When its summertime and the sun is shining, there is no better way to spend your day off than to take a stroll down to a nearby beach. If you don’t live in or around a beach area, you could fly in. Whatever the case, maybe it is really hard to argue with the fact that a calm day at the beach is a great way to vacation. Now, although spending a day at the beach in itself can be an awesome experience, especially if you are spending it with good company, you are not just going down to the beach empty-handed. You are probably going to need to gear up in a variety of ways to make sure that you can actually make your day even more memorable.
We want to make sure that we give you the best tips to make your day at the beach the stuff of legend. These days everyone wants to tell you that they have the best gadget that you can use everywhere, but a day at the beach is certainly special. These gadgets, games and even clothes are certainly going to help you have a great time.
Beach Gear - What You Are Going To Need
On a hot day, anyone can literally lose their cool if they are not well equipped to handle the heat. The best way to handle the heat is to have drinks and food to be able to keep your body temperature just right. Obviously, if you were to go down to the beach with a couple of soda cans in a bag when you go to reach for them, they are going to be a soda soup if you are lucky. Therefore the first thing that you would need to bring along is a cooler. Now, there are a lot of old school coolers that get the job done. Coleman and Igloo are still making some of the same coolers that they have made for years. Which you know are going to be reliable. Yet, in some cases, they are not as easy to carry for some people’s taste if you want to travel light. We will get to the best cooler options in a bit!
A cooler is not the only thing that you are going to want to carry along if you want to spend a day at the beach. This next option is going to keep your drinks cold and keep you away from buying plastic cups. Being environmentally conscious while on the beach is basically a must. Bringing along travel mugs and tumblers is going to help you save money on ice bags. It is also going to allow you to serve a cold drink and keep it cold for a longer period of time. These tumblers may not have been around for as long as coolers have, but they certainly serve as a great compliment.
The last piece of equipment that we want to talk about is a portable grill. Of course, don’t forget to bring an umbrella. We go over these in another part of the site. For now, though, we want to talk about something that is really going to upgrade your experience from average to over the top. This gadget is a portable grill. Portable grills come in all shapes and sizes. They also run on different types of fuel. There are many grill enthusiasts out there that are not going to mind bringing along charcoal and grilling up. That is not going to be ideal for some folks. Who may believe that propane could be a better fit for them!
Best Cooler To Take To The Beach
Coleman Rolling Cooler
If you are a bit old fashioned or you simply need to bring a lot of food and drinks to the beach try the Coleman Rolling Cooler. This is a pretty simple cooler with a pretty basic design. The main difference that you are going to find between this cooler and the typical blue cooler that you may have at home is that it is going to allow things to really stay cool for days on end. The promise is that it can keep ice cool on the inside for 5 days even if the cooler is exposed to 90-degree weather.
Best Tumbler
YETI Rambler 36 oz Bottle
If you are going to buy one of these and you are looking for brand name quality YETI is the brand that you are going to want to buy from. While there is an argument to be made that these products are a little on the expensive side the fact of the matter is these bottles are going to keep anything that you put in them at just the right temperature. They can also be an investment in your everyday life. There are of course other options from the same brand that essentially use the same type of technology. Yet, this is the one that you can take to the beach without any trouble. You can put virtually any type of drink that you want in there. Not only are you going to be able to have a cold sip all the time you are going to be eliminating all of the plastic cups that just make a mess. You are making your life easier and you are also helping the environment.
Best Grill
Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet Portable Tabletop Gas Grill
This particular grill may not be the top of mind for a lot of folks. Then again most grill experts don’t tend to love gas grills anyway. We are going to look at a charcoal grill here in a second. The thing with this grill is that it is essentially small and light enough in order to be actually portable. To the point where it is going to be a pain for you to have to carry it around. It is also large enough to where you could be cooking multiple steaks at one time. One of the problems with some of the other portable grills is that they are just too small. Sure, it makes them way easier to transport. When you are actually cooking though, it is not as fun.
