Customer Reviews

Eureka! Solar Shade - Shelter (medium)

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We purchased the Eurekea Medium Solar Tent in preparation for a spring trip to the coast. We had debated whether or not to buy a pop-up or a more traditional tent. I practiced putting it up in the living room. It went up quite easily in under 5 minutes. In my living room, the tent was HUGE! and I was worried that it would be too large for our needs.

Our first day at the beach was incredibly windy; however, the tent was still easy to assemble. We did need to use both the sand bags AND the front stakes to keep it steady - but once up, it provided a great beach shelter. We had no problems with stability. A really nice place to get out of the sun for both adults and children. The cross ventilation meant it never got hot, even when the sun was at its hottest. Of course, it was April, and not August - but we are quite happy with the product.

One minor issue - as you push the poles through the sleeves, they tend to catch. Make sure you help thread it through so you don't tear the sleeves. A recommendation. Scoop the sand into zipper bags before you put them in the pockets to make cleanup easier. Reuse the zipper bags to be environmentally friendly.

We bought this tent to travel with our newborn to the beach and it is amazing. the setup is quick and we are the envy of all beachgoers. It is lightweight and well constructed. I highly recommend this to all who desire shade and comfort.

We got this for our Hawaii vacation. It is extremely easy to set up. It takes two people: one to hold the fabric and the other to guide in the poles (2 separate poles). We did a practice run in the living before our trip to make sure we knew how it was done. On the beach, it only took 5 mins to assemble and 5 mins to take down. It provides excellent shade protection for babies, children, and adults. The fabric floor also helps minimize sitting in sand. We got a medium and it was plenty of space for 3 adults and a baby. It packs down into a nice size case of its own. On the plane it can be checked into a large suitcase. We'll use this again and again for afternoons at the beach and the park all summer long.

Purchased the large version and thought it might be too big. Amazon didn't have the medium version available for Prime shipping.

The large was perfect for Newport Beach where there is so much beach it never really got totally crowded where people were laying out in 2 or 3 rows of people like on smaller beaches. This means, everyone that was there sat right along the shoreline so the large tent really didn't stick out. At a smaller beach, I'd probably not use this tent since it would probably be an eyesore and keep some people from seeing the beach.

We used it 3 days in a row, all day from morning to night. The wind picked up pretty well towards the late afternoon and it stayed put. I HIGHLY recommend filling the sand bags with damp/wet sand (heavier) and digging a decent 1 to 1.5 foot deep whole to bury the bags in. Even consider mounding sand on top of the spot if the wind picks up. I also staked down the front corners with fairly long plastic stakes (Not included. It includes skinny metal stakes.) Whether the windows were open or not, it stayed down nicely.

It does need quite a bit of fiddling to get the stakes through without tearing anything. But, if you are patient you'll have no problem even in the wind. Some people suggest using a ziplock bag when filling the sandbags to make cleanup easier. I did this every time and it seemed OK for cleanup but maybe not a huge difference. It possibly made filling the sandbags a little easier since the bags sort of acted like a funnel while I put a some of the ziplock into the sandbag and the sand funneled in (hard to describe, you'll see).

In the end of our trip, it survived the wind, kids, sitting in chairs inside of it and general wear-n-tear. No apparent holes or rips. Nice.

I'd consider the small or medium for smaller beaches and shorter visits. It took me a good 15+ minutes to set the large up by myself with light/med. wind. But, that included filling all 4 bags, digging 4 decent holes, filling the holes, setting up tent poles (push, don't pull) and properly staking down the corners. I'd still probably stick to a standard beach umbrella for shorter trips to smaller beaches so I minimize setup time and also don't annoy people behind me when I arrive by blocking their view.

I mainly bought this shade tent to keep my 8 month old out of the sun during a Gulf of Mexico beach vacation in Florida, but it ended up being used by my entire family. It affords much more coverage than an unbrella, or even an overhead tarp because it has a top and 3 walls.

