Beach Umbrellas Are Dangerous and Inconvenient. I Love This Majestic (and Safe) Alternative.
If there’s no wind on a given day, or if the wind isn’t blowing continuously in one direction, the Shibumi Shade will be stymied into listlessness. On windless days, it is more window draping than sun sail.
I’ve found small workarounds when this happens, adjusting the shape of the Shibumi Shade to form it into a kind of lean-to. While doing so generates shade, though, it also deprives the shade of the sail-like properties that make it so enjoyable to use.
It also takes up a substantial amount of real estate on the beach. As a result, the design is banned by some communities, particularly on the east coast (though public support has also led to some easing or rewriting of public ordinances). If you’re planning a beach trip this summer, it’s worth checking your local beach policies before deciding to pack a Shibumi Shade.
If your beach has banned it, we’re also fans of the beachBUB, a more classic monopole umbrella that is weighed down by a sandbag to keep it from flying away and wreaking havoc.
The Shibumi Shade is bound, for better or worse, to the wind. Imperfect as this natural arrangement is, it is also essential to its beauty. And in its faults is a reminder of the wider world around you: the sun, the sand, and all the things you came to the beach to enjoy.
How many objects in this life can, in their failure, remind you that nature isn’t a thing that can be mastered every second of the day? It’s temporary. All of it. And that’s more than enough to think about on the beach while you wait for the winds to change in a more favorable direction.
(Editor’s note: In the time since this was published, Shibumi came out with attachable sand anchors, which keep the shade taut even when there’s little to no wind — they’re called The Wind Assist. We’ve tested them, and they pretty much eliminate the only issue we’ve had with the Shibumi. Of course, a set of two is a $30 add-on to an already expensive shade, so there is that.)
This article was edited by Alexander Aciman and Christine Ryan.
