Beach Tent Sun Shelter | 10x10 FT

Why my wife bought something with such a clearly and poorly photoshopped product image I simply cannot fathom, and the results were (in my opinion) so miserable that I am sorely tempted to revoke her Amazon privileges /s. Lets break this failure of a product down piece by piece: -The stakes are short and thin-walled. Unless you get them down deep into the sand the whole thing falls over once you put tension on it with the bags, or even the wind. But forcing the stakes down bends them, irreparably, and it also shortens the whole (already uncomfortably low) final result. -the bags and ropes are elastic, this means that the whole thing loosens up as you set it up and is wobbly as all get-out no matter how much effort you waste trying to get it sturdy -the top is even more elastic than the ropes, which means that you can NEVER get it to sit flat. It will always droop unless you put so much tension into it that the stakes start bending or the bags of sand get pulled over, collapsing the sorry SOB The steps of setting up this thing are not hard in and of themselves, but you have to go back and forth fine-tuning so long and looking like an absolute goober while you do it that, at a certain point, you realize this crammed, floppy little sun shelter it isn't worth the anguish it is inflicting upon your holiday. And sure, it's lighter and cheaper than a framed beach tent (about the same as an umbrella in weight), but it's also not as sturdy, less comfortable to use, less attractive (just goofy) and such an almighty pain that any and all benefits pale in comparison. The whole setup could, in theory, be improved significantly with a heavy center stake, pushing up the middle of the setup pavilion-style and providing a heavier anchor point to work around. But that would add cost and weight, and make it harder to put down a big blanket underneath. So why bother with this gibberish mousetrap mess when there are so many other better options out there?