35 Beach Gear Essentials You'll Need This Summer
These chairs, coolers, towels and games will ensure you have a relaxing, enjoyable day at the beach.
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Beyond the absolute necessities — effective sunscreens, beach towels, quality swimsuits and of course, delicious snacks — there are a few key beach essentials that can make your trip to the shore even more enjoyable and easy-going.
A lock box can keep your personal items safe as you swim in the ocean, a Bluetooth speaker can blast an upbeat playlist and the right hat, cover-up dress, sunglasses and sandals can elevate your look, protect skin from the sun and make walking on the sand or boardwalk much easier. Even packing some entertaining games for the beach can add an extra level of fun to your trip.
I've rounded up the best beach tents, chairs, games, blankets, hats, sunglasses and more that'll upgrade your day trip or family beach vacation, including some of my personal favorites and top-tested picks from the Good Housekeeping Institute. As someone who lives a short distance from the beach and goes every summer, I believe you're going to want to throw these beach essentials in your travel backpack, tote bag or luggage so that you'll be shore (see what I did there?) to have a fantastic time.
You'll need a large bag to hold all your beach essentials. This tote has multiple pockets along the side for smaller items and a large zippered compartment to hold towels, toys and swimsuits. Not only is the mesh fabric more suitable for wet towels, it also makes the bag lightweight and easy to fold the flat to fit inside a suitcase.
Coleman Pacific Breeze Products Easy Setup Beach Tent
Particularly if you have a baby or a toddler, a beach tent or canopy provides the perfect escape from the sun for a nap during a long day at the beach. This canopy tent offers tons of shade, has windows for more air flow and is more stable than an umbrella if you're facing gusts of wind. We also love that this lightweight tent has a UPF 50+ rating to further protect you and your little ones from a sunburn.
Lands' End Cabana Stripe Beach Towel
You cannot head to the beach without a towel to lay on and dry off with. Our experts ranked this Lands' End towel as one of the best beach towels for its extra-long size and plush cotton terrycloth fabric. The towel is absorbent, thick and fluffy.
"It's a towel I would want to wrap up in after a cold swim," said one GH analyst. Choose from four striped options and you can even personalize it for an extra fee.
Mac Sports Heavy Duty Beach Wagon
The beach is meant to be relaxing but there's nothing relaxing about lugging towels, boogie boards, sand toys and snacks from the car to the sand. This all-terrain wagon can hold up to 150 pounds and features large, treaded wheels designed to roll easily in the sand. Plus, it collapses down to about 10 inches thick so that it will fit in the trunk.
Swimming in the ocean and strong ocean breezes can easily mess up your hair, which will get knotty if you don't brush it out ASAP (I speak from experience). Our Beauty Lab experts named the Wet Brush as the overall best hair brush for it's flexible, soft bristles that gently detangle wet or dry hair. I love using this brush at the beach after swimming because it unknots my hair with ease without ripping out tons of strands.
Stanley The All Day Madeleine Midi Cooler Backpack
Carrying a cooler just got a whole lot easier with this neat backpack. I love that I can fit ice packs, drinks (up to 20 cans!), snacks, lunch and sunscreen in the bag and carry this cooler backpack from the car to the shore hands-free. When I bring this bag to the beach, my fruit and canned cocktails stay ice cold for hours. My insulated 32-ounce water bottle even fits in the side mesh pocket.
The Landmark Project NWF 6-Panel Dad Hat
A baseball cap is your chiller version of a sun hat — it's casual, keeps your hair tame from the wind, shields your face and looks great on just about everyone. This navy blue hat from The Landmark Project has an adjustable band in the back and it withstands sweat well. I love that a portion of the proceeds goes to the National Wildlife Federation to support their environmental and conservation efforts.
Hawaiian Tropic Skin Defense Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50
The warmth of the sun may feel nice, but the potential damage UV rays can cause are not nice. Protect your skin with this "beachy" scented sunscreen.
Our experts in the GH Beauty Lab gave this chemical sunscreen perfect scores for not drying or irritating skin. It also received high scores for absorption, not feeling oily on skin, effective sun protection and more. Throw this in your beach bag and remember to reapply!
Brush on Block Mineral Sunscreen Powder SPF 30
Powder sunscreens are ideal for protecting your hairline, scalp and face from sunburns. This SPF 30 sunscreen powder is sweat- and water-resistant for up to 80 minutes. You can even dust this over makeup when it's time to reapply for some shine control and extra protection.
