Review - Wondered Fly Shade [Pic Heavy]

[JohnT]

Hi Gang.

Over the past few months I have been trying to figure out a light weight shade to take away when we travel with our Swag. After considering my gazebo and deciding against it because of size and weight I looked at a Dome Gazebo. What put me off these is the their cost and they can also be quite big.

About 3 days ago I come across some shades on ebay. These were two pole and rope shades. I put an offer in on one for $50 (selling for $67) but the seller counter offered with $65. A quick search on ebay showed them for about $35 so I mentioned this to the seller and withdrew my offer.

Today I was cruising the recent BCF catalogue and found that they had their Wonderer brand of Shade (http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/products/Wanderer-Fly-Shade.aspx?pid=250962#Recommendations) (similar to the one on ebay) for $39; I headed to my local store and picked one up. I thought I would do a review for you all incase someone else is looking for something similar.

I am not associated with BCF in anyway and give this review as 'my thoughts' only.

Step by Step unpacking and setup.

The unpack
When wrapped up in its bag, this shade is very small. I would say about 60cm Width x 20cm diameter. The bag is a white ripstop nylon as you can see. The share has measurements on the bag of 430cm Long x 370cm Wide x 200cm High.



The instructions for this unit are permanently sewn to the inner of the bag. This is good for me as I loose these things at the drop of a hat (not that they are really needed)



Taking the unit out of the bag, everything is wrapped up in one roll.



When unrolled we have the traditional pole and peg bags (seperate) and then the shade itself.



I was surprised to find that the poles were powder coated in black. I was expecting galve for the main poles. This unit has three poles. Two upright and one for the front. The two uprights are aluminium and the wide is fibreglass. All poles have either a stretchy cord or the metal link to keep them together.



The fibreglass poll spans cross the front of the shade within its own sleeve. Each end sits nicely in to a small pocket to stop it from falling out.



The tent pegs, as usual, are pretty crappy and will be replaced with better ones. This is no big deal and to be expected on cheaper products.



The Erection

Its windy where I live today (willy weather says 42km/hr) and I set the shelter up by myself. To do this, I pegged out all the guide ropes and then added the centre poles. All in all this took me about 5mins. One thing I noticed is, the guide rope from factory are not tied on well. I had to reattach some of them.



All in all I am pretty happy with the shade. I can stand up in it and it will provide us with the shelter we need even in the rain. The shelter is supposed to be SPF50 as well so thats always handy.

In todays wind, it was reasonably stable. I think I could improve the stability by better placing the guide ropes. With that said, I gave the shelter a pretty reasonable shake in this wind and it didn't feel like it was going to fall over.

Last but not least, I have the optional Dalmatian  Pack Up Assistant. To be honest, whilst I cant live without him, he is a little bit of the pain in the butt when trying to packup.



I hope you found this review interesting and helpful if you are in the market for a cheap shade.

John

[D4D]

Thanks for the review, I've been thinking about something like this for the swag. I use the awning on the Prado, however it would be good to be away from it sometimes. What's the distance between the poles?

[JohnT]

No worries D4D. I have an Awning as well but its good to have something a little more rain proof we well

I didn't measure between the poles but going by the dimensions its around 3.7mtrs.

[jaup]

Hi,

Can anyone confirm if this okay to use as a shelter in the rain? The page on BCF doesn't mention if it as okay as a rain shelter.

Cheers

[Fathom]

It's even impressive that you managed to work the word 'willy' in under the category of erection while reviewing the prophylactic from the sun.

I'll get back in my box now.

[rockinj]

Thanks for the review. Due to this I purchased one at gympie today, I had to race over there after work. 25 bucks. I thought it wwould be good to chuck behind the seat and 'forget' it at that price.

[jaup]

I bought one these and we hated it

It was hard to get it stable and to hold its shape.

If any one wants one super cheap then let me know!

Cheer's

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