The challenge of a day at the beach is…what do I bring? At the top of everyone’s list should be an umbrella, but how difficult is it to set up? Umbrellas come in all shapes and sizes but choosing your umbrella is just as important as choosing the device to keep it from tipping over. Umbrella anchors are similar in what they do but differ greatly in how they do it. First, and popular, is the auger style anchor. Auger style anchors are just that, an auger. Its a straight pipe with screw like threads on the bottom with a handle on the top. These anchors often come as tapered plastic (sometimes metal) screws of various lengths and widths, differing only in their thread count and angle of drive. This style of anchor is placed by pressing down while simultaneously twisting to desired, or allowable, soil depth.
The second style of umbrella anchors is the weight based anchors. This style incorporates a bag device made of plastic or fabric which is used as a retainer of sand or dirt. The bag device is filled with sand and secured to the the umbrella to keep it upright. This style of anchor often requires the use of a shovel or fill bucket to collect the recommended amount of sand to support the umbrella in use.
Lastly, is a newcomer to the scene which uses a ‘punch’ style of deployment. It has a unique approach, so unique that it has earned itself a US patent. It uses a ‘punch’ technique. A thin, long aluminum pole, or dowel, is pushed into the ground to remove a plug of soil. The plug is shaken out to the side and then another dirt plug is removed and shaken out and then another and another. This process is repeated until the dowel is buried half-way. An umbrella slide-stop is placed over the dowel and then the umbrella assembled. The novelty of this anchor is the umbrella is supported from the inside.
It keeps the umbrella upright while appearing to float on the ground. The anchor is near invisible. No digging, no twisting or grinding! Check out their website at beachbumbrella.com to see more!
