, puts safety first by featuring a sandbag base that exceeds the CPSC safety standard recommendation by 160%. Engineered and wind tunnel tested to 44 MPH, its 7.5-foot canopy has a UPF rating of 50+ to protect from harmful UV rays and includes a carry bag with a padded shoulder strap and molded carry handle. It has a generous 10-year frame warranty, a lifetime warranty on the base, and comes in five bright colors, including lime and yellow. One downside: the umbrella can't be moved unless fully disassembled. The bottom line This stylish umbrella is my summer 2025 unipole pick, thanks to its unique anchoring system and stylish design. I'm looking forward to testing its in-development sister umbrella, called the AnchorONE Marketstyle Beach Umbrella System. According to Conlon, it will have a more hexagonal canopy and protect against wind speeds of up to 44 MPH. It will also have a wider vent and include ribs made of steel rather than fiberglass to make inversion even less likely. "Look for a single duffel with reinforced straps with our new umbrella," assures Conlon. This umbrella won't be available until at least next year, but you can keep your eyes open in this space for updates.
