Compact Windproof Beach Tent

Video of beach tent

I needed a beach shade and researched different ones. I happened upon a company called Otentik. Their design is genius. It uses bags of sand to act as weights to hold down the tent. The two poles made it easy for one person to set up. The spandex fabric made it windproof.

If you're in the market to buy one, I would recommend buying theirs.

Again, their design is awesome, but I'm a maker and sometimes makers make stuff rather than buying it.

I made this red one last summer and it was perfect. I gave it to a friend and made myself a new one in fluorescent green... because why not.

You'll need the following:

7 meters of spandex material (1.5 meters wide)

1 package of paracord with tensioners

2 tent poles (approx 2 meters)

4 tennis balls

2 old socks

1 roll of string

FABRIC

Sewing is pretty simple. You don't have to be super precise. I did mine quickly and it turned out fine.

1) Cut 2 lengths of spandex to 3 meters

2) Sew these together using a serger with overlock. You can't use a standard stitch because of the stretchiness of the material.

3) With the remaining 1 meter, cut into 4 equal pieces as shown.

4) Fold in half and sew the sides together. You should end up with a pouch that is about 37.5 cm x 37.5 cm wide.

PARACORD

1) Cut 4 lengths 40 cm long

2) Cut 8 lengths 60 cm long

3) Tie the ends together with square knots making sure to leave about 6 cm or so loose at the ends. This will be useful later.

I did this step really quickly - you could sew it, but this way is actually pretty strong Watch these videos to see how to tie it. It's easier to watch than to try to explain.

Tying the tent loops

Tying the bag loops

The tent poles need to have soft ends. The reason is because you don't want it to tear the fabric. Also, the wind sometimes lifts the poles up and it may strike someone. This can happen if the tent fabric is not stretched tight enough.

1) Slice an X into 4 tennis balls and attach it to each of the ends of the tent pole.

2) Cut a sock so that it fits over the tennis ball.

3) Hot glue the edges of the sock to the pole.

4) Tie it tight using the string loop method shown in the videos

1) Cut 4 lengths of paracord 4 meters each.

2) Make a loop on one end and attach it to the tent. You can simply tie whatever knot you want, though.

3) Use a line tensioner to connect to two loops of the bag.

The line tensioner is useful because you may want to shorten the paracord if the beach is crowded. It spreads out pretty far.

It packs up pretty easily. It can get tangled, so I would suggest you make a crochet link with the paracord just to keep it organized.

Hope you all get a chance to get to the beach and enjoy the summer!

Here's a video of how to set it up: Otentik Tent Set Up

Full disclosure: I kind of feel bad that I copied their design and if they request that I take this down, I will consider it. It really is genius work and I hope they are successful. However, the maker movement is sometimes about making stuff yourself - either because you can't afford it or you simply can.

If any of the inventors are reading this, I'm sorry. I am sure you put a lot of hard work into designing it. Please message me if you want to discuss this Instructable.