Thank you to Sun Ninja for providing Mommy's Block Party with a product sample to facilitate this post. All thoughts are my own.
It's summertime, and you know what that means- it's time to find your place in the sun, park it, and soak it up! When I was in my twenties, I loved nothing more than to lie out on the beach, soaking up those rays of sun. Little did I know (then), various types of cancer would soon be present in members of my family, and I would become an advocate for myself and my family when it came to protecting ourselves from the sun.
As I have aged, I have noticed that I quickly and easily break into sun rashes if not properly covered when out in the sun. It almost doesn't matter what time of year it is- but summertime is the absolute worst with the intensity of the sun, combined with the heat. When our family planned our 2020 beach trip, we knew it would be a bit of a stretch- I mean, everyone was going to want to be at the beach during a pandemic, when social distancing outdoors is about the only thing acceptable during summer 2020.
My mom, sister, and I tried to prep for our beach trip as much as possible, and for us, that also meant that we had proper sun protection. While we stocked up on UV shirts and sunscreen, we knew that no one would be able to enjoy 'a day at the beach' without a proper sun shade. Over the years, we have tried lots of different beach umbrellas and canopies, and they have all failed us miserably! From being windblown, turned inside out, or just being a plain pain to carry and set up, none of those other products have worked for us. When your sun protection/shade fails, that can result in having to end the beach day early- or worse, sun burn!
We knew that we needed a solution to this problem that seems to haunt us every beach trip. We scoured the Internet for the best options for sun shades, and while there are tons on the market, it can be really tricky to know which ones actually work.
I was so excited to find Sun Ninja, a company which specializes in undercover sun protection through their fantastic sun shades. These UV-protectant sun shades are available in various sizes, and are able to be used on the beach, but also anywhere you need sun protection and quick shade.
For our summer beach trip, we had a family of eight headed to the beach together. We all have to be extra careful when out in the sun. Some of us are very fair-skinned, burn easily, are cancer survivors, and even experience terrible side effects from the sun due to daily medications. Sun Ninja tents offer various sizes in their tents, which means that you can choose the size that best suits your family's needs. We knew that a larger tent would mean that more people would be able to receive sun protection all at once, and enjoy sitting underneath the shade together.
The Sun Ninja 8 Person Tent comes with one shade and four poles. Two poles come packaged in each drawstring bag, and fold up for quick and easy storage.
Each Sun Ninja Tent comes ready to roll! A handy carrying/travel bag houses all of the pieces of the Sun Ninja Shade with ease. It has a strap to pick up and carry or sling over your shoulder. We were able to attach it right to our cooler cart, so no one even had to carry it.
Setting up the Sun Ninja Shade was a breeze, and we were able to get it up in just a few minutes of being out on the beach.
Setting up the Sun Ninja Shade is as easy as 1-2-3!
Step 1 - Stretch It Out!
The first step to setting up the 8-person tent for us was to find an open space on the beach, and lay out the shade. This is a 10 x 10 UPF 50+ tent, which is super lightweight! It stretches with ease, and is super soft to the touch. Each corner of the tent has built in pockets for sand, which essentially serve as built-in sandbag weights to keep the tent weighed down.
Fill the pockets with sand, using the provided sand scoop.
With the pockets filled up, stretch them out to the sides.
Step 2 - Scoop & Fill
The second step involves scooping sand into the deep pockets of each corner of the tent. The Sun Ninja shade comes with its own sand scoop, which means you never have to worry about forgetting a scoop or shovel! My son (age 10, loved being able to help fill up the pockets with sand. It doesn't take a super long time to do this step, but it definitely goes faster with help!
Step 3 - Place the poles
Next up, remove the poles from their drawstring bags. The 8-person tent comes with four poles, so you can lift each corner of the tent shade up off the ground. Since we had a large group of people to fit underneath the tent, we wanted to make sure we had the entire area under the tent available for seating. To set up the poles, gently straighten the pieces out. The poles interlock, and will set up straight with help in just a matter of a few seconds. A note- toward the last pole piece, you might notice the pole seems tight and hard to straighten out. Just give it a good tug, and it'll go where you want it to.
Here's a look at the back poles in place, and the front of the shade still waiting for poles.
Once the poles are straightened, slide each pole underneath the tent, one at a time, and raise them to an upright position. It did take two of us to hold poles while we balanced out the poles on the other side, as we're new to using this sun shade, but eventually, my husband was able to do this without having anyone else help him. He was definitely excited about the fact that he could set this whole tent up within minutes- without any help. We were all very impressed by this feature!
