Large Otentik Sunshade

Took our new Otentik SunShade (family size) to the Outer Banks of NC for it's trial run and couldn't be happier. Lightweight, compact, easy to set up and, most importantly, IT WORKS! Watched the YouTube tip vids in advance and it was a breeze, literally. Even my 10 year old knew what to do. The family/largest size easily allowed 6 people to sit under it. Didn't get to test it yet in high sustained winds, which is unusual for OBX, but the gusts we encountered were no problem. In fact, there was almost not enough wind at times, which while making the shaded area a little harder to get under didn't deter our fun. A couple onservations... We went with the light turquoise color and I wonder if going darker would block out even more UV rays. Still use sunscreen, even if you're going to stay in the shade the whole time. First day out I purposely didn't wear anything, knowing I'd be under the shade the entire time and while I didn't get burned, I did get a few pink spots and you could create a shadow in the shade which made me wonder about the darker color. Anyway, we received several questions about who make it and where we got it. All in all a wonderful product. UPDATE : found our high winds yesterday at Hatteras National Seashore. Probably 20+ mph sustained. Stretched the shelter tighter and dug in the sand bags a little and it worked great! Even better than in the low winds as it was constantly billowing to full size and height. You could walk under the entire shelter. Excellent product!!

This is simply one of the best sunshades out there to use at the beach. I was a little skeptical about how it would work or how it would hold up, but we love it, and we're on our second season with it on the Gulf coast of Florida. I can't make it through a day on the beach without someone walking up — usually someone with a heavy metal frame shade that they're struggling to keep up on a windy day — and asking "what in the heck is this shade? Where did you get it??" It takes a few tries to get the hang of putting it up right, and it definitely requires getting used to the fact that stiff winds are actually no problem for it, no matter how much it seems to be buffeted around or pulled taut around the poles. It's quite simply an entirely different beast than the usual umbrella or pop-up shade. My favorite things about it are how easy it is to set up once you get the hang of it, how durable the stretchy fabric seems to be, and how it's fairly flexible to adjust during the day as the sun moves around thanks to the two poles. (or get some extras and have four) I always wash it out real well and then let it dry at the end of a week before rolling it up and putting it away. We've never had any trouble with the seams or the fabric ripping or anything like that. I highly recommend this shade. Great value and it's simply the best thing to use at a windy beach. My tips: stretch it out on the ground as wide and taut as you can and bury two adjacent sandbags first. Dig out the sand and put the bag in the hole where you got the sand from. And then stretch out the two opposite sandbags on the other side before you bury them, stretching it out as far as you can. Seriously, you cannot stretch it out too far! Ideally, you've got the four sandbags buried and the shade pulled nearly flat on the ground with no slack in the cords. Put the poles underneath on one side (facing the wind preferably) and just pop it up. NOTE: You don't have to force the poles waaaay down into the ground like a normal umbrella. You need to shove them into the sand a little bit, but you don't have to get them a foot into the ground or anything. I bent a pole one time just forcing it way too hard. (Once it bent and flexed at the joint a few times and stressed the metal, it was toast after a few more times putting it into the ground. Suffice it to say, I learned my lesson. The poles are plenty strong enough, I was just doing it wrong. And Otentik ended up replacing that pole for me.) The poles just need to be enough into the sand that they won't flip over, but the pressure from the shade on top of the pole (this is why you pull it really taut on the ground first) helps keep the pole from ever falling down. I also recommend always trying to set the side with the two poles pointed into the wind. That will help the shade inflate like a sail and keep it up in the air!

Fabric: 4 Stars--appears to be about 8 or 11 oz. weight Spandex like material .Heavier may have been better as the poles left stress marks. Poles: 3 Stars--thin wall steel. Painted Aluminum with an epoxy finish would have been my first choice (Internal rust is already forming). Sun Protection: 4 Stars--some UV gets through (Fell to sleep on my back under the cover for 4 hours with no lotion and received a light burn). Wind stability: 4 Stars--It wont blow away with the sand bags full, but you are limited in angles you can set it up at. Wind on the low side pushes it way down. All the manufacturer videos show the sunshade with wind propping it up this is not a practical way to use it so it is not as ideal as they present it to be. On the windiest day I used it sand was just starting to blow around and no umbrellas were being lifted away; the sunshade was a still easy to use. Size: 5 Star-- I have the large and it was comfortable for a family of two adults and three little kids. Mind that the foot print on the beach was huge, We got a few funny looks but no complaints. On the forth of July with a crowded beach I think some people would have been annoyed that we took up about 3 times the real-estate as umbrella users. Overall Quality: 5 Stars-- it was well made Value: 3 Stars-- I could make a similar shade for $30 and 2 hours of labor. It's basically two panels of spandex stitched edge-to-edge with a knot tied on each corner. The ropes loop around the knots and the sand bags are 20 inch squares with the rope stitched in a loop around the edge to make a pull string. The poles are just tent poles with a foam ball on the end. A tennis ball would be a good alternate pole top.

