UMB-474161 "Southern Patio" Round Offset Umbrella 10'

When I first opened this umbrella, I loved it. It definitely needed paver-stones on it for weight. But after only owning it for a week, it stopped folding completely down. I can only get it 1/3 of the way closed, and it stops there...which totally sucks cause I live in a windy area and I have to put extra weights on it now. I am trying to return it and will hear from the seller soon I'm sure. But this umbrella is sub-par. Every time I turned the crank to open or close it, my hand hit the knobs that hold it's directional placement...difficult to explain. But if the manufacturers had moved the directional placement knobs a few inches lower, I wouldn't have hit them every time I cranked the umbrella, ouch. You get what you pay for, that's the unfortunate truth in this case.

At first, this purchase was made with great enthusiasm. Purchased two umbrellas as replacements for nearly identical ones that were purchased from a big box store nearly eight years ago. Being that we got such great use out of the originals, we were excited to find these replacements. The price seemed to be a great value. They were shipped very promptly, even ahead of the estimated delivery date. They were described as beige umbrella with beige pole ( just like our originals were). Unfortunately, the actual pole is not beige like the canopy, but is rather what is typically described as a flecked bronze color-much darker than the canopy. It looks ok with our furniture, so that is not a huge issue, but be aware if you are expecting a light colored pole. The real issue is damage and missing parts. One umbrella was missing one if it's anchoring bolts (that was easily replaced from our tool box) and most importantly, the other umbrella had a bent crank handle and the handle casing was cracked apart. We called customer service immediately upon unpacking a few days after receiving the packages and the representative, Annie, was extremely polite and helpful. I emailed photos of the damage and packing slip and she replied that a resolution would be in the works promptly. Of course being late on a Friday, it took a few days to hear back, but repeated emails back and forth were promptly and courteously responded to while waiting for a determination of how this situation would be rectified. Eventually, a replacement handle assembly was received, but you need to disassemble the entire thing including removing the old handle and ratcheting unit, untying the string, and reconnecting it all to the new handle. Having never done such a project, we are having a contractor who will be installing the umbrellas to our patio attempt this repair. We will hopefully be reimbursed at least a portion of the purchase price since we need to pay out to have this newly purchased item repaired before it could ever be used. If the new umbrellas were made with metal handles/ casings like the original models had been, there would not likely have been an issue. At least the replacement part that was sent is made of metal and not plastic like the damaged part was made of. Hopefully the entire unit will hold up better than the handle did. Will update again after completing the repairs and hearing back if there will be compensation for the repair expense.

Got this kit thinking that it might be just the canopy cover which we needed to replace on an existing Southern Patio umbrella. It was the entire kit and for the price... it was a great deal. It was assembled with a socket wrench for 4 bolts (lower pole and stand) and then the upper pole with the canopy was inserted into the lower pole. After cranking up the canopy, assembly to use was done in about 20 minutes. Do not think for a minute that you can use this umbrella without anchoring the base stand even on a windless day. We already had a plastic water filled anchor for the stand, so we were using it immediately beside the pool here in AZ. The canopy can be placed in a variety of positions and the arm for the canopy can be swung left to right to travel with the sun for various shade positions.

But it isn't. Do not let your wife buy something she'll never use. This thing sat in the backyard for a long time before she let me give it away. She never used it and the cover for it fell apart from age and exposure. Well over $100 down the tubes!

This umbrella is very durable a stylish it keeps my family and i cool during the day. I keep it uncovered and most of the time open and i have not had any problems with it so far. I had it for about 6 months now.