Best Patio Umbrella and Stand Reviews by Wirecutter

In providing a respite from both rain and shine, a patio umbrella provides flexibility to how you enjoy your deck or garden patio. And selecting a brolly that can weather the outside for years to come back is simply as crucial as selecting a colour that goes with your gardenias. After 20 hours of analysis and a month of trying out yard patio umbrellas and bases, we’ve determined that the 9 foot wide Treasure Garden Market Aluminum Push Button Tilt Umbrella and 50 pound US Weight Umbrella Base are one of the best for most people. When we asked landscape designers and patio furnishings specialists which umbrellas they advised, the name they gave us repeatedly was Treasure Garden.

Durability is a key quality that separates an okay patio umbrella from a very good one, and the 9 foot wide Market Aluminum Push Button Tilt Umbrella should last more than any of the other umbrellas in our test group, thanks partially to its thick Sunbrella fabric. For about $100 less, which you can choose an O’bravia fabric, which remains to be a nice option, but it’s not as sturdy or sun resistant as the Sunbrella fabric our experts advised. The Treasure Garden brand offers the main color and beauty alternatives we’ve seen—including dozens of cloth colors and styles, rare double wind vents, and a call of models with a push button or crank tilt. Our umbrella pick offers the best value in the Treasure Garden line, including just the right points to make it useful and omitting the extras that drive up the pricetag. The push button tilt frame includes a one year warranty, and the crank tilt option comes with a two year guarantee; the Sunbrella fabric is guaranteed not to vanish for five years, and the O’bravia edition is assured for four years. If our main pick is out of stock or you’re looking for a somewhat less costly option, accept as true with the Hampton Bay 10 ft.

Aluminum Auto Tilt Patio Umbrella. This model opened and closed more easily than other in a similar fashion priced umbrellas we tested. It also comes standard with an auto crank tilt mechanism to tilt the canopy—an upgrade feature you must pay more for in our top pick. The canopy is made from Olefin fabric, which isn't as durable as Sunbrella, but it feels thick and sturdy. The aluminum pole and steel ribs feel solid, and the umbrella comes with a two year limited guarantee from Home Depot.

Not each person needs an umbrella that will last in the wind, rain, and sun for a number of years. If you’re attempting to find a light-weight, serviceable choice to use for a few seasons in your yard or to your condominium balcony, our budget pick is the Sunnyglade 9′ Patio Umbrella. The canopy is difficult to get dirty and easy to scrub, and the complete umbrella easily fits into an protected reusable plastic covering for simple garage. This umbrella doesn’t include a warranty, but for the price we expect that’s not a terrible gamble. The US Weight Umbrella Base was the least costly umbrella base we found that still had a strong historical past of superb reports and weighed enough—50 pounds—to secure a 9 or 10 foot umbrella.

This compact, low profile base is best for positioning under a table, though we don’t put forward it as a stand alone base if your umbrella is exposed to giant wind. This base has a convenient built in handle and comes in four colors. The Shademobile Rolling Umbrella Base is rare among bases as a result of its capacity to roll and pivot across a smooth deck or patio—a crucial characteristic for anyone who is probably not strong enough to easily lift 50 pounds or more. It comes empty, and you fill it with bricks, sand, or a combination of both for an extremely stabilizing greatest weight of 125 pounds; this weight is definitely beyond what any of our umbrella picks would require, but it’s nice to have the opportunity of a heavier base if you reside in a windy area. The fashioned author of this guide, Kalee Thompson, lived for greater than a decade in Los Angeles, where the near consistent sun fuels an similarly constant quest for more and better shade. After stepping into her home there in mid 2010, she went through three 9 foot yard patio umbrellas, each purchased for under $100.

The first was never an identical after an epic 2011 windstorm. Carelessly left up, that umbrella was lifted by the wind and converted into a dangerous projectile that stabbed into a neighbor’s hillside no, it didn’t hurt anyone, and, no, Kalee and her family weren't using a base. The second and third umbrellas simply got shredded by some combination of temperamental Santa Ana winds and relentless UV damage, after a bit more than two years of year round use. All three umbrellas are now exiled to an unknown garbage dump. To expand her non-public event with patio umbrellas, Kalee spoke with AHBE vital architect Calvin Abe; Washington, DC–area landscape clothier Andy Balderson; and Los Angeles panorama designers Russ Cletta, Maggie Lobl, and Naomi Sanders through email, all of whom have helped customers believe and choose sun shades.

