Kelty Sunshade: The Kelty Sunshade is a freestanding, floorless shelter that provides a comfortable outdoor dining or lounging area on picnics or at the beach. With easy-setup Shockcorded fiberglass adjustable poles, the Kelty Sunshade can be positioned to increase headroom or create a lower profile to maximize shaded area. Complete with stakes, guyout cord, pole bag and stuff sack, the Kelty Sunshade’s got all you need for super easy shade setup for summertime fun! Technical Info: Medium: Shelter Area: 40 to 65 sq. ft., Interior Ht: 6 ft. 3 in., Pack Size: 6 in. x 30 in., Poles: 3 12.5mm Fiberglass, Minimum Weight: 9 lbs. 7 oz., Packaged Wt: 10 lbs. 4 oz.; Large:Floor Area 75 sq. ft., Minimum Weight 10 lb 8 oz. Dimensions 120″ - 147″ x 120″ to 147″ x 90″ - 110″, Number of Poles 3, Pole Type Fiberglass poles, St uff Size 7″ x 30″.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Large Kelty Sunshade
We needed this for vacation with our three boys. My brother in Law bought one of the standard four legged 10 x 10 sunshades, with four, telescoping metal legs. We got to compare the two, side by side on the beach.
The Kelty is cool looking, VERY lightweight to carry and store. Main issuss I had with it…if it’s windy, even with all the tie downs, it’s a struggle on sand. The wind can pull the pins out of the sand. Rocks would be helpful. The three sides where the poles are…block quite a bit of the view.
On the other hand, my brother in law’s standard canopy,…much heavier BUT, no view blocked, and fared much better in the wind..and more room for laying down under the canopy. The Kelty claims a large footprint, but with the tripod legs coming down with the fabric on them…less area to lay under.
If I were to do it over, and am going to the beach (driving)…I’d consider the metal, four legged canopy. If traveling far from your vehicle, the Kelty is much lighter.
5 Stars First Rate
I recently saw a couple of these shelters on a camping trip and knew I had to have one. After reading some reviews on the square footprint versions and heard they were difficult to set up,I opted for this because I typically have to accomplish this chore alone. I had this shelter up within five minutes all by myself and I’m a small person. The poles are some of the thickest and most heavy duty bungee type fiber-glass poles I’ve ever seen and it really pays off once the shelter is standing. It feels super sturdy. The poles account for most of the 10 pounds of total weight, but it’s not to heavy to carry a good distance. One feature that I thought showed great fore-thought was that there were two sets of eyelets in the bottom strap that the pole feet hook into. This would assure a snug fit over the years as the fabric stetches, otherwise you’d wish you had some way to take up the slack. I haven’t used the shelter in a high wind situation yet, but judging by the sturdiness afforded by the triangular shape… I’m sure it would do great as long as you staked it down with the six provided stakes (2 opposing stakes per foot). Plenty of room in the stuff sack elminated what’s always my biggest fear, getting it all back in the bag. No problems there. I’d definitely recommend this one to anyone.
4 Stars Good product, great company
I’ve now owned this shelter for 2 years. I primarily use it at the beach. For some, it might be a bit difficult to set up. The poles are a bit tedious to assemble, but I can set up the shade in about 10-15 minutes. Take down is more difficult since the pole sections tend to come apart as they are pulled from the shelter sleeves.
The included stakes are not adequate for holding in sand on a windy beach. I bought 6 dog screws from Lowes to hold it down. 5 gallon buckets filled with sand would also work well. I also bought 1 wall section that I move with the sun for added shade. The only con of the shelter is the limited headroom. I’m 6 feet tall and can stand up in the center, but then you have the roof in your face and cannot see out. There is a cave-like feel inside, but its fine once you are seated.
The real reason I decided to write this review is to praise Kelty. My shelter was ripped when a beach umbrella was blown into it. I contacted Kelty to buy new fabric, but they said send it in and maybe we can sew it for a small fee. Less than a week later, a new sunshade arrived at my door at no charge! I know if I ever need a new tent, it will be a Kelty.
5 Stars Kelty Sunshade
We bought the Kelty Sunshade (L) for use at the beach this year. In previous years, we had used first one then two umbrellas, as the family grew, to give us enough shade. With the new airline checked bag prices, I decided we needed something we could stuff in a suitcase.
The first 2x we set up the shade, it took 2 people about 15 min. Each setup after that got faster and easier. For easiest assembly, I recommend putting all of the tent poles through the sleeves first, before attaching any to the grommet. Attach the 1st pole to the grommet, then have someone hold it upright while attaching the other 2. When taking down, be sure to push the poles out of the sleeves, as pulling will cause them to come apart.
It’s great to use for giving our young kids shade in their wading pool, and easy enough to set up that it’s not a hassle even if using it for only an hour.
For use at the beach, this gives a much larger shade footprint than a beach umbrella. We’ve had 4 adults and 2 kids under the shade at the beach with no crowding. I use Sierra Sand Stakes to anchor against the wind, and have had no problems with 10-15mph sustained winds from the gulf.
Packing was easy, as the whole thing weighs only 10 lbs, and fits in a large suitcase.
Update: After a few days of setting this up on the beach as suggested above, I was faced with needing to do it alone. I found that if you push all of the poles through the sleeves, then flip the sunshade “upside down”, all 3 poles can then be attached to the grommet holes, giving you a completely assembled (upside down) sunshade…just turn it over and stake it down.
