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The Kelty Sunshade Large portable sun and rain shelter is ideal for offering shade at the beach or providing extra rain-protected storage space at your campsite. Integrated toggle and loop attachment points allow for the use of Kelty Sunshade Large Accessory Walls (sold separately) for increased privacy and protection from sun and rain. Both the height and width of the freestanding, triangular-shaped Sunshade Large are adjustable. Height adjusts from 7' 6" to 9' 2", while the width adjusts from 10' 0" to 12' 3". Simply slide the poles through the sleeves in the tarp body and place the shelter into the position you prefer. Adjust the height and width to provide the amount of protection you need. The Sunshade Large has multiple sewn-in attachment points to tie off guy lines for stability in breezy conditions.
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Technical Details
- Freestanding.- Pole/sleeve construction.
- Guyout points.
- Sunshade accessory walls (sold separately) available.
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By Mike (Colorado)
Before considering a purchase of this product, it's helpful to understand what it is and what it isn't. Depending on your intended application, you could find it light in weight or heavy, a good design or unusable. This is a review of the medium-size sunshade, but most of what I say should apply to the large model as well.
At 10+ pounds, this is not something anyone is likely to take on a backpack trip. A backpacker looking for shade will more likely choose something akin to Kelty's Noahs Tarp at under 2 pounds and half the price.
Since people may have to duck to enter this structure, and the walls hinder lateral visibility, and the dome shape does not cover the entire footprint, this would not be a great choice for a vendor setting up shop at an outdoor market. The vender would be better off choosing a much heavier portable structure with a rectangular canopy suspended on poles.
So, who would find this product useful? Well, perhaps a family spending a day at the beach, but if it's windy they will need to find ways to anchor the corners, perhaps with coolers or a car bumper, etc. But anyone setting up any kind of sun shelter on a sandy beach would have a similar issue to deal with. This structure does have the advantage of being free standing when erected; you just have to prevent it from blowing away.
I bought the Kelty Sunshade to use on river trips. It is small and light enough to easily take along in a canoe. It proved its worth the first night out when a storm blew in. I wish I had a video of my wife and me setting this thing up for the first time in gale-force winds and pelting rain. I know it would be a huge comedy hit on YouTube.
We got nowhere using the stakes and finally had to rely on a cooler and heavy water containers to hold down the windward side of the structure. The wind finally subsided, but it continued to rain all night. Without the Sunshade we would have been lying in our tent eating granola bars for dinner. With the Sunshade we cooked a hot dinner and enjoyed it seated in our outdoor dining room. It was pretty sweet.
We also set up the Sunshade to provide shade from the sun (novel idea) on layover days when we remained at camp. It did provide sun relief, but not as much as we would have liked. There is an inherent problem with using a lightweight fabric to block the hot rays of the sun; the sun's heat will penetrate the fabric causing the area underneath to heat up. If there is little wind to move the air, or if you are sitting within a few few feet of the fabric, you can become uncomfortably hot. In the future I will bring along a highly-reflective mylar sheet to drape over the sunshade during the hottest part of the day.
Other considerations...
I recommend buying a supplementary side wall. It is easy to attach and can be moved around the structure to match the movement of the sun or breezes.
I'm confident I could set up the Sunshade by myself, but it's a lot easier with two people - even then, not very easy. The problem is stretching the taut fabric over the fiberglass rods or poles. My wife held the pole while I used my strength to pull the metal grommet over the end of the rod. Maybe the fabric will loosen-up over time, and this process will become easier. On disassembly, do not pull the rods out of the fabric sleeves because the shock-corded sections will come apart and fight you. Bunch the fabric and push it off the pole instead. After we got the hang of it, we could unpack and assemble the Sunshade, or disassemble and pack it away, in about six or seven minutes (maybe a little longer in a gale).
By Matthew D. Freedman (Pennsylvania, USA)
We needed this for vacation with our three boys. My brother in Law bought one of the standard four legged 10 x 10 sunshades, with four, telescoping metal legs. We got to compare the two, side by side on the beach.