Longtime sales associate Veronica Hoodless at the high end Fishbecks out of doors furniture store, supervisor Jesse Mezger at the upscale Patioworld, and manager Jesse Bawsel at Armstrong Garden Centers all in Pasadena, California provided extra insight into what customers are searching for when it comes to patio umbrellas, and which styles and types offer proven sturdiness. She also studied a couple of primers on the changes PDF among common umbrella fabric, size concerns, and a variety of umbrella aspects and designs. Kalee tested the umbrella inventory at local stores, adding Costco, Home Depot, IKEA, Orchard Supply Hardware, and Walmart, and systematically examined the much more extensive online choices from an identical, in addition to from Amazon, Armstrong Garden Centers, Crate and Barrel, Design Within Reach, Lowe’s, Overstock, Restoration Hardware, Target, Wayfair, and West Elm. And she checked out the models from upscale umbrella providers Tuuci and Santa Barbara Designs; the latter company makes gorgeous umbrellas—adding some that appear to be flamenco skirts or a shade for a popsicle cart—which are so costly the costs go unlisted in the agency’s revealed catalog. In August 2020, Ellen Airhart up to date this piece to consist of a much wider diversity of picks at various price ranges. We evaluated 22 new models, chose five, and set them up separately on a windy balcony in San Francisco, which made the event of hoisting the umbrellas up and down more like working a sailboat than enjoying a leisurely yard fish fry.

We spent about eight hours cranking each of the umbrellas up and down, measuring the canopies, and getting the material dirty after which cleaning it. After these tests, we added two new picks, the Hampton Bay 10 ft. Aluminum Auto Tilt Market Outdoor Patio Umbrella and the Sunnyglade Patio Umbrella. If you would like some shade to make out of doors dining or lounging more comfy, a patio umbrella is likely the best and least expensive way to go. Each of the 9 foot umbrellas we review here can do double duty, as a table shade most outdoor dining tables include a hole for an umbrella, and a 9 foot umbrella is the perfect size for such use and as a stand alone umbrella to shade a few lounge chairs or a play area. You measure umbrellas of this form by doubling the length of one spoke; as the spokes slope downward even when an umbrella is up, the total shade area with midday sun is lower than 9 feet in diameter.

Landscape fashion designer Maggie Lobl told us she often urges her consumers to accept as true with the humble umbrella over more expensive and less bendy pergolas or shade trellises. She said umbrellas are “just really bendy. You can add a pop of color and they look very nice. ”Whether you propose to use your umbrella to shield a table from the sun or to act as a stand alone shade, you’ll want a robust and heavy base to keep it in place. The most typical mistake people make with umbrella bases is not buying one at all they're almost always sold individually or buying one it truly is not heavy enough.

Yes, an umbrella will usually stay fairly steady if you only slide it into the opening in the center of a patio table and let the tail end of the pole rest on the bottom. But if winds all at once pick up, that umbrella could easily be lifted from below, fly during the air, and crash into the bottom—doubtlessly breaking spokes or tearing fabric it has happened to us. If you’re making plans to use the umbrella as a stand alone shade, arguably make sure you get a base that weighs as a minimum 75 pounds. Though you're going to sometimes see 6 , 7 , and 8 foot patio umbrellas for sale at Home Depot and identical stores, 9 feet is the commonest size for patio umbrellas that are supposed to be used over a dining table for four. This also is a good size to move around a deck to provide some shade for reading or enjoying. “People buy umbrellas that are too small all the time, and that they’re useless,” said Russ Cletta, a Los Angeles panorama designer.

Cletta told us he was on a job where he was throwing away three too small umbrellas. “They don’t do anything else. A 9 foot umbrella is an effective size. ” In August 2020 we added a 10 foot umbrella to our lineup of picks. We chose to center around umbrellas with aluminum poles, in preference to wood, for a few reasons.

