Sandless Beach Mats?
Sand has a sneaky side. It plasters itself onto the roots of your hair, finds a home deep in your swim trunks and decorates your ankles like an au natural kind of body art. Sand gets everywhere, and oftentimes no matter how carefully you stretch the corners of your beach towel to prevent those tiny sand mounds from collapsing inward, you’re still stumped when you realize the hotel room floor suddenly resembles Waikīkī Beach.
There’s actually a new secret weapon with which many people have yet to be armed – a sandless mat. The military originally developed it to keep sand and dust off of desert operations when helicopters and tanks neared. The 64-foot square mat has two layers of patented woven polyurethane that acts like a sifter. It’s not only convenient for sunbathing but for picnicking at Kapi‘olani Park. The mat filters any grains that get onto its surface, including dirt, dust and water. Metal d-rings at each corner keep the mat from blowing away when you go for a quick dip in the ocean.
But if you’re like my boyfriend – who believes the more beach he takes with him, the better (ugh, you should see the inside of his car!) – then maybe this mat isn’t for you. It does cost about $70 online, so perhaps a free hotel towel will have to do or a more affordable memento from an ABC Store; they’ve got nice, soft towels with Hawaiian designs for less than five bucks.
White, sandy beaches will forever be one of Hawai‘i’s most sought-out features, but escaping the adhesive grasp of those tiny little granules just may be impossible. It's a huge part of the overall experience that you really shouldn't miss out on. And if sand still doesn't stick on you the right way, then maybe this will. After flying home and opening your suitcase to unpack, you will find yourself smiling uncontrollably at the sneaky buggers that found their way home with you. They may have been a pest before, but at that moment, you will realize how they'll be nice, little tokens to remind you of your vacation in the Islands.
Posted by Alyssa S. Navares Follow me on Twitter @Uamalie87
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Entry Filed under: Hawaii Shopping Tips,How to Hawaii
October 2nd, 2011
10 Comments Add your own
1. Cat | October 2nd, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Absolutely brilliant idea for a story! I’m so excited to see what u have in store for us next! If you can make sand sound so interesting, I can only imagine what ur gonna surprise us with next! luv ur blogs! keep up the great work!
2. Alyssa | October 2nd, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Thanks for the positive encouragement! Yes, sand can be a sticky subject..hehe…but I’m also excited to share more stories. We’ve got a good one for you coming up from Katherine Finch, one of our roving reporters.
3. ido96825 | October 2nd, 2011 at 4:13 pm
i always has hard time to get sand of bags and mats. I am going to get one and try it. Thank you, Alyssa
4. Isabel | October 3rd, 2011 at 2:38 am
Thanks for the tip. That is such an awesome idea!
5. John | October 6th, 2011 at 7:11 am
Thanks for the idea! Very Useful
6. Linda Sherman | October 10th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
I don’t see the name of the product here but I think you are referring to but I think it is the CGear Sand-Free Multimat that I wrote about here:
http://boomertechtalk.com/creative-tech-gifts-for-valentines-day/
We use it on our beautiful Kauai beaches and it works great.
7. Cory and Emilie | October 10th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Love your blog, My wife and I started one about 3 months ago when we moved to Kauai. It started as something to keep our family up to date, But now we find that others enjoy it too.
Its great writing knowing that others are actually excited to read it!
Although it does not keep you sandless, we baught a mat similar to this one and it works great! just put your towel on top and your all set.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stansport-Tatami-Straw-Ground-Mat/10154034
8. @AngelaKeen | October 17th, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Alyssa! Wonderful blog! So informative even for is locals. I have a sand fighting tip for everyone!
If you have problems with beach sand sticking everywhere just sprinkle a little baby powder and it will brush right off!!! YUP! Baby powder is the cheapest / best little trick to get the sand off. I NEVER go to the beach without it. It’s in my beach bag.
Welcome to the Hawaii-Aloha.com Ohana! @AlohaBruce and @AlohaYaling are lucky to have you!
9. Alyssa | October 19th, 2011 at 5:50 am
Mahalo @AngelaKeen! I am lucky to be a part of the team (: I actually had no idea baby powder was so versatile! That is a great idea. Thanks for sharing. Btw, I think you might have just left KHNL before I started a few years back. (Not there anymore, obviously! But I remember watching you on TV!) I worked with Randy Ennis and Sean Ibara during the time. Glad to see you’re doing well! Take care!
10. Jason | December 18th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Good stuff Alyssa! I can go upstairs two years later and still find some sand from our trip to Oahu. Yes, I did smile uncontrollably.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed