Best windbreaks, tried and tested for camping and beach trips

The ultimate windscreen if your camping set-up tends to sprawl away from your tent or caravan. This huge, sturdy windbreak can shield your cooking area, lounging area and fire pit in one go. It’s incredibly easy to set up thanks to the air poles (you’ll need a pump for these), although – at 8m long – it’s a two-person job. It withstood moderate wind with ease in our testing. The guy lines are hefty straps and could handle much worse conditions than the usual late summer British weather.

Because you can pitch it in a semi-circular shape, a bit like a roof-less yurt, it provides wrap-around protection from bad weather and real warmth. Our favourite feature was the mesh window: if conditions turn sour, at least you can still enjoy a bit of a view. Perfect for large groups and families, caravans and car campers.

This unassuming tarp has saved many of our camping trips from becoming disasters. Decathlon says it can give you up to 8sqm of sheltered space: strung to an awning or tent, we’ve managed more than that.

If you want to create a whole shelter, it comes with poles and straps, but the most effective way to use it as a windscreen is to fasten it vertically like a shield, attached to something sturdy (like your car or a strong tent). Best of all it is light and small (about 1kg without the poles), so you can bring it along for emergencies without sacrificing a lot of space.

Don’t rule out packing a windshield if you’re a lightweight camper: a small, foldable screen like this one can rescue your dinner or your morning cup of coffee. Small enough to fit in the pocket of your rucksack, it’s still tall enough to shield a medium-height gas stove and is a lifesaver in strong winds.

It’s much tougher and more durable than the foil shields many stoves come with, and it weighs less than 2kg. Brilliant for hiking or bike packing in bad weather or if you’re spendinb the night somewhere exposed.

A lightweight windscreen with excellent coverage, this tall fence-like windshield is also a great way to mark the edge of your site (good for wandering kids) and gives you have a bit of extra privacy. It’s easy to put up and take down and perfectly fine for moderate weather, although it isn’t designed for full-on gale-force winds. At 5m long, it’s enough protection for your camp kitchen or to screen the wind from your fire pit.

A lovely, lightweight but sturdy screen that’s ideal for smaller campsites. The three tall panels – with a strip of mesh window on each – are really easy to mould to your site, allowing you to create a horseshoe shape or a long fence, depending on your needs and the weather. We found this was perfect for two tents and a central cooking/living area, or one larger car/caravan pitch – but if you want a little more sheltered space, you can buy extra panels to clip on.

Eye-catching, gorgeously vintage and easy to set up and take down, Olpro does our favourite colourful, cheerful camping windbreaks. Think English seaside: the fabric, a strong polyester, is stretched across wooden, steel tipped poles to create a classic but effective windscreen. It isn’t designed for super strong wind, but it is perfectly sturdy for seasonal camping. At almost 5m in length, it will shield even the biggest family campsite.

A simple, lightweight and inexpensive windbreak, this is perfect for camping trips that might involve an afternoon at the seaside. The three-panel screen (in brilliantly retro red, white and blue stripes) is good for gentle gusts, a little bit of privacy around your site, or a bit of extra protection for your camp kitchen. It packs down to a carry-able size and is incredibly easy to put up or take down, making it ideal for day trips where it can double as a shade or changing area.

The ultimate lightweight, rugged tarp for hiking and biking adventures. This super tough tarp is designed to shelter you while you’re bivvying, so it’s more than up to the task of shielding your cooking pots from a storm. It weighs in at just under 220g and comes with webbing loops and reinforced guy points that mean you can rig it to anything from a tree to a trekking pole, in any iteration you need. When properly deployed, it will provide a mighty 40sqft of shelter. It packs down small into its stuff sack, so is easy to bring along if the weather looks unsettled.