I performed a test assembly and disassembly in my yard at home before attempting this at the beach, and highly suggest any potential buyers to do the same. The first few times required 2 people, but after that I could assemble/disassemble by myself in about 10 minutes. The hardest part is successfully removing the spring loaded breakdown poles during disassembly, because they want to catch on the tent sleeves during removal. The key is to position the sleeves as straight as possible, and to push the poles instead of pulling them.

The tent is very effective in keeping you in the shade, and can comfortably seat 3-4 adults and an infant. The mesh interior storage pockets come in very handy, and were used quite often. The roll-up windows allow some breeze to blow through, but can also be easily closed for privacy or to block the sun. The corner sand pockets are an absolute must at the beach, because regular tent stakes would never hold this thing down on a windy beach.

4 out of 5 only because of the somewhat cumbersome disassembly, especially by yourself on a windy beach.

Over the years, I have had four beach tents, and this is my fourth. I have owned this one for about 7 months and used it about 20 times on a So-Cal beach. For the beach, this tent is by far the best I have ever seen or owned. The other reviewers here who mentioned minor "faults" in the tent (e.g., blows in wind, leaks in rain) are missing the purpose and design of this tent: It is a BEACH tent, not a camping or backpacking tent. That means the front is open (and so catches a lot more wind, though it can be zipped up when desired), the walls are higher (blows more in wind), there are no zippers around the windows (to save cost and weight), and the windows are controlled from the inside (for ease of use). So, I suggest that people should not expect the windows on a beach tent to be impervious to rain, and I also know that even in very windy conditions, if this tent is guyed out (using the four cords that come with the tent, when conditions are very windy), it will stay sturdy and strong even in 40 mph winds. I did so, and me and my girlfriend sat happily all day in this stable, comfy shelter.

UV rays will, of course, eventually degrade the color and fabric of all beach tents (as well as camping a backpacking tents), but after 20 or so uses in direct sunlight my Solar Shade has faded only very slightly, and it looks like it is going to withstand at least 100 uses on a sunny beach for 4+ hours before the fabric actually wears out.

Yes, it takes a few minutes of care to thread the poles rather than a minute or so needed to set up a pop-up tent, but pop-up tents are too chintzy for me once set up and they have none of the features I love in the Solar Shade.

So, what makes this such a great beach tent, as far as beach tents go? Several great design features: The EXTERNAL SAND POCKETS are a HUGE design advantage, over sand pockets sewn onto the sides of other beach tents. The external sand pockets on this tent make filling and, especially, EMPTYING them (with sand or rocks) extremely easy. (Getting all the sand OUT of side pockets is a major hassel.) In fact, it is even easier either to place the external pockets under large rocks or to fill the pockets and bury them under the sand. In fact, unless it is very windy, I usually just dig trenches for the EMPTY pockets and pile sand over them. A cinch! Takes 5 seconds per pocket, and 1 second to pull from the sand for packing up. The stability provided (especially when combined with bodies, coolers, day packs and other items inside the tent, as expected) weighs down the base of the tent superbly. The THREE windows are large and provide great ventilation when needed on hot days. The tension on the poles is perfectly engineered: Not too tight to risk breaking a pole or tearing fabric on set up, and not too loose to leave sagging tent walls when erected. (The engineering is far less exact on the other beach tents I have owned.) The awning over the "front porch" is really a nice plus. And the nifty cord handing across the ceiling near the front door is splendid for hanging wet swimming trunks, towels, or any other items.

There is simply no better beach tent of its class on the market. I've searched, and the Solar Shade is the pinnacle of its kind. In fact, I just purchased a second one as a spare today (Dec 2010) since they are on sale for under $30!

We took this on our beach vacation. It was so windy that even after up, the wind was blowing sand through the mesh windows. Yet, the tent stayed up, although it was a bit flattened on one side by the constant wind. we put wet sand in the pouch anchors and they were buried.