First, they tend to be more common. Second, aluminum umbrellas are a lot more more likely to come with easy to use crank lifting programs as adverse to line pulleys, in addition to with tilting applications that permit you to shift the head of the umbrella to the side. All the umbrellas we tested had equivalent cranks that we found similarly easy to show. In the past, we’ve seen the line on cheap pulley lift umbrellas become frayed, and features are just a little more fussy and time consuming to secure. All of the umbrellas we tested also had a tilt mechanism that allowed us to tilt the complete open head of the umbrella to the side, to more effortlessly block the sun at different times of the day. “Umbrellas are looking to move to be practical,” Cletta said.

“It’s helpful in the event that they’re easy to roll or in the event that they can tilt when the perspective of the sun adjustments. ” You’ll find two forms of tilt functionality. Push button tilt is a common design that requires pushing a thumb into a button high on the pole to tilt the umbrella head to one side. Crank tilt moves the pinnacle to the side with an alternate rotation of the same crank you employ to boost the umbrella. Several umbrella brands offer both sorts of tilt; others, just one. We found that the crank tilt option is easier and faster, particularly for shorter people, who may have to stand on a chair to arrive the frenzy button near the end of a push tilt model’s pole though all of the push button types we tried functioned just fine.

Wood umbrellas, which often cost more than metal models, tend to lack the tilt function and more frequently depend on fussy pulley lift or lift and pin techniques. Some of our picks do come in versions with wood poles and spokes, though, which many folks may prefer for classy reasons. We determined to center around umbrellas that were under $350 though our top pick, with Sunbrella fabric, has gone up in price since we first posted this guide. We knew after speaking with store managers and landscape designers that it’s feasible to get a top quality umbrella which will last a very long time in that price range. High end umbrellas from designer brands often cost hundreds, if not thousands, more, and you’re customarily deciding to buy beauty rather than added functionality.

You’ll come upon exceptions, corresponding to umbrellas made up of marine grade fabric or sail cloth, but those are outside the scope of what we expect most folk want. In our first round of trying out, in 2017, we also in large part disregarded umbrellas that cost lower than $75, since models in that budget are almost always made of polyester fabric—which we know from personal experience tends to vanish and rip effortlessly. In more recent trying out, in spring 2020, we tested five budget models in the $110 or under range and found two that we liked, which we’ve added as picks here. Our budget pick, the Sunnyglade umbrella, is made from polyester, and we’re maintaining a tally of how it ages. But we predict a lot of people will admire having a satisfactory option in that budget. All of the experts we talked with mentioned Sunbrella fabric by name when we asked how to determine a good quality umbrella.

Several of them noted that customers are frequently confused, thinking Sunbrella is an umbrella brand. In fact, Sunbrella fabrics are made by Glen Raven, a 150 year old South Carolina textile agency that makes components for flags—including the one on the moon—and flame retardant apparel for race car drivers, as well as fabrics for marine grade awnings and casual backyard pillows and umbrellas. Sunbrella fabrics are made of solution dyed acrylic. “You’ve coloured that cloth at the liquid level,” said Allen Gant III, great grandson of Glen Raven’s founder and a existing agency supervisor. Gant explained to us that this technique was what allowed Sunbrella fabric to retain their color far better than polyester and other yarn dyed goods: “If you are taking a radish and also you expose it to UV and weather, you’re going to get to a white core. That’s what fading is.

If you begin peeling a carrot, it’s only going to get more orange as you go. ”Though umbrella brands should buy Sunbrella fabrics in different weaves at alternative prices, all are colorfast and all come with an identical five year warranty, Gant said. Three of the five umbrellas we tested used Sunbrella fabric, and when it was an not obligatory improve, we chose it. However, we also found out of many other answer dyed fabrics—similar to Olefin, the material used in one of our picks, the Hampton Bay Patio Umbrella—which have a commonly good attractiveness for durability and colorfastness. We devoted another six hours to reading about umbrella bases and sifting via hundreds of offerings online.

