How To Make a Windproof Beach Shade Canopy DIY Sun Shade - V2 - LARGE Size & Cordless Version
This beach shade design is supported by poles inserted into the ground and therefore does not need a sandbag and cord in front to hold it up. Using two 11ft by 9ft beach blanket provides up to 200 square feet of shade. To hold it in the sand, I used 2 beach umbrella lower poles from beach umbrellas that had been thrown away. The poles are 25ft of heavy-duty aluminum tent poles, although fiberglass tent poles could also work. The aluminum poles are stronger, stiffer and corrosion-resistant. The leading edge pocket pass-through for the tent pole was made using strong double-sided fabric tape, so no sewing was necessary.
Watch the video to see how to set it up and how it's made.
Since this design does not use the sand bag and cord to keep it up or any anchors, it is not protected by the patents, and therefore can be DIY'd. There is prior art that exists of cordless shade designs like this that use poles in the ground for support. That prior art is even referenced by their patent. Beach Shade LLC (who was previously sued for selling a copy of the that used the sandbag and cord tied to the leading edge) have recently (in 2023) started selling something similar to this design. Beach Shade LLC uses sand screws that are similar to beach umbrella sand screws instead of beach umbrella poles. The sand screws are shorter and don't provide as much support for the tent pole arch as the beach umbrella poles do. Therefore the arch flexes a lot more in the wind than this DIY design shown here.
▼ WHERE TO BUY PARTS:
▶ 2 beach umbrella lower poles (Harvested from old/broken beach umbrellas. They get thrown away all the time at the beach.) Alternative poles are PVC pipe, aluminum/steel pole ~1 inch diameter, or anything similar to a beach umbrella lower pole.
▼ HOW TO MAKE
1 - Assemble the tent poles to 25ft length. The tent poles are a kit and don't have the shock cord installed. You have to choose the length that you want by linking the sections together and then decide whether you want to use the shock cord or not.
2 - Cut off and remove the storage pocket and corner sand pockets from the beach blankets. Leave the tie-out straps in the corners of the blankets.
3 - Fold over about 2 inches of fabric on the front edge, and use the fabric tape to permanently hem it, leaving a pocket for the tent poles to slide through. No sewing is necessary. Press down firmly in the taped area to make sure it is fully bonded. I walked along the edge a few times to make sure proper pressure was applied.
4 - Apply 2 strips of tape to the long edge of one blanket. Overlap the edge of the other beach blanket onto the one with the tape. Press down firmly on the taped edge to make sure it is fully bonded. I walked along the edge a few times to make sure proper pressure was applied.
▼ HOW TO SETUP
1 - Slide the tent pole through the hem pocket you made earlier. Leave the fabric bunched up about 3 feet from one end.
2 - Use the Sand Gopher tool to make an angled hole for the beach umbrella lower pole (think about the angle that the arch will form when perpendicular to the wind).
3 - Slide the umbrella lower pole into the hole in the sand.
4 - Slide the end of the tent pole closest to the bunched up fabric into the umbrella pole in the sand.
5 - Bend the tent pole into an arch (perpendicular to the wind). Where the bare end of the tent pole meets the sand, use the Sand Gopher to dig another umbrella pole hole.
6 - Slide the umbrella lower pole over the bare tent pole end and insert into the hole in the ground.
7 - Slide the beach blanket fabric to center it on the tent pole arch.
8 - Use left over bungee cord to tie the leading edge beach blanket edges to the umbrella pole to keep the blanket stretched out.
9 - Enjoy!
10- If it needs to be repositioned because the wind direction has shifted, use the Sand Gopher to dig a new hole at one end, pull the umbrella pole out of the ground, and insert it into the new hole.
PRIOR ART
This is one of the prior art Non-Patent Citations on the Shibumi patent. There are a list of Youtube videos, but most no longer exist (I wonder why...). The "How to setup a butterfly arch" video does still exist and shows a video of a decorative shade arch that uses poles/stakes inserted into the ground to support the arch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOTYtjQAL4s
This video was posted on May 26, 2012, years before the Shibumi patents were filed.
Screenshots from the video with date stamps were taken for the purpose of evidence of prior art in case this video should disappear from Youtube in the future.
Below you can see one of the legs and how it is anchored to the ground.
In the image below, they are shown hammering the pole/stake into the ground. This is the support piece for the ends of the shade arch.
Here's another better video by the same user that shows how to set up the sun shade and clearly shows the shade arch staked into the ground at the ends and the sail being supported by the wind. This video was posted on August 24, 2012, years before the Shibumi patents were filed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnqQWW_pMEI
They also use bungee elastic shock cords to pull the sail tight and anchored it to the post inserted into the ground such that the sail does not fly off.
DISCLAIMER:
The products shown here were purchased by me with the intent to use them. I did not receive any free items, and I am not being paid or compensated for this review. The video, description, and comments may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link, I may receive a commission. Money earned helps to support my channel and bring you more informative videos about engineering, crafting, and DIY.
