Sunny Ocean Guide
Pick the canopy by group size, the pole by sand type and the ballast by wind — in that order.
Canopy size is a people question. A 1.8 m (6 ft) round umbrella covers about 2.5 m² of sand and seats two people comfortably. A 2.4 m (8 ft) round umbrella covers about 4.5 m² and seats four. If the group is larger, a pop-up shelter spans 2 × 2 m to 3 × 3 m of ground — but the 3 × 3 m dome only stands if each of its four corners is staked and the tray carries ballast.
Sand type decides the anchor pole. In firm packed sand, poles of 1.5–2.0 m hold well. In soft dry sand, drop to 0.5–0.9 m: loose grains cannot resist the leverage of a long pole. In saturated wet sand at the waterline, the limit is about 30 cm — beyond that the umbrella starts to tip.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
Wind decides the ballast. Weights are sold from 4 kg to 30 kg per anchor. The reference case: a 2.4 m umbrella standing in a 10 km/h onshore wind needs roughly 15–20 kg. Lighter wind and a smaller canopy can run lower; gusty conditions argue for the top of the range or a smaller umbrella.
The three choices interact. A 2.4 m canopy on a 1.8 m pole in soft sand is a lever waiting for a gust; the same canopy on a 0.7 m pole with 20 kg of ballast is a fixture. If the sand is loose, size down the canopy before you size up the anchor.
Back on the main page, the specification table puts these numbers next to the SPF, fin and wetsuit figures, and the five-step setup section walks the order of work on the sand.
Further reading