We quickly realized that many people make the mistake of shopping for a base that isn’t heavy enough lighter bases customarily cost less or forgoing one entirely. And so we focused on bases that weighed at the least 50 pounds, which experts advised as the minimal to overwhelm a 9 foot umbrella. “Having a brilliant heavy base that we can still roll around is the article that makes the umbrella work,” said Maggie Lobl. Be aware that many online descriptions of umbrella bases obscure the bottom’s actual weight; lots of the least costly bases weigh just 25 or 30 pounds, which isn't enough to be dependable. Since we expect most folk regard the umbrella base as a purely utilitarian afterthought, we also targeting bases that cost below $100. We made an exception for our improve pick, which has wheels that allow it to roll and pivot, thus offering way more functionality than another umbrella base we found.

All of the bases we regarded have a mechanism that allows the bottom tube to tighten across the umbrella pole, making certain a wobble free fit. We unboxed all the stands and umbrellas and set them all up on the same day in a sunny Los Angeles yard. garden shade cloth home depot of the stands required modest meeting, and we timed those efforts and noted how easy or difficult the bases were to head around and tighten around our umbrella posts. We regarded the stands’ relative size, recording which of them easily fit below our favorite patio furnishings sets and which of them were more suited for stand alone use. Over a better month we followed how the umbrellas spoke back to various wind conditions we couldn’t decide any giant change among them and the way easily their mechanisms functioned. Not fantastically, after a few weeks we saw no substantial deterioration of any of the umbrellas’ fabrics.

As we all know that fabric tends to be the point of failure for umbrellas, we had to rely in large part on external abilities and reviews in comparing the alternatives. The 9 foot wide Treasure Garden Market Aluminum Push Button Tilt Umbrella comes with the Sunbrella fabric our specialists recommended. And this umbrella offers more customization options—adding a rare double wind vent and a protecting cover—than every other model we checked out. The umbrella’s eight spoke development also makes it more sturdy than competition that have only six spokes. Its crank lift and push button tilt worked easily in our tests, and the Treasure Garden simply stood more elegantly than some other umbrella we used, both open and closed. Many umbrellas meet untimely deaths from ripped, shredded, or unpleasantly faded fabrics.

The relative superiority of this Treasure Garden umbrella’s richly coloured and thickly textured Sunbrella fabric was evident once we had our five umbrellas set up side by side in a California backyard. Pinched between arms, the material felt thicker and coarser than the thinner, smoother fabrics of the opposite umbrellas. Unlike the Costco umbrella’s wrinkly look—that model was one of two others we tested made with Sunbrella brand fabric—the Treasure Garden umbrella appeared pleasingly taut when open. Multiple interviews, in addition to our own experience, supported our expectation that Treasure Garden models hold up well for years. The company offers an expansive array of options for customization.

You can choose from five finishes for the aluminum pole and spokes bronze, champagne, anthracite, black, and white, in addition to over a dozen Sunbrella and O’bravia fabric. The Sunbrella will run you about $100 greater than the O'bravia, but all the specialists we spoke to recommended Sunbrella. PatioLiving offers more customization alternatives if you purchase under its average configuration option which takes four to six weeks to ship. This choice grants greater than 100 fabric options—a far greater selection than you get from any of the opposite umbrellas we tested. For about $25 more, you also can upgrade to a double vent, a good selection for anyone near the ocean or in other windy destinations.

Also like the remainder of our test umbrellas, this Treasure Garden model uses an automatic crank lift system some easier umbrellas, especially those with wooden poles and spokes, use a manual lift system, which has you pull and cinch a line to boost and secure the umbrella. Although the crank makes a clicking sound, in our tests we didn’t find the noise irritating. Jesse Bawsel, supervisor at the Pasadena area of Armstrong Garden Centers a chain located only in California told us that Treasure Garden was the only umbrella brand his store carried. “They make one of the best stuff,” he said. Despite the proven fact that the aluminum Treasure Garden umbrella comes with a 365 days guarantee for the push button tilt model and a two year warranty for the crank tilt model—and that Sunbrella fabric itself has a five year guarantee—Bawsel told us he rarely sees a return on them.