I recommend setting this up at home initially. Just to see how it works. It's much easier to put up at home then it is at the beach while trying to keep it and the parts and directions from blowing away and keeping track of children.

We've only used this once and actually used it more as a rain/wind shelter at Lake Michigan/Sleeping Bear Dunes. It is not difficult to set up with 2 adults and worked well for us. It is also lightweight. We look forward to using this on our upcoming trip to Nags Head, NC.

Practice at home, before going on the beach, where it's usually windy. That's the single best piece of advise for this tent or anything similar.

The biggest problem in setting it up is getting the poles through the sleeves, but getting around this has a LOT to do with technique. You have to straighten out the sleeve as much as possible, before PUSHING the poles through. If it hangs up, back off and try again - don't force it. Pulling isn't a good thing to do because it will open the rod piece connectors - each "pole" is a bunch of short tubes that fit into each other, with elastic cord running inside the length of the pole. The manufacturer could make this easier to assemble by making the tube segment connections smoother (tapered).

Once you have the 3 poles pushed through, the assembly is done, but unless the winds are totally calm (not likely), you have to anchor it. It comes with stakes, but don't expect them to do much, unless you're putting them into packed soil.

Anchoring on the beach on a windy day is likely to require more than just filling the included nylon bags with sand (I filled and buried them about 3 inches, which wasn't enough on my first day). The good news is that the solution may be very simple - take a half a dozen of the larger (preferably the 2 gal size) Ziploc bags along, fill them with sand, and put them INSIDE the tent at the corners/along the upwind wall. Yes, they'll take up some space, but this thing is pretty big on the inside, so I don't think it'll matter.

The bottom line is that if you get your technique down, and use the Ziploc bags to weigh it down, setup should be pretty quick and stable. When the winds gusted to 27 mph, the tent did "deform" a bit but sprang back when the wind backed off. Keep in mind that this is a lightweight popup, so you shouldn't expect it to be rock solid.

Bottom Line: When you're sitting inside, sheltered from the breeze and the sun, I think you'll agree that you made a good choice.

A few other comments:

The roll up shades for the screened back and sides have no problem staying up, but in a strong wind, you may have a problem with them staying down on the upwind side. The shades are on the inside of the screen so they don't keep any hard rain out. They are held at the bottom with two little Velcro tabs at the corners, which aren't strong enough to stay in place in a stiff wind. You can sew in some more Velcro like someone else suggested, or maybe some snaps, if this becomes a problem. Ideally, the manufacturer should add more Velcro, or even better, put a zipper on the sides and bottom. The later would be a good idea to keep rain out, though you're not likely to be using this as a rain shelter. On the flip side, having them on the inside lets those inside control the shade, like when you're using it to change.

We used this tent at the beach over Memorial Day weekend and I have to agree that the other reviews were right! All I wanted for mother's day was a beach tent and I asked for this one, and I am so glad I got my wish!It is a great addition to our other beach gear, and puts an umbrella to shame! The best part was that my 20 month old son loves it and took long naps every day at the beach in this tent, and mom and dad even joined in one day.

We got the medium size which is plenty big enough, the large might be a little obnoxiously big for a typical beach with lots of people around you. A child can easily nap in the medium with an adult sitting or napping beside them. You could also have 2 adults sitting in chairs in the tent, or 2-3 sitting in there indian style to eat lunch... whatever you want! It is very easy to put together although you definitely will need at least 2 able bodied adults/big kids to really get it together quickly. We put sand in quart size ziploc bags (as suggested) and then put those bags into the nylon sandbags attached to the tent and it stayed down withough any problems at all, excpet for one day when a real storm blew in, the tent got a little air, but on a typical breezy day it was 100% secure.

I have to say I love this tent, and a little girl who saw ours on the beach asked her mom if she would get one for thier family too! It is so easy to use and pack up I can't imagine going to the beach without it!