Weber Jumbo Joe Charcoal Grill 18 Inch
If you are looking for a charcoal grill that is portable enough to take wherever you are going this can be the option. What could be one of the drawbacks? It may be too big if you are overly packed to go to the beach. As far as cooking goes though, you are going to be able to get pretty much the same results that you could get cooking in a larger grill at home. If you are a real grill aficionado this one of those products that you really want to take along for the ride.
Beach Games
The thing with beach games is that they really vary depending on what type of mood you are in and who you are actually taking this beach trip with. If you are taking the kids out to the beach and you want them to break a sweat while you are all there then you may go for a particular type of option. If on the other hand you are headed out to the beach with a group of friends then you are probably going to be looking for something that is essentially more party or tailgate oriented.
There are a couple of things that you may also want to keep in mind. For example, if you are headed out to the beach just with a group of friends or family in one vehicle the space that you have to take things in is going to be limited. So what would you rather take a large cornhole game or a grill? We are not saying that one is better than the other by any means. Yet, one of the things that we did look into was how practical or portable these games where. After this short disclaimer or heads up on our grading method, we want to give you 3 types of games that we thought about.
Pong Games
Beer pong has been a staple of college parties for generations. The object of the game is overly simple. You have a whole bunch of cups and participants have to get some sort of ball in the cup. If you are out with friends a large version of the classic game can certainly make your day at the beach a little more joyful. We don’t suggest filling up these larger cups with booze. Otherwise, your gaming experience is certainly not going to last all that long.
The Best Pong Game: Bucket Ball - Beach Edition
If you can believe it there are actually many different game manufacturers that have started making this particular game. To be honest it is not that hard to set up this game. You could potentially go to the supermarket and buy a whole bunch of buckets and a ball. With this set up though, you are getting a way to carry everything. Plus, these buckets are decent quality buckets that are going to last a considerable amount of time if you take care of them. The main reason why buying this game makes sense is just that it can be played by anyone. Again, we would not recommend that you fill the buckets as you would a normal red cup if you were playing this game in college. Yet, it is something that you can spend some pretty fun times with.
Spike Ball Games
Spike ball or whatever you have seen this game called in other places has really become popular in the last couple of years or even months with some videos on social media. It is a little bit like playing ping pong or volleyball. Where two teams or two people stand around sort of like a mini-trampoline. The idea is to bounce the ball off this surface and have the other people not be able to avoid having the ball hitting the ground. This is probably going to take much more effort than you would have imagined!
Best Spike Ball Games: Spikeball Game Set by Spikeball
If you are looking for more of a fiscal challenge while you are at the beach this is what you want to try. As we have said before, there is a good chance that you have seen people playing this game on a social media video. It is a challenging and fun game. If there is a downside to this game it could be that you need at least two to play. Mostly this is a 4 player game at best. Playing just with two people can be literally exhausting. It is a great way though, to have some fun and get a work out in. As far as the actual product, it basically comes assembled, not really hard to set up or carry around. In that department, it also gets an A.
Cornhole Games
These types of games are ultimate classics. Which, can more or less be enjoyed by anyone. Also, they are very portable. This is something that is obviously always a good idea with these types of games. They are one of those things that if you have kids you may have to sort of get them into it before you can expect them to just pick it up and play and show they are having a lot of fun. That is another downside to this game. Overall though, a small set can be a good idea.
Best Cornhole Game: Himal Collapsible Portable Corn Hole Boards
Cornhole is a classic. For a lot of you, your first experience with the game was on wooden boards in a local fair. Obviously taking a wooden board for a ride to the beach probably does not seem like a very attractive idea. That is why we gave the nod to the Himal Collapsible Portable Corn Hole Boards. They are the most portable cornhole boards that you could essentially find. They come with the typical bean bags. This is great because if you miss you won’t have to run after a ball that can end up in the ocean. Which, is actually something that could happen with some of the other games on the list. It is a classic game that can be enjoyed by everyone.
