Tested: Life Beach Cabana

Summer holidays usually mean some beach time if you’re anywhere near the coast, but unless you like sweltering in the sun or only plan a quick dip, a portable beach shade is an essential part of any sand-lover's kit.

Sun shade options are expanded if you’re lucky enough to be able to drive your 4x4 onto the beach, as you can in many parts of South Australia and Queensland. On a recent visit to the Eyre Peninsula we saw many beach-goers take full advantage of this by rolling out awnings attached to the side of vehicles parked just metres from the shoreline, or hauling out big marquee-style shelters from the back of utes.

But if you’re a caravanner or motorhomer with limited storage space and have to hike it to your piece of beach paradise, the issue of size and weight becomes important in your choice of sun shades.

Over the years I’ve tried various beach umbrellas with mixed success – some working a treat until they broke, while others struggling to stay put in the sort of winds you often find on open beaches.

So I wasn’t expecting too much from the Life Beach Cabana, a variation on the standard beach umbrella that we tried recently during our Eyre Peninsula holiday.

Featuring an attractive blue and white cotton fabric canopy with matching white powdercoated steel frame, it essentially works like a normal, over-sized umbrella but with a few useful additions designed to make it cope better with big winds.

These include four fabric strips that drop down from the main canopy, with a large pocket at the base that's filled with sand (damp if possible for additional weight), to anchor and help hold the umbrella upright.

And it works. Even in winds that would see many beach shades blown down the beach, the Cabana hardly flinched. There are some vent flaps in the roof to help reduce the parachute effect, while a separate base pole that screws deep into the sand before connecting to the main umbrella, further adds to stability.

It takes about two minutes to set up with two people involved, or a bit longer for one person, and the UPF 50+ rated material provides a nice block of shade that will comfortably keep the sunburn at bay for two or three people.

Unlike the ubiquitous tent-style beach hut, you don't have to stoop under the shady part and there's constant air flow with no walls in the way. The icing on the cake is the price: $49 from Big W, although you can pay more for similar products from other brands.

Packed in its matching, 1.2m long blue/white cotton bag and weighing around 4kg, it’s easy to carry, and easy to pack away in the car or in a spare space in the caravan or camper trailer.

We also tried the cheaper tarp-like Sundaze Sun Shelter from the same company, but wouldn’t recommend it as the skinny metal tent pegs supplied were not much good for securing in the sand on a windy day.

The other great thing about the Beach Cabana is it’s relatively small footprint when erected. On one occasion we set up on a crowded beach next to one of the latest, super-stretchy, lycra-style sun shades, which took up a much larger section of sand for about the same amount of shade. It also flapped a lot more in the wind than the Cabana.

While we can’t tell you if the Life Beach Cabana will hold up to years of rigorous beach duty, on first impressions it’s a winner.