Hula Shadehouse

I got this shelter because I desired a lighter weight multipurpose shelter that could stand up to the winds. I had two main uses in mind. Rain shelter when car camping and sun shelter at the Texas beach (which means constant 10-20 mph winds). Up until now I’ve used various instant canopies. They require some strength, both to carry (40-70lbs) and to deploy (shoving them up the last few inches to snap). I’ve had them destroyed by the winds. I’ve used it a few times in the car camping role (have yet to take it to the beach). Getting the shelter assembled was my first worry. Specs say it weighs about 15 lbs which seems pretty close, it comes in a nice bag with carry handles that makes hauling it to site easy. Assembly is done by assembling two very long steel poles. Putting this thing up does require some open space, if you’re in a tight area it’s going to add some challenge. You thread the poles though the shelter and then bend them down to attach them to the “feet” of the structure. There is a spring clip in each corner that slides into the bottom of the steel pole. It can be done by one person (though the structure tends to scoot around a bit) but is easier done with two. This step requires moderate strength, though not nearly as much as trying to force an instant canopy. All four of the “feet” of the canopy are connected by a nylon strap, so after you have all the poles attached the structure is held under tension by what amounts to a continuous strap running around its base. This means it can be picked up and moved with easy. These straps are held together with buckle clips so you can unstrap them if desired. If unstrapped you could compress or extend the legs making the shelter a little higher or lower. After you get the structure up you assemble the reinforcing hula tube. It’s made of aluminum and snaps together to form a large ring. The whole ring is held by the internal shock cord. Getting the half circle together is easy, getting the two halves together can be a little challenging. If you have two people it’s easy, just push the hoop from both sides compressing it. If you have one person you have to shove it against a tree or wall or rock. After it’s together it fits over top of the shelter and is externally strapped/clipped on. It provides body and tension to the shelter. Takedown is a bit easier. The only challenge being the hoop. After that’s done the rest of the shelter comes down pretty easy. With two people we went from start to in bag in 5 minutes. So far I’ve been happy with the functionality of the shelter. The interesting dome/square hybrid design with shade running down the legs seems to give good coverage. It may not be 100% shade but if you sit in the shelter you can see it’s between the sun and you. The material is similar to tent rainfly material so I’m sure it will be fine for direct precipitation. The dome part of the design guarantees no water will be trapped causing a wet sagging failure. The shelter was big enough to fit over a picnic table on top of a concrete pad at a state park. It was tall enough to cook under using a Coleman stove with no fire or melting dangers. The non-symmetrical design (one side is lower than the other) gives positioning options to be more flexible. If you undid the straps you also have a little more flexibility in your coverage. I haven’t had a chance to take it to the beach yet to see how well it handles wind. Given the design I’m optimistic. Understand there is NO WAY the included stakes are going to hold it down in sand. You’re going to need different anchors for that.

Replaced my Large Shadehouse with the Hula Shadehouse and am pretty happy. This one is a better size for my needs, a bit easier to set up, and stood up well to the wind.

Got this for camping, but recently used it on Oval Beach in Michigan (great beach by the way). Very easy to setup and take down and provides lots of shade. We had several people ask us about it each day we were at the beach. Tips - pitch it so the low side is into the wind, and get some sand/snow anchors (little nylon parachutes). Bury these at least 12" down (into wet sand if possible).

Very easy to set up. Provides a ton of shade, and lets the wind through too. I have shopped for a long time looking for the perfect shade for boating trips. I knew I wanted a Kelty, but the older models got such bad reviews, that I held off. Glad I did. This thing is a breeze to set up, and looks really cool too.