After the poles were placed in each corner, we secured the tent to the top of each pole with the thick rubber bands which were provided with the tent. This helped minimize movement if a sudden gust of wind decided to blow in our direction.
The rubber bands helped us secure the shade to the poles of the tent.
Once the poles are in place (straight up and down in the tent corners), you can quickly adjust the sandbags by pulling them out to the sides. You can make it as tight and taught as needed.
An awesome sun shade for the whole family!
Once the tent was set up, the entire family couldn't help but to stand back and admire it! It looked so cool, and worked so amazingly well for us out on the beach. Even on the windiest days, the poles never wavered, and the tent never blew over.
We were able to easily fit 6 beach chairs under the tent, and the kids loved being able to sit under the shade, digging in the sand, without having the sun in their faces. We set up the Sun Ninja shade each and every day we were on the beach, whether we were there for two hours, or the entire day. The shade kept us much cooler, and also offered us that protection from the sun we so desperately needed.
Breaking down the tent was so simple! After removing chairs and toys from underneath the tent, we removed the poles one by one, and collapsed them. The easily went back into their drawstring bags, and the tent was easy to fold and place in the carrying bag (after we dumped the sand out of the pockets, of course!)
Lunch on the beach was a breeze, thanks to protection from our Sun Ninja tent!
I can't tell you how many people walking by our spot on the beach stopped to ask us about our Sun Ninja shade! We were so happy to tell them all about it. Some folks even watched as we set it up and when we took it down- that's how intrigued folks were! We were even stoked to see a few other Sun Ninja tents out on the beach!
Having the tent out on the beach allowed us to enjoy the whole day out on the beach. We had a shady place to set up our beach chairs, shade our cooler, and relax. We ate lunch out on the beach, and out of the sun every day during our vacation, which is something we've never really done before.
Not only did the Sun Ninja make our vacation much easier to manage, and much more enjoyable- no one wound up with unsightly sunburns, and the 10 x 10 tent space made it much easier for us to social distance from others out on the beach.
Use your Sun Ninja Shade at home or on the go!
The Sun Ninja provided perfect shade over our backyard inflatable pool for the kids! We love sitting under sit, or swimming under it to stay out of the hot, hot sun.
The Sun Ninja can be used elsewhere, too- it doesn't just have to be used on/in the sand. We were thrilled to be able to set the Sun Ninja up at home, in our own backyard! Just as it was easy to set up and use at the beach, it was equally easy to set up in the backyard. The sun is so intense during the summer in NC, and the kids love to play outside, but the sun really does get to them after a while.
My husband had the bright idea to set up the Sun Ninja tent in the yard, over the kids' inflatable pool, allowing them to swim in the shade. It was a quick set up at home, as the tent was super easy to stake to the ground, and pop up with the poles. The Sun Ninja provided all day shade for our little swimmers, and made time outdoors in our own backyard even more enjoyable.
As we head into late summer and fall, and plan on having small get-togethers with family or friends, we plan on using the Sun Ninja for added shade and protection. It's easy to set up within minutes, and then quickly take down (I wouldn't recommend leaving it set up over an extended amount of time). You can seat up to 8 people underneath, and it can house a small table and chairs, as well! It's the ultimate sun-protection tent, and also a great anytime shade tent/shelter, or party tent! The Sun Ninja can be used on any terrain, which makes it even more amazing! It also has a 1 year warranty, which we always love to see and even look for when we feature products here on Mommy's Block Party.
Want it? Get it!
Don't go another summer without the Sun Ninja! There are 4, 6, and 8 person tents available. The 8-person tent shown above retails for $179.95, is available in four colors, and can be purchased directly through Sun Ninja or on Amazon.
Connect with Sun Ninja:
Look for Sun Ninja in our 2020 Fun in the Sun Product Guide!
Our experience with Sun Ninja has been absolutely amazing. I have already recommended this awesome tent to everyone I know, everyone who has seen photos of our family using this tent, and I am so pleased to be able to recommend it to you all, as well! We're proud to feature Sun Ninja in our summer product guide, and hope you will try this cool tent out to see for yourself how fabulous it truly is!
Special thanks to Sun Ninja for allowing me to share my thoughts on their tents!
How do you stay cool and protected from the sun through out the summer and fall?
We'd love to hear where you'd use a Sun Ninja tent! Let us know your thoughts below!
Wishing you a very cool summer, filled with lots of adventures!
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