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Looking to stay cool on your deck this year? We tested the best 7 patio umbrellas after extensively researching the market and purchasing the most promising contenders for hands-on testing. Over several weeks, we left these contenders in different weather conditions, such as wind, rain, and triple-digit heat, to see how they managed. We also evaluated the competition side-by-side and checked out various performance factors, such as shade quality, durability, ease of use, and adjustability. Clearly, we don't take the task of reviewing patio umbrellas lightly. When the weather heats up and staying cool is a must, you can feel confident about which patio umbrella you selected.
Cantilever design allows space directly under umbrella
Smooth sliding action when deploying shade
Cross base allows for modular weights
REASONS TO AVOID
Susceptible to wobbling in moderate wind
Heavy
The Bluu 10-Foot Offset cantilever umbrella is hands-down our favorite patio umbrella. We love the stylish cantilever design, but we like its practical attributes as well because it provides a wide area of uninterrupted shade when in use. Despite being a heavyweight design, the Bluu umbrella opens smoothly and easily. The 10-foot breadth of shade it offers provides a refreshing area to relax on a hot day.
The cantilever-style umbrellas generally weigh more, but moving them isn't difficult because the base dismantles into four parts instead of just one big piece. One downside to the Blue 10-Foot Offset is that it got a bit wobbly in some moderate winds, but that's the only complaint we had with its performance. All told, this is a great choice for a patio shade, and we think it will hold up well if cared for properly.
The Bluu Cantilever Umbrella is our favorite offset style umbrella due to it's wide shade and smooth-sliding components.
LEDs add a bit of light for nighttime functionality
Thick, stable pole
REASONS TO AVOID
Lights aren't particularly bright
Spins in wind
Our top choice for a market-style umbrella is the Best Choice Products 10-Foot Solar LED. It has an extra-large 10-foot shade and 40-degree side-to-side tilt, which is the most range of tilt out of all the umbrellas we tested, allowing you to keep the shade in the correct spot throughout the day as the sun moves. The umbrella ribs feature small LED lights running across them, creating a nice transition from daytime sun to evening patio ambiance lighting. It fits into our universal market base well, and the thicker pole means it doesn't wobble as much in moderate wind, despite not having a table to support it.
The LEDs add ambiance but not a ton of light, and we'd prefer them to be a bit brighter. Also, like all of the tilting market-style umbrellas, it tends to spin away from anything but the lightest wind unless you really crank down the knob on the base. The top vents seem a bit small to help much with wind resistance, but they might help prevent excess hot air from building up. Also, while we love the size of the umbrella, the top half of the pole isn't really proportional to the shade size, so when the shade is down, it covers the crank handle. Overall, though, we really like this Best Choice Products umbrella for market-style shades. It works great with or without a table.
The Best Choice Products Patio Umbrella has a wide, dark shade and a nice tilting hinge to block out the early morning or late evening sun.
The Sunnyglade 9-Foot patio umbrella is a solid, simple market-style shade meant to go into a post base and through a patio table. The tilt function, featured on several models of this umbrella style, is nice and tilts to a maximum of 35 degrees. The bell cap and blue and white fabric we chose give the Sunnyglade a fun beach vibe as well. Moreover, it's one of the least expensive options we tested — while still providing ample coverage.
The Sunnyglade umbrella has some room for improvement. When retracted, the umbrella blocks the crank to raise it, which isn't ideal. The white parts of the fabric block direct sunlight, but they let enough light through that it's still nice to have sunglasses on underneath it, especially if we were reading. However, if you select a solid darker color (and there are a lot to choose from), this shouldn't be an issue. For an affordable patio umbrella, the Sunnyglade is a good, inexpensive option.
The Sunnyglade 9 foot umbrella has a pleasant beach vibe to it.
Wobbles a lot in the wind, even if fully tightened
The Pure Garden Cantilever Hanging Shade is similar to the other offset cantilever umbrellas but significantly more affordable. The setup is easy; the base pieces bolt to each other, and then the poles slide together. At 30 pounds, the Pure Garden umbrella is also a little lighter than the other two cantilever umbrellas, making it somewhat easier to move. With cross-base umbrellas, you can either weigh them down with specific umbrella bases or with sandbags if you're looking to go with the most affordable option.
Our one major gripe with the Pure Garden Cantilever umbrella is that the collar doesn't slide smoothly up and down the pole. The weight of the umbrella arm ever so slightly warps it, so it is kind of jerky when sliding up and down. We noticed that this umbrella wobbles a bit more in the wind, as the top of the shade doesn't seat as nicely to the overhead arm as the other cantilever models do. It is a nice patio shade, though, and an excellent budget option for those looking for some shade without breaking the bank.