Hello! We used the tent at the shore and it was great!! Super easy to set up and put back together. Held up great in the wind and provided awesome coverage from the sun. It was light weight and therefore it made carrying it to the beach wonderful. There is nothing like not lugging so many heavy things to the beach and hurting your back on the way. We were super pleased with the tent and so glad I made the purchase. everyone who came down to visit us at the beach loved the tent and several people wanted to buy one and dump the umbrella. Our biggest like was the ease of use and that it was light weight. This is a 4-5 person tent depending on the size of your chairs underneath. I love that we stayed cool underneath and during the very windy days nothing blew away - (nor did it turn inside out or flew away on the beach- there is nothing like having to chase your umbrella down the beach and hoping that no one gets hurt as it hurtles down the beach). I would definitely recommend getting 2 extra tent poles. We are going to add this to our purchase as soon as the poles are back in stock. With the extra poles you can stand up underneath the tent. I am 5’9 and I could not stand up under the tent. With the added poles I am hoping for height and more room for that 5th chair. Should you really need 5 or more people under the tent I recommend just getting the largest size. we saw someone else on the beach w/ the largest tent and it was working great for them! Again very pleased with the purchase and wished I had known about this years ago- I could have saved my back ! thank you Robin

Pros: -extremely portable/lightweight -simple, yet impressive design -extra stretchy, durable material Cons: -sandbags are obviously on the ground, so needs a little wind to pick up the tail of the tarp BE THE KING OF THE BEACH I walk onto the beach with a skimboard bag, cooler, and duffle full of goodies SOLO more often than not. It is IMPERATIVE to carry light. I barely notice this tarp weight added in. It condenses down to a thin pipe for transport. Assembly in less than 5 mins. *ALWAYS face the wind!! If not, the wind will push your tarp sides down. Once you get the wind, the tarp opens up like a kite and is a thing of beauty. PEOPLE AROUND YOU WILL BE JEALOUS. I saw it on the beach and bought it on the spot. I’ve only had it a week, and people have asked where to get it -Ant and Erica

As the other reviews mention, READ THE DIRECTIONS. The Mrs and I were about to file for divorce right there on the beach, but the directions along with the reviews I read here got us straight. Used the Large shade on the beach and it did great. As others mentioned, people did come over and ask about the shade. Packs up very easily and is very lightweight compared to traditional umbrellas or other canopies. One thing we noticed is that the shade does not block 100% of the sunlight. The UPF rating of ~50 means it'll block *almost* all of the UV radiation (wiki). No big deal for us as we still applied sunscreen to go down to the water, etc, but if you're planning to sit under it all day with no protection, just know that you will get some sun. I think one day at the beach I got more sun than expected (very slight burn), but I was also in the water with the kids and building sandcastles, so who knows. We still saw shadows while under the shade. See pic. Sorry for quality, but best one i could find to illustrate. The cooler is under the shade, but it still casts a shadow, ie, sunlight is getting through. Would purchase again and would recommend.

I like the concept and basic design of the Otentik shade. It is made with quality materials. It is lightweight and easy to pack up and carry to the beach. The sandbags work well. BUT, what I don't like is that the shade came with only two poles. This causes it to be vertically very low and close to the ground. Only very tiny people can stand up under its shade. We were on the North Carolina beach in July. As usual, it was very windy there. The Otentik shade is very difficult to set up on a windy day. And it is not stable on a windy day. It flaps a lot in the wind. And with only two poles supporting the cloth, the flapping causes the poles to fall repeatedly. My son was with us at the beach. He had a similar beach sun shade from a different manufacturer. It came with FOUR poles that were a bit longer than the Otentik's poles. Having four longer poles gave the alternative shade much better stability in the strong wind, and enabled adults to stand under the shade. I wish that I had purchased the four-pole alternative instead of the Otenik brand. I am going to have to buy two more longer poles to use with the Otenik.

Pros and Cons review. First I love the fact that it weighs next to nothing to carry to the beach. Setup is easy and takes about 5-8 minutes with two people. Most of that time is filling up the sandbags. I got the large version and because the sandbags have to be spread out pretty far for the tent to be tight, it takes up a lot of space. This can be good and bad on a semi busy beach like in OCNJ. I got some dirty looks because our bags were so far spread out and taking up what looks like more space then it should for our shade. But... the good thing is it creates a nice space for you and your family that people have to walk around and not kick sand on your stuff when they are walking by. Again double edge sword. As far as the tent itself as long as the wind is blowing toward the front where the poles stand it works great. When the wind shifts you need to move poles so they are always facing into the headwind. It took me a few days to figure this out, but when I did it worked great. It was the only sail shade type tent on the beach that made it easy to see when you were coming back in from the water, or walking back from the shore house with more supplies. Overall I love it and would recommend it for something different on the beach. I do like the square canopy types but after all the research I did this seemed like a better choice for longevity. Read so many bad reviews on the canopies breaking in high winds and the mechanism failing after just a few uses. This tent works well in high winds, and even if it does fall over, there is nothing to break, you just have to put it back up, and make adjustments to the poles. It is very sand resistant and shakes off the sand and goes back in the carry bag very easily. Overall great product. A little pricey, but you get what you pay for and the material is very high quality. I expect it will last many summers on the beach.

al principio tenia mis dudas sobre este producto, pero la verdad estoy muy satisfecho, la calidad de la tela y el diseño es genial, como todo lo nuevo tiene su curva de aprendizaje para utilizarlo y mas en condiciones de viento fuerte, per el montaje y desmontaje es super facil, y el transporte es facilisimo. yo pedí otros dos tubos de soporte para tener una mejor estabilidad, en resumen muy buena compra.