“Treasure Garden is in fact one of the best,” concurred Veronica Hoodless, an established sales affiliate at the upscale Fishbecks patio store in Pasadena. “Costco’s are maybe one third of the cost,” said Hoodless, whose store sells 9 foot Treasure Garden umbrellas from about $250. “But they fly away, they get torn. The Treasure Garden will last 10 to 15 years. ” Jesse Mezger, supervisor at nearby Patioworld, agreed, noting, “Three or four hundred dollars is cheap if it’s going to last you 15 years or so.

” Mezger also advised Treasure Garden umbrellas as standing head and shoulders above inexpensive brands: “We have customers who come here to buy something quality after having something fail from Home Depot or Costco. ” True to Mezger’s predictions, Kalee’s Treasure Garden has held up just fine since she first tested it in 2017, with absolutely no fading or seen wear. Even after a cross nation move to New England, it’s still like new. Southern California in store experts Bawsel and Hoodless both said that even if a Treasure Garden umbrella is probably going to last a decade, some fading of the fabric is sometimes important after about five years. Sunbrella supervisor Allen Gant III explained that red umbrellas, due to inherent characteristics of the dyes, can be more at risk of fading than other colors, particularly in places with principally harsh sun, reminiscent of Arizona.

The Hampton Bay 10 ft. Aluminum Auto Tilt Market Outdoor Patio Umbrella is a superb option for about half the cost of our top pick. The Hampton Bay’s canopy is made from Olefin, a durable and thick fabric that’s more cost effective but less sturdy than the standard Sunbrella fabric. Like our top pick, this umbrella has a light-weight yet sturdy aluminum pole, but the ribs under the cover are made from steel. Even in high wind conditions on a balcony in San Francisco, the Hampton Bay spread out easily enough, giving the individual under it the complete circumference of marketed shade. It also comes standard with the better to use crank tilt mechanism for tilting the umbrella, which is a pricier extra feature in our top pick.

The pole comes with a two year limited warranty, which is an identical as on our top pick. But the Hampton Bay’s Olefin fabric doesn’t have the robust five year warranty of Sunbrella fabric, which is the choice we put forward in the Treasure Garden umbrella. During our tests, we rubbed dirt into the material after which washed it off with some dish soap, water, and elbow grease. Though the dirt we applied was likely a more aggressive saturation than the layer of dirt that may coat most outside umbrellas over time, we didn’t find any stains after washing. Mileage may vary dependent on what kind of climate you live in and even if you've got any sappy trees in your yard, but we predict with some basic care, this canopy should last a long time.

If you want to re create this test or see how your umbrella canopy will match with remainder of your outside space, that you can order a sample swatch from the Hampton Bay umbrella product page the link is observed just under the price for $2. 99. The Sunnyglade 9′ Patio Umbrella is an effective budget option if you need something cheap that may do the job for a few summers. The fabric in this canopy is made from polyester, which will not be anywhere near as sturdy as Sunbrella fabrics. But in our dirt tests, we had to truly therapeutic massage the particles into the material to get them to set.

We were still capable of see a slight shadow after washing the dirt off with soap and water. This umbrella comes in a reusable overlaying, which you can store the umbrella in to increase its life. Most of the alternative umbrellas we tested came in a single use plastic package. The manufacturer doesn't claim fade resistance, and we expect that this red umbrella will ultimately lose a few of its color. But we’ll control that as we continue to check this umbrella.

The Sunnyglade umbrella is straightforward to maneuver, and, at about 10 pounds, it's the lightest of all our picks—in comparison with 16 pounds for the Treasure Garden and 14 pounds for the Hampton Bay. We had a simple time constructing the Sunnyglade and using the frenzy button tilt mechanism to tilt the canopy. As with most push button tilt mechanisms, un tilting the umbrella was harder because of the wind on our checking out balcony. But even with this weak point, due to the fact that that this umbrella costs a fraction of the cost of our other picks, the Sunnyglade is an awesome budget choice for a patio umbrella. The Sunnyglade doesn’t include a guaranty.

So apart from the return window that the save you acquire from would offer, there are not a lot of options if anything were to go wrong. The simple, compact, 50 pound US Weight Umbrella Base costs less than every other umbrella base we tested. And setting it up takes less effort, so this base is a good selection for folk who just want an unassuming base that will do its job with minimal fuss. In our tests, this base’s built in handle made it easier to head than lots of the other bases we tried. And the smaller diameter and absence of a pole shaft mean this stand will easily fit below almost any dining table. The compact size, though, makes this model irrelevant for those that are looking for a base for a stand alone umbrella in windy areas.

