Sport-Brella Portable Shelter {Review & Giveaway}

When we go to the beach or park, my husband burns like crazy and turns as red as a tomato. One time, we had a nice date at the beach in Carmel – just sitting on the sand, eating a packed picnic lunch, and listening to the waves. It was a bit overcast with a light breeze and felt perfect. My husband even took of his shoes and rolled up his pant legs. Later we discovered that he was so toasted that he even got sunburn on the tops of his feet. Ouch!

The Sport-Brella is a perfect fit for my family. It’s a portable weather shelter that also has 50+ UPF sun protection. The original size is 8 feet but we were testing the Sport-Brella XL which has a 9′ canopy. It’s almost the same size as I am (5′ 3″) so I do have to be a bit careful when I carry it.

The Sport-Brella is made extremely well. We had the chance to try it out at a going-away picnic and it was terribly windy. Now, Beresford Park in San Mateo, CA is always a ‘wind tunnel’ but there were unusually strong gusts when we were there. The wind was so strong you could hear it whistling through the trees. Yet the Sport-Brella was fine. While all the rest of our friends were having the food blown off their plates, we enjoyed our meal all toasty and comfortable in our shelter. With 4 standard and 4 heavy-duty stakes to keep it in place, our Sport-Brella was the envy of everyone as they took turns sitting in it with us.

When you are climbing down the dunes to the beach with your cooler and kids in tow, portability and set-up are necessary concerns. It’s fairly easy to set up the Sport-Brella. The size does make it a bit more difficult but you don’t have 50 different parts to sort through and put together. You just unscrew the bottom of the pole which exposes a telescoping base, then open it as a regular umbrella. There are two side flaps that are clipped to the top which you can easily undo and tack down. I was very proud I was able to do it all myself as my hubby took pictures. Taking it down and putting it back in the included carrier was simple once I figured it out.

As you can see, there is plenty of room to sit on a chair without feeling clausterphobic. You can also just layout a blanket and chill. There’s plenty of room for the whole family, well not if you’re like that family on 19 Kids and Counting . . . You can even stand it upright and there are ropes to secure it.

Costco has the Sport-Brella for about $43 and Sport Authority has the XL on sale for $69.99. This is definitely worth the price and I know we’ll be using it a lot from now on!

Win It!

One reader will win their very own Sport-Brella (8′ canopy).

Mandatory Entry!

Visit Sport-Brella and tell me which item is your favorite!

Extra Entries!

Subscribe to Cocktails With Mom
Follow me on Google Friend Connect (on the right sidebar)
Like Cocktails With Mom on Facebook
“Like” Sport-Brella on Facebook
Blog about this giveaway then leave me the link! ( 5 entries)
Add our text link or button to your blogroll (5 entries)
Enter one of my other “Cool Giveaways! (located on right sidebar)(1 entry)
Follow Cocktails With Mom on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway! ( once Daily)

I just entered to win a 8′ Sport-Brella Canopy from @momcocktails http://bit.ly/aemvYC

STOP!

You MUST leave your email address in one of the comments or have it in your profile so I can get in touch with you.

Contest ends, August 29, 2010 at 11:59pm CST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen.Open to the US only!

Disclosure: I received a Sport-Brella XL for the purpose of this review. The thoughts and views expressed in this review are strictly my own honest opinions. I was not compensated in any other way.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.