We like the style and adjustability of the Pure Garden Cantilever Hanging Shade. It's also priced fairly. Our only minor complaint is that the sliding action of the collar could be smoother.
The wikiwiki Offset 10-Foot Cantilever umbrella just barely got beat out for one of the top spots. We really like how dark the shade is, as it doesn't reflect light from the ground in addition to blocking out the direct sun. We like the cantilever aesthetic quite a bit, and we think it looks good no matter where it is.
This umbrella would've performed higher in our tests if its operation was smoother, which we expect at this price point. It's a touch jerky when sliding it up or down to deploy the shade. The shade was also more wobbly in a breeze, which was not ideal, especially if you were at the edge of the shadow below. Still, its a decent option that performs well for most applications.
The wikiwiki Cantilever Umbrella is a festive color, and with its quality shade and affordable price, we think it's a great option.
Grommets at the end of the ribs are more durable attachments
Few wear points
REASONS TO AVOID
No adjustment
Heavier than some bigger umbrellas
The Abba Patio 7.5-Foot outdoor umbrella is the smallest, simplest umbrella we tested. It doesn't have any adjustment beyond opening and closing the shade, but having fewer moving parts is traditionally a good thing from a durability standpoint. In fact, durability is where this shade shines. The ends of the umbrella are fastened to the ribs with grommets and screws rather than each rib fitting into a fabric pocket. This makes the fabric less likely to rip in a windstorm or for a rib to poke through if knocked over. We think that's a nifty design to make the umbrella a little more solid.
We do wish it was more adjustable, though. Because the shade is so small at seven and a half feet in diameter, more adjustability would help compensate for the smaller shade size. We could see this working well in a small space, like a townhouse backyard or an apartment balcony. It's efficiently sized and economically priced.
The Abba umbrella is smaller than any of the others we tested, and not adjustable, but it is still a decent option for smaller spaces.
Of all the products we tested, we were least impressed by the UHINOOS 9-Foot patio umbrella, although we do like some of its qualities. It does tilt nicely, blocking early morning or late evening sun from blasting your patio seat. The fabric also gets pleasantly taut when fully raised, so it doesn't ruffle in the wind.
We found the durability to be lacking on the UHINOOS, though. The top cap easily cracked when we were setting it up on the ground before dropping it into the base. While this doesn't affect its functionality, we didn't have this issue with any of the other umbrellas, including those with solar panel caps. We also didn't love the white fabric, as it's still quite bright under the umbrella. We recommend considering a different color of fabric for darker shade. If you're looking for a patio umbrella, we think there are better options.
The UNIHOOS is a decent umbrella, but it is surprisingly bright under the white fabric.
Credit: Ethan Newman
Why Trust GearLab
We independently purchased all products in this review and came up with metrics to judge their quality as objectively as possible. We think there are four categories where an ideal patio umbrella should perform well: shade quality, ease of use, durability, and adjustability. We tested each model through both focused tests, like our “shake test,” and deploying each model hundreds of times to assess durability, as well as dozens of hours of field use per umbrella. We measured the angle of tilt each model is capable of as well. We left these umbrellas out in the triple-digit heat to see how they weathered, as well as the accompanying monsoon rains, to see what works best when trying to enjoy our backyard spaces.
For this review, we turned to our expert home goods editor Ethan Newman. Ethan owns and operates three rental units and is always on the lookout for products that work and will last, both for himself and for his tenants. As each rental unit has a different backyard, he understands that every yard has unique needs, and each space might require a different type of shade to suit it best. He has a keen eye for evaluating products, especially when the devil is in the details.
The Purple Leaf umbrella has a nice LED setup for evening use, and is bright enough to actually see what's going on.
Although the sliding collar assembly looks very similar on the WUFF, Pure Garden, and the Wikiwiki, we found the WUFF to be the smoothest.
Cross base umbrellas are heavier, but we found them easier to set up in some circumstances, as they can get closer to walls and other obstacles, and the base weights are easier to move than one big heavy base.
Analysis and Test Results
Although patio umbrellas seem fairly simple at first glance, small features and details can make a product great or leave much to be desired. We divided what we think a good patio shade should have into four categories. Read below for more details on how they all stacked up.
Shade Quality
In some ways, this category is the most obvious. Patio umbrellas are all about shade. We rate these products not just on how much shade they provide but also the quality (i.e., darkness) of the shade created. Umbrellas with thicker, darker fabrics that blocked more light scored higher, as well as larger canopies.
