The popular Shibumi Shade has had a makeover. Here’s how the NC company says it’s better
Makers of the North Carolina-born Shibumi Shade say they’re offering some upgrades this season to their ubiquitous beach shelters.
If you’ve been to the beach in the past five years, you’ve seen Shibumi Shades.
They were invented in 2016 by three University of North Carolina grads who were looking for a lightweight, easy-up-and-down solution to sunburn and searing sand. Their two-color blue tarp that’s stretched over a tent pole and held aloft by the wind is now such a common beach accessory that swimmers coming out of the ocean have to scan the shore for a few minutes to figure out which one is theirs.
One of the changes this year may help with that.
A new color combo is on the way
Inventors Dane Barnes, his brother Scott Barnes and best friend Alex Slater had always planned to offer color combinations in addition to the now-familiar teal-and-blue version. But the Shibumi Shade took off so fast that in order to keep up with production, they decided to stick with the original.
Starting June 25, according to a press release from the company, a pink-and-orange shade will be available for order through shibumishade.com.
‘Putting the Shh back in Shibumi’
Since its creation, some people have complained the Shibumi Shade makes so much noise flapping in the wind that people sitting under or near it can’t hear the ocean.
This year, the company has introduced a “Quiet Canopy,” which operates like the original but instead of crisp ripstop fabric that sounds like a luffing sail in a hurricane, it’s built from soft, stretchy fabric the wind can move through. That comes in two sizes, the larger of which is on back order through July 5.
No wind? No problem
When they introduced the Shibumi Shade, the inventors said the shelter might have difficulty when there was either too much wind on the beach, or not enough, and under those conditions the day would probably be better spent doing something besides sitting on the sand.
But die-hard beach bums try it anyway, including on relatively rare days when the wind speed drops below the 3 mph needed to keep a Shibumi Shade aloft. And when the shade flopped uselessly down on their faces, to the amusement of their neighbors sitting under umbrellas, they complained.
Starting around Aug. 9, shoppers will be able to order Shibumi’s new “wind assist,” a kit with rubber clips that can attach to the back corners of the shade and to small bags the user fills with sand as anchors. The result is a less floaty but still shady structure for days when there’s “barely a breeze.”
This story was originally published June 22, 2024 at 2:29 PM with the headline "The popular Shibumi Shade has had a makeover. Here’s how the NC company says it’s better."
