To Sunbathe or Not to Sunbathe on the island? That is the question.

Wow. Watched the video on their web. Question: Does it have to come completely apart every time or is there an intermediate configuration that can be folded and carried around in the back of the Jimny? Also, I see they make chairs, do you have any experience with those?

YES, it even comes with a longer bag when you don't need it to come fully apart. It is amazing, and, (BTW) I have NO affiliation with this company. I believe the structure is based on a telescoping photography tripod. It's very similar. I have no experience with the chairs. We have chairs at our villa in St Barts. It took up a fair amount of space in our Tumi checked bag when we took it to New Zealand, but was WELL worth it. I believe it weighs about 7 pounds?
We had a sudden large wind hit us while on one of the beaches in Abel Tasman park one day. Any of our previous umbrellas would have done what I like to call the "Mary Poppins", but this one survived unscathed. Every detail of beach life has been well thought out. There are also bags included that you can fill with sand. We haven't needed them yet, but they look great.
 
Thanks. Umbrella looks like a winner. The villa's are semi-permanent and the one we bought at the surf shop in St Jean didn't survive the first gust on Gouverneurs.
 
We own and have used the Telebrella for trips to Corsica and Bequia. While it’s probably the best available compromise between portability and strength, it still struggles a bit with strong winds. The telescoping spokes tend to get pushed in with winds > 20 mph. To remedy this, I was able to install small pins at the joints to act as stops, but I still wouldn’t want to test this rig against the Christmas winds of SBH.
Our solution has been to store a Frankford umbrella with our villa owner for our twice yearly trips. While they’re heavier to carry (12-15 lbs), these things are pretty much wind-proof. When the small plastic umbrellas on Saline are doing kite imitations (fun to watch but not to experience firsthand), the Frankford is rock solid.
To echo some of the comments above, a little sun exposure/tanning is probably pretty harmless. But baking under the sun for hours is a major risk factor for multiple types of skin cancer, including melanoma. As someone who operates on these cases, I cringe watching people fry themselves at the beach. Then there’s also the issue of premature skin aging from all the sun damage.
The implication by the original poster that skin cancer treatment is some kind of racket conceived by greedy doctors or venture capitalists is absurd. Every cancer case we see is heartbreaking, particularly those which were likely preventable. Even the non-life-threatening skin cancers leave permanent scars which reconstruction can only mitigate but not erase. I suspect that the overwhelming majority of health care providers would be quite happy to see fewer of these. Through public education, perhaps we eventually will.
Sorry for the sermon. Perhaps we should return the conversation to the topic of umbrellas?
 
I believe there may different generations of this umbrella? All I know is the wind that came up out of nowhere while we were on a beach recently in Abel Tasman would have destroyed any other umbrella we have ever owned. This one has a "two tier" design that allows wind to flow through the umbrella. We have friends who gate check an umbrella that is made for an outdoor table, but for us, that would be overkill. I have had basal cell carcinoma three times. NOW, we wear full block and sit under our wonderful umbrella all day! Hope this helps.
 
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