Best Beach Umbrellas

In these health conscious times, most of us are aware just how vitally important sun protection on the beach is, especially if we have children, as a great deal of damage is done when we are young. The days of lying out on the sand, baking like a roast in an oven are over...at least they are for anyone who cares about their skin and health.

A beach umbrella provides great protection from those harsh, penetrating rays of the sun and if you're going to take the family out to spend a long afternoon at the beach, they really are a must. Umbrellas for sun protection have been around since ancient Greece, in the form of personal parasols. In China too, there are written references to collapsible sun umbrellas for ceremial carriages, dating back to 21 AD.

Beach umbrellas aren't just good for the beach either. They're also excellent for picnics, sports days and for putting up in the garden when you want extra shade. They're useful for providing shade cover for sandboxes, kids wading pools and a host of other outdoor applications. One of my friends uses one for her market stall and it looks very bright and colourful as well as providing protection..

In addition to being useful, they're good-looking, come in a variety of styles, sizes and coloured. The traditional brightly coloured umbrellas, such as the one at right, look gorgeous on the beach or set up in the garden. In fact, what would the beach be without these age-old, colourful contraptions?

The award winning ezShade portable shade (pictured at right) attaches to ANY beach umbrella and offers a UVF protection of 50.

This really is a fantastic product, as it's lightweight, versatile, easy to transport and once you're on the beach you can move it around in accordance with the sun's movements to ensure your getting maximum block-out.

In fact the ezshade blocks over 99% of UVA & UVB rays.It's very easy to set up, with peel and stick hook strips that instantly attach to any brand of umbrella.

As an added benefit, it has multiple panels so you can create just as much privacy and protection as you wish. It really is a fantastic idea.

Another great example of inventive thinking is the Sports -Brella umbrella, which also offers excellent protection -it's a beach umbrella,windshield, rain shelter and sun tent all in one.

This beach umbrella is big enough to shield mutliple people, yet is also lightweight and portable enough to take anywhere.

The Sports-Brella has an spf of 50 and protects against 99.5 percent of UVA and UVB rays. The whole thing sets up in seconds and it includes upper vents, zips and handy side pockets for storing valuables.