This model was the least costly highly reviewed umbrella base shall we find that weighed as a minimum 50 pounds. Most 50 pound umbrella bases cost $80 or more and are made of wrought iron or concrete. Despite its weight it’s crammed with concrete, the US Weight base ships free with Amazon Prime. Although some other low cost plastic umbrella bases of this variety come as empty shells that you simply fill with sand or water, this one comes prefilled, making every thing a little easier and less messy. Though you should buy a fillable version of an analogous thing for less and fill it your self with sand or water, that method will result in a greatest weight of 35 pounds, which is lighter than experts recommend for a 9 foot umbrella.

That compactness also allowed it to fit easily below all of our favourite patio tables with out significantly cutting into foot space. If you’re in a low wind area and also you religiously remember to close your umbrella, it can also work as a stand alone base. But at just 16 inches wide, it won’t deliver as much balance as broader and heavier designs. It is available in black, white, silver, bronze, or beige. Though at the time of this writing, this base has an common high rating on Amazon, a few reviewers bitch that the easy metal thumb screw is tough to turn or gets stripped easily.

If for some reason you plan to move your umbrella in and out of its base commonly, this model would possibly not be the best option. The US Weight base has been stationed at Wirecutter’s Los Angeles office for a few years, and it has held up well in the rain, sun, and wind. The Shademobile is made up of high density polyethylene, in order to without doubt have more longevity than the plastic of the fewer costly US Weight base. The Shademobile arrives empty, weighing 22 pounds. Once you fill it with bricks and/or sand, it can weigh up to 125 pounds, making it a really stable choice for a stand alone 9 or 10 foot umbrella. Though the company advises towards using this base for cantilevered offset umbrellas, it’s stable for even 12 and 13 foot upright umbrellas, in line with agency head David Taylor, who argues that his base makes an upright umbrella more versatile than many cantilevered models.

“It’s almost just like the tail wagging the dog,” he told us. “The base is as critical as the umbrella, on account of the added capability. ” Although this model could fit under many dining tables, it doesn’t make sense to buy this type of base in the event that your umbrella stays over your tabletop. The Shademobile’s standout characteristic is its means to roll and pivot across decks or patios. And Kalee found that once the Shademobile base was filled, it moved quite easily over the cracked concrete patio area in her Los Angeles yard.

She chose to fill it with sand, for a total weight of about 110 pounds. It’s capable with four wheels, two of which have simple brake levers to keep the stand still once it is parked. Once Kalee had her fill material handy, it took about 15 minutes to fill the bottom and assemble the stand. You should buy sand or bricks at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or an alternate ironmongery store. The Shademobile comes with specified commands, and you should make sure to follow them closely to avoid scuffing the stand before you set it up. More than 20 screws are required to close up the filled base; if you use a power screwdriver as we did, the job will be much faster.

The base comes with a two year warranty, and if a single part breaks after that, that you may substitute it in my view. Kalee and her family have been using the Shademobile to carry our Treasure Garden umbrella since 2017, and it’s still in great shape, showing no signs of degradation. The 9 foot Abba Patio Market Aluminum Patio Umbrella with Push Button Tilt and Crank was the least costly of the umbrellas we tested—and it showed. The umbrella lacks a crank tilt mechanism, and in our tests the UV treated polyester fabric remained slightly wrinkled, even after a few weeks of use. We don’t think the umbrella canopy will delay for greater than a year or two.

But for around $50, this model may appear as if an excellent value to folks who are happy to view a patio umbrella as a semi disposable purchase. The Best Choice Products 10ft Solar Powered Aluminum Polyester LED Lighted Patio Umbrella works well and was easy to wipe down, but the polyester canopy feels plasticky and flimsy compared with our other polyester pick, the Sunnyglade. It was also a bit hard to tilt the umbrella using the rush button. It comes with solar lights, but we didn’t test this feature for this round.