If you live in the Northern Latitudes like I do on the 45th parallel, winter is finally a thing of the past and spring is in full swing. For Spring Break, my family escaped to Anna Maria Island, Florida for a little reprieve from the long winter. Last year our “old-school” umbrella finally took a shit so the search for a better replacement was in order. Owning a Nemo Dagger tent along with their Cosmo Lite pad and Nocturne sleeping bag, I thought I’d take a look at the offerings from Nemo Equipment. Low and Behold, The Victory Sunshade appeared to be just what I was looking for. Paired with the matching Victory Blanket, we were off to Florida with what appears to be the solution.
Nemo makes high quality tents, sleeping bags and pads so I knew the Victory Sunshade would be a winner before it even arrived. Featuring an open floor design, the Victory Sunshade offers about 90″x90″ of floor space. Staying sheltered from the suns harmful rays is essential so Nemo constructed the sunshade from SPF 50 fabric on top. Providing additional shade are mesh side walls. Allowing for great visibility up and down the beach should something interesting happen to walk by. Supported by two sturdy aluminum poles, the Victory Sunshade was able to shed some pretty stiff winds on our trip. On the interior, 2 handy mesh pockets are sewn-in keeping your keys and cell phone high and dry.
Included in the Victory Sunshade are 6 aluminum tent stakes, 2 guy wires, 2 aluminum poles and a pole repair sleeve. Set-up was a little more complicated and time-consuming than a typical umbrella. So having an extra set of hands to assist feeding the long poles through the tent sleeves is a must. Especially if there is any wind. The sunshade, once un-rolled, can quickly become a parasail. Once the poles are secured on all four corners, it’s time to stake them down. The included aluminum tent stakes are a great option for any surface but the soft deep sand we encountered. They just didn’t provide enough friction or depth to hold the sunshade to terra firma. So a cheap set of 9″ plastic stakes solved that issue.
Nemo Victory Sunshade Accessories
A highly recommended accessory for the sunshade is the matching Victory Blanket 4P. Measuring 90″x90″, this sturdy blanket was made for the Victory Sunshade. With metal grommets at all four corners of the blanket, securing it to the sunshade is as easy as it gets. Additionally, the blanket features a waterproof/sand-proof bottom mated to an attractive heavy woven fabric on top. Keeping the floor of the sunshade clean and dry. The Victory Blanket 4P is also sized to fit in Nemo 4P tents. Finally, the blanket can be rolled up and conveniently secured with the built-in elastic straps and handle.
Final thoughts: As always, I’m impressed with the attention to detail from Nemo. The Victory Sunshade saved my ass from getting burned by the scorching Florida sun. Set-up, although more complicated, gets easier each time you do it. The sunshade includes only 2 additional stakes and guy-outs despite the sunshade having 6 tie-down points. I would like to see enough guy-outs and stakes included incase all 6 were needed. Each day I had to untie the 2 included guy wires and reconnect them to the windward side of the sunshade. No biggie, just a suggestion.
Once we set-up this beach sunshade, there were many passers-by that either commented on it or took a picture of it. I fielded several questions from other beach goers and by the end of the week, there were two additional Nemo Victory Sunshades within sight of our own. Coincidence? I think not.
