Like many types of tents, the ones you use at the beach are intended to provide a place that you can find protection from the elements of the weather while still offering a space that is open, airy and breathable.  Most tents that you take to the beach need to have a few specific criteria to make them worth taking with you.  These include:

Weight – the tents have to be lightweight so it is easy for you to transport them from your car, across the sand, and to the part of the beach that you want to inhabit for the day.  This is especially important if you are toting along a bunch of kids that come complete with pails full of toys and coolers full of snacks.

Ease of use – your tent needs to be able to set up quickly and be taken down just as quickly.  You are not going to get to the beach and start putting together pieces of the tent to assemble it.  You need to be able to just pop it open and that’s it.

Breathability – it can get very hot inside a tent at the beach so you want to make sure you get a tent made from fabric that breathes and that does not contain the heat.  Those with open flaps and windows work especially well.