The Kelty is cool looking, VERY lightweight to carry and store. Main issuss I had with it...if it's windy, even with all the tie downs, it's a struggle on sand. The wind can pull the pins out of the sand. Rocks would be helpful. The three sides where the poles are...block quite a bit of the view.
On the other hand, my brother in law's standard canopy,...much heavier BUT, no view blocked, and fared much better in the wind..and more room for laying down under the canopy. The Kelty claims a large footprint, but with the tripod legs coming down with the fabric on them...less area to lay under.
If I were to do it over, and am going to the beach (driving)...I'd consider the metal, four legged canopy. If traveling far from your vehicle, the Kelty is much lighter.
By D. R. Stack (Fishers, IN United States)
We bought the Kelty Sunshade (L) for use at the beach this year. In previous years, we had used first one then two umbrellas, as the family grew, to give us enough shade. With the new airline checked bag prices, I decided we needed something we could stuff in a suitcase.
The first 2x we set up the shade, it took 2 people about 15 min. Each setup after that got faster and easier. For easiest assembly, I recommend putting all of the tent poles through the sleeves first, before attaching any to the grommet. Attach the 1st pole to the grommet, then have someone hold it upright while attaching the other 2. When taking down, be sure to push the poles out of the sleeves, as pulling will cause them to come apart.
It's great to use for giving our young kids shade in their wading pool, and easy enough to set up that it's not a hassle even if using it for only an hour.
For use at the beach, this gives a much larger shade footprint than a beach umbrella. We've had 4 adults and 2 kids under the shade at the beach with no crowding. I use Sierra Sand Stakes to anchor against the wind, and have had no problems with 10-15mph sustained winds from the gulf.
Packing was easy, as the whole thing weighs only 10 lbs, and fits in a large suitcase.
Update: After a few days of setting this up on the beach as suggested above, I was faced with needing to do it alone. I found that if you push all of the poles through the sleeves, then flip the sunshade "upside down", all 3 poles can then be attached to the grommet holes, giving you a completely assembled (upside down) sunshade...just turn it over and stake it down.
By S. Bradford (Arlington, VA USA)
I've now owned this shelter for 2 years. I primarily use it at the beach. For some, it might be a bit difficult to set up. The poles are a bit tedious to assemble, but I can set up the shade in about 10-15 minutes. Take down is more difficult since the pole sections tend to come apart as they are pulled from the shelter sleeves.
The included stakes are not adequate for holding in sand on a windy beach. I bought 6 dog screws from Lowes to hold it down. 5 gallon buckets filled with sand would also work well. I also bought 1 wall section that I move with the sun for added shade. The only con of the shelter is the limited headroom. I'm 6 feet tall and can stand up in the center, but then you have the roof in your face and cannot see out. There is a cave-like feel inside, but its fine once you are seated.
The real reason I decided to write this review is to praise Kelty. My shelter was ripped when a beach umbrella was blown into it. I contacted Kelty to buy new fabric, but they said send it in and maybe we can sew it for a small fee. Less than a week later, a new sunshade arrived at my door at no charge! I know if I ever need a new tent, it will be a Kelty.
By R. Brown (EBF, Alabama)
I recently saw a couple of these shelters on a camping trip and knew I had to have one. After reading some reviews on the square footprint versions and heard they were difficult to set up,I opted for this because I typically have to accomplish this chore alone. I had this shelter up within five minutes all by myself and I'm a small person. The poles are some of the thickest and most heavy duty bungee type fiber-glass poles I've ever seen and it really pays off once the shelter is standing. It feels super sturdy. The poles account for most of the 10 pounds of total weight, but it's not to heavy to carry a good distance. One feature that I thought showed great fore-thought was that there were two sets of eyelets in the bottom strap that the pole feet hook into. This would assure a snug fit over the years as the fabric stetches, otherwise you'd wish you had some way to take up the slack. I haven't used the shelter in a high wind situation yet, but judging by the sturdiness afforded by the triangular shape... I'm sure it would do great as long as you staked it down with the six provided stakes (2 opposing stakes per foot). Plenty of room in the stuff sack elminated what's always my biggest fear, getting it all back in the bag. No problems there. I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone.
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