Darker shades typically perform better in part because they don't reflect light from the ground.
Credit: Ethan Newman
Most of the products did really well in this category, but the cantilever style umbrellas, like the Pure Garden, wikiwiki, and Best Choice Products did especially well, as we were able to lower the shade just above our head so that it not only blocked direct sunlight but some of the ambient light as well. We didn't love the umbrellas with white fabric, as they didn't block a ton of light, just the most direct sunlight. We recommend evaluating how much you care about the darkness of the shade when selecting the fabric color of your patio umbrella. Lighter colors, unless the fabric is very thick, tend to let more light pass through them.
The UNIHOOS Umbrella's white shade lets too much light in for our taste, we still had to wear sunglasses to comfortably sit under it, especially when reading.
Credit: Ethan Newman
Ease of Use
We think that products should be straightforward to assemble, move, deploy, and retract. Products that were easy to raise and lower scored high, as well as ones that were easier to put together out of the box. Umbrellas scored lower if they had poor instructions, didn't move well or smoothly, or didn't fit together well.
While we liked the larger shades generally, their folded canopies often hide the deployment crank.
Credit: Ethan Newman
We found the Bluu umbrella to raise and lower really smoothly despite its weight. It's smoother than the other two cantilever umbrellas. Most of the market-style umbrellas are easy to assemble, far simpler than the cantilever-style models. The market-style umbrellas that stood out were ones where the raising crank wasn't hidden by the lowered shade fabric, like the Abba umbrella.
While it doesn't look as slick, if you're on a tight budget, you can use sandbags instead of a purpose-built weighted base to weigh down an umbrella, allowing you to put more money towards an umbrella.
Credit: Ethan Newman
Durability
We wanted to test these products for durability, as they're designed to be left in the sun, shaken by the wind, and soaked by the rain. We tested this by raising and lowering each one fifty times in addition to our field testing. We also vigorously shook each one a hundred times to see what, if anything, rattled loose. We left them in the summer sun during a heatwave that bumped above 110°F, which only relented to make way for torrential rains — great for testing. They also each experienced wind up to 15 miles an hour, although we advise that you lower the canopies in anything beyond a light breeze.
Of all the patio umbrellas we tested, the Abba umbrella is the most durable, if partially because there are fewer parts to break on it. The fabric on the Abba is attached via grommets and screws rather than a rib fitting into a fabric pocket, which seems like a more durable attachment.
Some of the cranks and moving parts felt more robust than others. The Bluu felt quite solid.
Credit: Ethan Newman
One thing we'd like to note is that a well-weighted base can make a real difference in the lifespan of your umbrella. None of these umbrellas come with weighted bases, so make sure you find the right base to fit your umbrella and that it's heavy enough to withstand your area's typical weather. We like bases that are either modular or able to easily fill with water, rather than sandbags or large concrete bases, which tend to be less attractive in an aesthetic sense.
The Abba umbrella was the only one with a more durable attachment for the end of the ribs.
Credit: Ethan Newman
Adjustability
Since patio umbrellas are typically stationary, either mounted through the middle of a table or positioned above the seating, you will ideally be able to adjust them with the angle of the sun. There are a number of designs we observed that attempt to approach this function, either a tilting arm or hinge within the pole, or simply being low enough overhead that it blocks out the sun during the hottest parts of the day. We measured the angle of adjustability with an electronic level phone app to compare the products objectively.
Patio umbrellas like the UNIHOOS, Best Choice Products, and Sunnyglade all tilt, allowing you to block the sun when it's lower in the sky.
Credit: Ethan Newman
The most adjustable shades are the cantilever-style umbrellas, as they can rotate and tilt almost 90 degrees (although too vertical, and they become more of a wind sail), but they only do so in one direction. The Pure Garden, Wikiwiki, and Bluu are all adjustable on two planes, as they could tilt almost 90 degrees on a vertical plane and swing nearly 360 degrees around on a horizontal plane. As far as market-style umbrellas, the Best Choice Products tilted 40 degrees either way — five more degrees than the other tiltable umbrellas. The Abba was the only one that didn't have any adjustment, relying on its shorter stature to cover the area with shade.
The cantilever-style umbrellas were easy to adjust as long as the collars slid well.
Credit: Ethan Newman
Conclusion
Any time you're looking to enjoy your patio or backyard without roasting in the sun, the right patio umbrella can make all the difference. We hope you found our in-depth reviews and side-by-side comparisons, backed up by measurable metrics, helpful in finding the right shade for your outdoor spaces.
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