FEATHERSHADE v2
Setup Guide
SETUP
1. Don’t fight with the wind!
Once FEATHERSHADE has been set up, the wind can easily pass through it.
Whenever you are setting up or breaking down FEATHERSHADE, make sure you don’t create a “wind catcher” while doing so!
Always set it up starting with the poles on the fron/wind side. When taking down FEATHERSHADE, start disassembling with the poles on the other end.
2. Correct, damage-free pole insertion
FEATHERSHADE is made for use in sand or light gravel with a sand/gravel depth of at least 20 cm. It is not intended on lawns, pebble beaches or soils that are harder, denser or grainier.
NEVER push in the poles in by applying force on the upper one of the three pole segments!
This will bend the poles to the side and might break them. This is totally avoidable and does not constitute a product failure.
Use two hands at all times. One hand must always be on the bottom segment, the other one on the mid segment. Make sure to stabilise the bottom segment with one hand, so it cannot be pushed to the side while force is applied to the mid segment with the other hand.
It’s easiest to do this while standing, using your body weight to push down from above.
3. Basic Setup
❶ Whenever there is any wind, set up the sun sail lengthwise aligned with the wind. Fly the sun sail in wind to detect the exact direction by turning it slowly left and right until it moves symmetrically.
❷ Push the first pole on the front/wind side approximately 25 cm (half a pole segment) into the sand, using your body weight from above, as shown on the left. Keep hands and the pole dry and greaseless for a good grip. Then clip in the hook.
❸ Clip the second front corner hook into a pole, then push the pole into the sand as before, so that both poles are placed about 20 cm from the sail’s corner, bending the poles safely and putting the sail under tension.
❹ Continue with the remaining poles as in step 3 so the sun sail has good tension
4. Readjust sun sail to changed wind direction
If the wind changes, do the reverse process: unclip the hooks at the end (❹) and on in the front (❸), turn the sun sail left and right until the wind passes symmetrically again. Now insert the front pole (❸) so it fits the new direction and then do the same in the back (❹).
5. Fine-tune sun sail for maximum comfort
There are 2 ways to fine-tune your FEATHERSHADE for a pleasant beach day:
🅐 The further apart you place the poles on side away from the wind, the less the sun sail flutters in the wind, but the more it bulges.
🅑 If the sun sail bulges downward (reducing the headspace underneath), lower the sun sail hooks on the side away from the wind so more wind pushed it up.
6. Low sun setting
The easiest way is to move your towels, etc. with the changing shadow.
But you can additionally lower one or two of the clips on their poles, if the wind is not too strong. In that case, you need to change the angle of the pole on the lowered side as shown below.
2 POSSIBLE ISSUES
7. Sand to hard to push in the poles
Check first:
Make sure your hands are neither wet not greasy. The same applies to the poles, which can easily get wet on beaches with strong waves spraying water onto the beach. Driy/clean hand/poles if with towel if needed.
Reason why some beaches have hardened sand:
Rising sea levels have led to increased beach erosion. Some coastal communities fight this by building beaches out of a special mix of materials, only covering them with regular beach sand on the top.
Solution:
In this case, every beach goer, no matter if using FEATHERSHADE or a traditional umbrella, will struggle to put their device deep enough into the sand. Unfortunately, in these rare cases, you will be required to dig holes in order to place FEATHERSHADE deep enough.
In those cases, we recommend first digging by hand. Once it gets harder, its best to use a bottom pole segment held as low as possible and slowly move it downward in a circular movement, loosening up this sand/soil mix in order to dig a hole that is around 5-10 cm wide and 25 cm deep. Loosened material must be removed from time to time. Sometimes adding water makes it easier. When the holes are deep enough, the poles can be put inside and secured by filling the holes with the extracted material.
We are sorry for the inconvenience in these rare cases.
8. Wind turbulences near hills, building, etc.
Usually, wind blows horizontally/flat. But around obstacles, such as buildings or steep hills, wind can sometimes blow down from above right onto FEATHERSHADE, which pushes the sun sail down. This happens rarely, but in those cases, the best is to move either closer to the obstacle, to get in its wind shadow, or to move further away or to the side, to avoid the turbulences altogether.
BREAK DOWN, PACKING & CLEANING
9. Break down
When you break down FEATHERSHADE at the end of your beach stay, first unclip the sun sail from the 2 poles away from the wind (❶). Then move around so you are between the wind and FEATHERSHADE (❷) and unclip the remaining poles (❸), so the sun sail will fly away from you on a windy day.
10. Packing
Then disassemble the poles, and collect them next to each other, 2 balls/heads on each side. Also fold the sun sail, all 4 clips should end up on top of each other.
Then roll the poles tightly into the sun sail and push everything into the bag with the clips going in last.
Windy days:
On very windy days, you might struggle folding the sun sail. The good news is, that the sun sail is so small (unlike a beach hand that you can hardly carry in the wind), that you can simply put it in your bag, etc. until you reach a less windy place (your car, behind a building, …) to finish the bagging. This is what we recommend in those cases..
11. Cleaning
Clean with lukewarm water, a soft sponge, and mild soap. Do not iron or put into a drying machine. Do not store while wet or humid for extended periods.
(There’s a good chance, that FEATHERSHADE thus fine in your washing machine on a hand wash program, but we would not want your clips to somehow get stuck inside the machine and tear the sun sail. This is why we cannot recommend machine washing.)
