Dans Papers - May 11, 2007 - Shelter from the Sun

The sun causes damage - we should all know that by now. It is dangerous to spend extended periods of time lounging about under the harmful UV rays. While sunblock does a great deal to minimize the amount of UVA and UVB rays that reach our skin, it is not a perfect deterrent and should be used in conjunction with the avoidance of continued exposure to the sun. While a beach umbrella works to block the sun's rays, it is not the most efficient way to take care of your skin.

When I was a kid, my parents would coat me in sunblock and let me spend the entire day splashing in waves, fishing, running about on the sand and sleeping on an oversized towel. The only rule was that I had to come back every so often to get re-covered in sunblock. One day, a family friend (who was almost as fair as I) was sleeping under the shade of a beach umbrella. He slept for hours. I would come and go, getting a new layer of SPF 30 (the highest at the time) spackled on my skin and noticed the umbrella's shade kept shifting. By the end of the day, my parents' friend woke to find that the sun had shifted completely bathing him in its rays. He was bright red. "Let this be a lesson to you," my mother told me. Since then, I've discovered a better way of prevention - the beach tent.

At first they were just regular old camping tents that we trucked down to the beach. Inside, we stored towels, food and drinks and even a pillow or two. My father would set it up while my mother covered me in sunblock. Then, like always, I was set free. It was a much safer time back then. When I was tired, I'd sleep in the tent. I remember it being stuffy, but I was protected from the sun. Outside, my parents still sat under umbrellas, but I had made the tent my place to escape from the sun and catch up on sleep.

Today, the beach tent industry is booming. Muggy tents of yesteryear are gone. Modern materials have created easy to assemble, breathable havens from the sun. No longer just large enough for two people, these tents come in all sizes and shapes, not to mention enough colors to match your swim trunks.

ABO is a leader in the beach tent industry, creating lightweight, easily assembled "shelters" that can cover all your needs. From the Pocket Shelter, which is 5-feet wide and 3.5-feet high and only weighs 2 pounds to the Go-Zebo Screened Gazebo, they've got it all. The Go-Zebo stands 8-feet-tall and 11-foot-square. While the sides are see-through mesh, the top is covered and claims to offer sun protection equivalent to SPF 50. In the middle of ABO's spectrum is a six-person shelter, which has specially treated nylon offering a SPF protection of 35. What makes it great is that it assembles in seconds.

For something more permanent and a bit classier, the Sirio Gazebo may be the way to go. If you live on the beach and want something that doesn't need to be assembled and disassembled every day, a whimsical, canvas gazebo is great. Though not treated with SPF protection, it does block some of the UV rays and at almost 144-square-feet it gets you out of the direct sun with plenty of room for friends. Not to mention it is more attractive than normal tents.

If you want to raise the bar one-step further and skip the beach, Exclusive Tents (www.exclusivetents.com) has the Vundu Pontoon Tent. It is a tented houseboat with two bedrooms, a bathroom, shower, living area and kitchen. Designed for tours up the rivers of Africa, the tent rests on a catamaran hull that would be perfect for trips on the bay on calm seas. Exclusive Tents also offers other tents ranging from 130-square-feet to 3670-square-feet which will blow your mind.

If you're in a jam, you can always pull out that old camping tent you used to use on your NOLS trips. This summer the key to staying out of the sun's harmful rays is to wear the proper SPF sunblock and spend as much time out of the direct sun. Playing at the beach is great, especially if you're made in the shade.