Tommy Bahama Wavy Marlin Deluxe Backpack Beach Chair
Laying on a towel all day is not as comfortable as sitting in a chair, but lugging a beach chair is my worst nightmare. The lightweight Tommy Bahama's backpack chairs are much easier to carry, thanks to comfortable shoulder straps that do not dig into your skin. One of our GH testers appreciated how easy it was to recline back and called this a "top-notch" beach chair.
RELATED: The Best Beach Chairs You Can Buy
JBL Charge 5 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
It's not a beach day without playing some catchy tunes. This waterproof outdoor speaker is IP67 waterproof and dustproof to withstand the elements and has 20 hours of claimed battery life, so you won't have to worry about it getting splashed or it dying midday. "It's super rugged, durable and perfect for listening to music on the beach," said GH Media & Tech Reviews Analyst Olivia Lipski.
SAFEGO Portable Indoor/Outdoor Lock Box
There's always the conundrum of having to leave your valuables on the beach blanket if you want to take a dip in the ocean. You can feel more secure going if you have this portable lock box that requires a three-digit custom combination code or a key to open it. It can fit a phone, keys, wallet and any other small items. That way, you can surf the waves without worrying about your phone being stolen from your bag.
beeposh Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set
Take a break from the old-school sand castle toys and let your kids use their creativity to play a sea-themed Top Chef with this cookware play set designed for the sand. Children can sift sand into the mixing bowl, scoop up shells and seawater with measuring cups and mix it all up with a whisk and a spoon to make their very own "beach cake."
Swarovski Regular High Bridge Fit Sunglasses
Stop squinting in the bright sun and start wearing protective, effective sunglasses. I was always wary of spending too much on sunglasses, but after finally trying a high-quality pair with polarized lenses, I'll never go back to my old ones. These sleek black glasses with a subtle jewel on the ear piece make me feel like a fashion icon and the reduced glare from the polarized lenses make reading at the beach on a sunny day much easier.
All that swimming in the surf, walking in the sand and sweating from the heat calls for extra hydration. I love these GU Energy tablets that are essentially 12 electrolyte drinks in one compact tube. Drop one tablet in a reusable water bottle and you've got yourself an extra-hydrating, delicious drink for the beach.
The tablets contain 320 milligrams of sodium and 55 milligrams of potassium and comes in delicious flavors like lemon lime, orange, strawberry hibiscus, strawberry lemonade and tri-berry. Each pack comes with four tubes, giving you 48 servings in total.
Nothing beats fresh fruit and veggies at the beach. I use this 10-piece food storage set from Snapware to store cherries, carrots, celery and pasta salad. These BPA-free plastic, stackable, lock-lid containers easily fit into a cooler bag and come at an amazing price of just under $15.
TYR Nest Pro Performance Goggles
If you're not a fan of how saltwater burns your eyes, consider wearing goggles when you swim. TYR was always my go-to brand for goggles as a competitive swimmer. While I prefer goggles with mirrored lenses for a pool, this pair with translucent lens is preferable for the beach. These goggles with UVA/UVB protection for your eyes allow you to see aquatic life underwater and swim without removing your contacts.
Considering all the sand that gets stuck to feet, sandals are a must-have for the beach. This durable pair is available in over 60 colors and is a staple summer shoe for GH Institute Senior Textiles Analyst Emma Seymour. "They’re affordable while holding up great to extended use. The Velcro closures make them easy to take on and off," she said.
The polyester upper footbed and rubber outsole are water resistant and the hook-and-loop closure secures your feet as you walk up and down the shore or boardwalk. The straps are made of fabric, which isn't the most waterproof material, but they make for great beach sandals as long as you don't fully submerge your feet in the water. If you need footwear for that, instead opt for water shoes.
If boredom strikes at the beach or the ocean is too cold to swim in, this classic beach game will get everyone moving. Kids will have a blast throwing the ball back and forth and catching with the Velcro-backed paddles. Parents and children can play this game together with each set including four paddles and four balls. Online reviewers said the Velcro still works even while wet, so feel free to play in the sand or the water.
Gather your friends or kids for a Spikeball tournament to see who will be the ultimate champion. The goal of this addictive game is simple: Players have to bounce the ball on the mini trampoline net without letting the ball hit the sand.
It takes up less space to play Spikeball than other beach games like volleyball, frisbee or even a game of catch. And considering how lightweight and easy to pack the game is, it's the perfect activity for teens and adults to bring along to the beach.
Isabella (she/her) covers commerce and product-related content in the home, lifestyle, fitness, technology and beauty. She graduated from Binghamton University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in English: Literature & Rhetoric. Before joining GH, she was an editorial assistant at Prevention, where she covered health topics and celebrity news.
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