Beach Apparel
If you are going down to the beach chances are you know that you are going to need a bikini or swim trunks. There are a lot of brands that we could potentially explore as far as what the most comfortable type of swim trunks are. We could also talk about what type of bikini can fit a certain body type. We are going to leave all those options for another day though. When we mention apparel in this sense we are talking about more specific beach apparel that you could potentially need to make your day at the beach a more memorable one.
One of the most common forms of apparel that you could be wearing at a beach is a swim shirt. This is basically a shirt that you would be wearing for one of two reasons. One reason is that the water is a bit too cold. So you are going to want some help keeping your body temperature a little higher so that you won’t be uncomfortable while swimming. Another reason could be to help avoid sunburns. Covering up your shoulders which, is an area that tends to get hit pretty hard by the sun. Depending on why you would be wanting to buy this type of shirt, then you would look into a specific type of swim shirt. If you want it to keep you warm you are going to want to buy a shirt made from neoprene. If you just want to avoid the sun you may want to look into a polyester shirt. Which is not going to be as hot in general.
Another type of beach apparel that we want to talk about are actually aqua socks. These have really evolved over the years. These days there are a great way to really keep your feet relatively dry while you are able to have proper movement. There is nothing great about getting your regular tennis shoes wet and filled with sand. A lot of times you are not going to be able to walk and just feel comfortable overall while wearing sandals. If you happen to be looking for something to essentially fill that void these can be a great option.
Best Swim Shirts
Speedo Men's Uv Swim Shirt
If you are looking for a shirt that is going to allow you to swim without keeping you too hot this can be the best option overall. If you are looking for more of a tight fit this option may not be for you. Yet, this is a shirt that is going to be comfortable outside the water as well. That is something that can be important for people who want to swim, but also want to spend some time at the grill or whatever it may be.
Lemorecn Wetsuits 1.5mm Neoprene Rash Guard for Men and Women
If you are looking for a more professional type of shirt that is going to give you better movement while swimming while also keeping you warm, but having it not feel like a full wet suit this is certainly a shirt that you are going to want to look at. As was just mentioned this is a type of shirt that is basically in the middle. You are not going to feel uncomfortable outside the water. As you probably would if you are wearing a full wet suit. If you have a toned body it also allows you to still show it off!
Best Aqua Socks
Speedo Men's Water Shoe Surfwalker Pro 3.0
If you are looking for more of a classic fit this is essentially the product that you are looking for. It is a brand name product. The Speedo brand is certainly a household name in the water sports industry. So, you know that you can expect quality from them. That being said, there are reports that some of these come a bit undersized. The issue may not be a sizing issue. It seems more like a fit issue. If you are not used to wearing these they can feel a bit tight and hard to get on. So, ordering them a half size or even maybe a full size larger than your tennis shoes can help. As was mentioned before, there is no major need to sort of bash this particular product for the sizing issue. This is essentially something that is very common with these types of products.
Men’s Water Shoes Quick-Dry Beach
This is another option that you may want to look into. These are not your typical aqua socks. These shoes are designed to handle water, but also as a shoe that is going to be comfortable to wear even outside the water. Therefore, they are again a good idea for those people that may not be spending their entire day swimming. As regular aqua sox can get heavy when you try and walk on sand. If that is the case for you then you may need to look into this particular option.
Making Your Beach Day Memorable
As you can see there are a wide variety of ways that you could potentially make your day at the beach into a much more pleasant experience. Rather than just going there and sitting on a towel or something of that nature. It is always good to be prepared. In some cases, certain suggestions can even help your day at the beach be a lot cleaner. At the end of the day, you can pick and chose what activities you are most interested in. then try and find ways to essentially enhance those activities. Hopefully, we just gave you some more ideas on how to get that done!