Memorial Day is the Unofficial Start of Beach Chair Season
Memorial Day weekend is the best beach day of the summer because it's the first real one. There’s a bit of extra magic, since the water is still cold enough to make you gasp, and you don’t have to spend twenty minutes finding an unoccupied patch of sand.
It’s also the weekend that tells you what kind of setup you’re working with. The chair you bring, the shade you rely on, and the gear you carry across the sand are probably the same pieces you’ll keep using through September.
So if something already feels annoying on Memorial Day, it’s not likely to get better by July. Before beach season gets fully underway, it’s worth making sure the setup you’re starting with is one you actually want to live with all summer.
The Chair You Tolerated Last Year May Not Deserve Another Season
Beach chairs have a bad habit of staying in rotation long after they’ve worn out their welcome. The chair might still technically work (with some effort and scary groaning under load from the cheap plastic and metal frame), but “still works” and “works well” are not the same thing.
While it may seem like an unimportant detail, the beach chair is your primary tool during your hours-long beach day, and a poor seat can get old quickly. A good beach chair should be portable, comfortable, and sturdy enough to handle repeated beach days, with added points for style and aesthetics.
Take SUNFLOW’s Shore Thing Chair, for example. Our flagship backpack beach chair weighs 8 pounds, with comfortable cotton straps built for the walk to and from the car as much as for keeping you comfortable on the sand. Once you’re set up, the adjustable recline lets you lie back to soak up the sun or sit up to indulge in your favorite snack in between trips to the water.
For those of us who prefer not to have our buns toasting from the hot sand, there’s the Tall Sand Dune Chair. Sitting 17 inches off the sand, the Sand Dune chair gives you a more typical seating position while retaining the recline options of its shorter cousin.
Both chairs are made with rust-resistant powder-coated aluminum and marine-grade fabric designed for repeated exposure to salt, sand, and UV. The best beach gear should last more than one busy summer, and SUNFLOW’s chairs are built to last.
Shade Without The Parasol
Fun in the sun is great and all, but even in late spring a few hours of exposure can get painful fast. Shade is as important an element for a good beach day as your chair, but the traditional options leave a lot to be desired.
The usual shade setup can become its own major project, especially when the ocean breeze is coming in. Your typical beach umbrella is unwieldy to carry from the car and even worse when you’re trying to plant it straight in the sand. A light breeze can send it flying, so you have to spend a lot of time and effort digging a hole deep enough to secure it.
SUNFLOW’s Sun Shade is designed to solve the shade problem without adding another oversized piece of gear to the trip. It attaches directly to the chair, so there’s no freestanding pole or extra bag to manage.
The UPF 50+ fabric blocks 98% of UV rays and creates overhead coverage right where you’re sitting. When you reposition the chair, the shade moves with you instead of forcing you to reorganize the whole setup around a drifting patch of shadow.
The Best Time To Upgrade Is Now
Memorial Day sits in a unique place on the summer calendar. Before the weekend rolls around, you’re still planning for the season. Afterward, you’re in it.
Summer weekends fill quickly, which means you have a short window to get your beach setup updated before you find yourself packing the ripped old beater chair for the Fourth of July barbecue. Worse still, a lot of our best gear is sold out by the time June comes around.Our most popular colors and accessories tend to thin out as summer progresses. Ordering before the first big weekend gives you a better chance at the setup you actually want. It also means you’re not settling for what’s left in July or promising yourself that next summer will be the one where you finally replace the chair.
Summer’s Starting Line
Memorial Day weekend is the starting line for summer. After this, the weekends come fast, and every Saturday and Sunday from here through Labor Day is a potential beach day. More than likely, whatever you bring this weekend is what you're bringing for all of them.
The Shore Thing, Tall Sand Dune, and Sun Shade are all available now on SUNFLOW's website, with personalization available on the Shore Thing Basic Bundle in solid colors. Summer's here, and SUNFLOW is providing everything you need to help you enjoy it. Now through Memorial Day shipping is free for orders over $150, so another reason to shop now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Memorial Day a good time to upgrade beach gear?
Memorial Day weekend is the first extended beach weekend of the summer for most people, and whatever setup you bring is likely what you'll use through Labor Day. Upgrading before the first long weekend means full color and product selection, delivery before the season ramps up, and a chance to test new gear on a relatively relaxed holiday weekend rather than mid-summer when the beaches are at peak capacity.
What's the difference between the SUNFLOW Shore Thing and Tall Sand Dune chairs?
The Shore Thing is SUNFLOW's lightest chair at 8 pounds with a low-profile seat close to the sand, three recline positions, and 11 color options starting at $99. The Tall Sand Dune is the tallest model with a seat height of 17 inches above the sand, three recline positions, and a 10-pound carry weight. The Shore Thing favors portability and a laid-back feel, while the Tall Sand Dune prioritizes comfort and ease of getting in and out.
Does the SUNFLOW Sun Shade work with all SUNFLOW chairs?
Yes. The Sun Shade attaches directly to any SUNFLOW chair, including both the Shore Thing and the Tall Sand Dune. It uses UPF 50+ fabric that blocks 98% of UV rays and adjusts to provide overhead coverage that moves with the chair when you reposition. It can be purchased alongside a new SUNFLOW chair or added to a SUNFLOW chair you already own.