I tried as much as I could loving this tent. As a concept, it is great, so I went ahead and bought one. I was excited when it arrived, package looked great. Took it to the beach for a test, followed directional and setup instructions. The only thing I didn't do it the exact directions is stretching the tent as much as possible, as I had concerns about the stitches getting ripped by multiple uses.
At first the tent was great, with a little breeze in the right direction, but when the wind was not enough the back part of the tent was too low to accommodate anyone. When the wind changed direction, and this happens many times per hour in New York City, I had to keep changing the poles locations, to prevent them from toppling. With a regular umbrella, it takes two seconds for me to close it down and enjoy the water when no one is sitting underneath it, but how on earth is this possible with the Neso tent?! The only other option is for someone to sit under it at all times and keeps switching the poles positions.
I thought that the solution for both the back of the tent and the poles problems was to buy two additional poles, this way the tent resistance to the wind will be minimal and I wouldn't have to go through the issues I went through the first time, so I went ahead and bought two additional poles, and boy was I wrong.
When I went to the beach with the Neso for the second time, armed with four poles for support, I set the tent up, then I spend the next 15 minutes chasing one pole after the other as they all fell and I completely failed to keep them steady for more than a few minutes at a time.
Finally, I decided to put the Neso back in my trunk, take a $15.00 umbrella that I had and saved the day.
If you want this concept to succeed, you need to figure out how to make larger bases for the poles to sit on and how to prevent the fabric from flying of the top of the poles.

Used this for a summer trip to the Outer Banks, N.C. We unfortunately chose a week where it was sunny but windy with occasional gusts over 40mph, but we remained in the shade because this tent did its job well. Very few umbrellas on the beach could withstand the test. The tent comes in a nice black bag with two thin straps which came in handy when our hands were full of other beach supplies. It is made out of a thick, stretchy material- very similar to a heavy-duty swimsuit fabric. Each corner has metal grommets and is reinforced by a leather-like material. The straps that are attached to the bag are thin but strong. The sand bags are made out of a lightweight stretchy material and are pulled closed by the aforementioned straps. There are two lightweight folding poles that come with the tent. The poles have a soft ball on one end (which is the end that faces upwards on the fabric) and a plastic square bottom on the other end (this end goes a few inches into the sand for stabilization).

Since this was my first time using it, there was a bit of a learning curve. First, when you are filling the bags make sure to fill them up to the maximum amount possible (not necessary if no wind gusts). For extra measure, I dug a small hole in the sand, placed the overly-filled bag in it, created a little mound in front of the bag and THEN covered it with extra sand so that any stray wind gust wouldn't lift up the tent and collapse it (see photo). Second, I made sure to angle the tent facing the wind. Then, I created an "X" as described in the instructions, snapped the two poles together and Voila! Tent complete. My brother liked the tent so much he will be ordering one as well for his travels. Some things that could be improved in this tent are: 1. Bag size. The bags could stand to hold a tad more sand. Even on mildly windy days the bags occasionally shifted which caused the tent to collapse. I filled each bag up to the maximum allowed and still had to create a wall in front to keep the bags from sliding in towards the center. 2. Poles. While you can order extra poles, it would be nice if the medium-sized tent came with four poles instead of two. The wind may have been kinder if it weren't hitting the lower part of the fabric. Also, there were days where wind direction made it so the lower part of the tent was directly facing the ocean, which obscured my vision of the shore somewhat.

Other than those two minor complaints, this is overall a great product. Lightweight, easy to set up and carry with the shoulder straps, and withstands the elements. Taking the tent down is as easy as dumping the sand, folding the poles, and stuffing everything back in the bag. If the elastic lasts, I intend to use this for years to come.

This tent is well made and very light to carry. I watched the videos on setting up, but will say it takes longer than you would expect. It's a much bigger deal setting up compared to an umbrella. Also, its imperative you stretch the corners as far as possible and really dump a lot of sand in them. Otherwise strong winds will take the tent down. For me, I got this hoping it was wind proof. So, my first go, not so much. I think, though, that maybe my second time setting this up will be better and will revert back when I have that chance to report on my success....or failure. I also purchased some lightweight plastic stakes to push into the sand, in addition to the sand bags. I think this should really help keep this bad boy up under gale force winds. I am also thinking, but have not yet acted on it, to get two more poles so that there is more room, but also more airflow under the tent. I will update this post after my next attempt.

Relatively fast and easy setup. The only caveat is that you need to position the high side into the wind for proper function. Sometimes this may not be ideal for shade or watching the ocean. Still, I would definitely buy it again because it worked great for two (and some times three) people and is not subject to getting blown down the beach like standard umbrellas. It's easy to carry and easy to fit back in its carry bag. I suggest taking along a flower planting shovel to fill the bags (this is very easy to do).

I purchased this item last summer, but I didn't have an opportunity to try it until last week. I was quite impressed by the ease of setup (took less than 5 minutes) and functionality. It shaded enough area for 2 of us to sit in reclining beach chairs. And as the sun changed location we simply picked up our chairs to move back into the shade. We did have to adjust the poles once or twice over the several hours we were out, but that was a small inconvenience considering the protection this tent provided. I enjoy sitting on the beach but I don't enjoy sitting in direct sun for hours on end, and the beach I prefer has little shade (scattered palm trees only) so this was a perfect accompaniment to a relaxing beach day. I purchased two extra poles, and while we ended up using 3 altogether, 2 would have sufficed. The tent is lightweight and at the end of the day it rolled up and slipped right back into its pouch, along with all 4 support poles. I would buy this product again and certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the beach but prefers to do so in the shade. After all, if you really want to get some sun exposure all you have to do is move out from under the tent!