Sport-Brella X-Large Umbrella

I tested the umbrella at home and it opened fine and seemed stable. However, the first time I used it at a beach, with not much of a strong wind, it flipped inside out and one of the ribs got torn out of the pivot socket. As a result the rib lost its function and hanged loosely which can poke you in the eye. The umbrella is cheaply made with flimsy ribs. Due to its large size, the wind can easily flip it inside out, much like a regular umbrella. It seemed the only way to open and secure it is to orient it so that the wind can't hit the bottom side of the umbrella, and this may mean that you can not put it in a best position to block out the sun. Unfortunately I waited too long to use it so my return period has passed. I got it for $48 and I do not recommend this if you're going to use it where there is moderate wind blowing.

We are "keep it simple" campers. We've long wanted something for shelter and shade that was both easy to set up and easy to take down. Almost any regular camp shelter, rainfly, cabana or whatever tends to be a nuisance, and may blow out in a wind, but is hard to take down until it blows down. We are also often "on the run," spending only one night in a camp and then moving on, but if we want a cup of coffee in the morning and it's raining, it may be easier to skip the cuppa rather than rig a shelter, and who wants to skip their cuppa? So, the Giant Freestanding Umbrella idea appealed mightily, and it turns out to be a truly wonderful camp tool. As others have noted, it's light and it's fast. As it happened, on its first outing we camped near a beach, where the wind seemed to be blowing half a gale but we wanted to sit on the beach. We were worried that the monster umbrella might blow out, but I opened it into the wind, which it shed beautifully. We set it on its edge, windbreak style, and staked it into the sand with the four provided sand stakes. It showed not the slightest tendency to blow away! Impressive! We tucked three adults in chairs under and enjoyed the sunset in warmth and comfort. (As others have had their umbrellas blow out, I'd add a caution that [1], if the wind seems particularly strong either don't open it, or be sure to open it dead into the wind so it doesn't flip inside out, and [2], if a strong wind seems "flukey," coming from all directions, skip it. I assume it's like any other umbrella, and will destroy itself if a strong gust blows it inside out.) As a quick-and-dirty camp shelter it excels: loosen the setscrew, slide the spike-ended extension rod all the way out of the main tube and hammer it a few inches into the ground (I use a nylon tent stake hammer (see 2-in-1 Heavy Duty Tent Stake Mallet & Remover ) to avoid damaging or "mushrooming" the metal); open the umbrella and slide it onto the rod in the ground; tighten the set screw. It's up! You can get elaborate from there, guying it out and staking it down, but I think that defeats the purpose, unless there's a wind. As I write it happens there's a nice, fairly brisk westerly: I have it standing over a picnic table, guyed out to a handy fence on one side and our trailer on the other. The umbrella is providing perfect shade on an 85° day. As the sun moves we move the chairs. The breeze is no threat, but if it were I might either rig it down as a windbreak or skip it. In any case, when we leave camp, we take it down (in seconds) so we don't come back to find it inside out. We leave the pointed shaft stuck in the ground until we move to another camp. That setscrew (knob) is weak. A really appalling number of reviewers have complained about that setscrew: theirs arrived broken. So did ours--twice. This is one pretty serious flaw in the system: the screw is pot metal, not steel. The manufacturer really needs to fix this as the number of complaints continues to grow. Our first umbrella arrived with the broken-off section of screw jamming the extension inside the tube, necessitating a whole replacement umbrella (kudos to Amazon, they had a new one out in four days), but the replacement's setscrew was sheared off also. Like another writer, rather than give up I went to my local Ace Hardware Man, who determined it's an 8mm *metric* screw, just so you know if you have to replace yours. (Someone else used a 5/16 screw, but I gently tried a 5/16 first and immediately knew that if I forced it, it might work but it would also strip the threads.) I've added a picture of that 8mm replacement setscrew to the photo gallery so you can get an idea of what it looks like. We think the umbrella is otherwise very well designed and built, so we are not complaining at all, but you should know that those setscrews are seriously frail. Even if it doesn't arrive broken, you might want to replace it with a steel one before it shears off on an outing. (But you shouldn't have to spend extra money for an adequate setscrew--the manufacturer needs to step up.)

Sport-Brella X-Large Umbrella This umbrella is a piece of junk. Looks real nice when you set it up and provides plenty of shade. The problem is it cannot withstand any wind. We had it set up for 1/2 hr. when a slight breeze came along and turned the umbrella inside out. The umbrella was totally wrecked beyond repair.

UMBRELLA: I think this umbrella is fantastic! I think it provides EXCELLENT shade and the windows are nice to let in some extra air. I can easily set up 2 adult "chair in a bags" and 2 kid "chair in a bags" or my stroller as well. I haven't set up more, but I assume more would fit. There's lots of space and it's not hard to set up. The bigger stakes are nice for sand and the small ones work fine for grass. I've seen the NON "XL" umbrellas and I'm definitely glad I got the "XL" for my family of 5! The regular size would be way to small! *It is LONG, but I just put it length-wise down the center of my minivan (it's too tall to put in the back compartment). I don't mind the length because otherwise it wouldn't be big enough for what I need when it's up. CARRYING BAG: I gave it 3 stars instead of 5 because the CARRYING BAG is REALLY thin/cheap and has already started ripping! I bought this umbrella to TAKE it places; I definitely need a nice case to get it there! I store the umbrella laying on it's side (making sure not to put any extra weight on the bottom of the bag or use the shoulder straps any more than I need to). I honestly only used my umbrella maybe 5 times this summer. I didn't even carry it on my shoulder for any large distances, just from my car into the pool or splash pad area, and my bag already has a big hole in the bottom! I don't think it will be very long before the shoulder strap starts ripping as well.

I have owned the Sport-Brella XL for roughly a year and have used it a handful of times. When it works, it is great: a large beach shade, quite impressive. However, it is a little... flimsy. Don't get me wrong. There are a few parts of it that are excellent. The spars are all metal. The fabric is durable and thick with a semi-reflective layer underneath. However, the pole, upper hub and rider (google umbrella terms to see what I am talking about) are a little cheap. The pole is very thin. I've had smaller umbrellas with thicker poles, and believe me, a girthier pole makes a big difference. It is metallic, which compensates and makes it more durable, but it is still a bit bendy. The upper hub is where most of the problems lie. This is the piece where all the arms attach at the top of the umbrella. This piece and the rider are both made out of plastic, and this piece is a real point of weakness (see some of the one-star reviews). On my third outing with the umbrella, there was a bit of a breeze, but nothing major. A slight gust during setup brlew the umbrella inside-out, and this piece snapped right at the top. Upon examining this piece, it appears that it composed of two sections: a hollow cylindrical one which enters the top of the metal pole and the area where all the spars attach to the top. The two sections do not have the same inner diameter, and it appears that the junction between the two is quite thin. Given the way the umbrella broke, this part should either be made out of metal, or at least thicker plastic. The other part that broke is the rider, the sliding bit that lets you open the umbrella. The wire that held the arm support bars to this piece snapped and the rider was a little bent. It is serviceable, but again, metal or harder plastic would be good. I have a feeling that the components for the regular and XL models are the same in these two cases, which is a big oversight. The XL is 9' in diameter while the regular one is 7'. This difference accounts for a 65% increase in surface area, which is great for shade, but needs to bolstered with durability. I contacted customer service. Sport-Brella's web site sells parts, unfortunately, none of those parts are the ones I needed. They say to contact them for replacements of other parts. I sent an email on June 17, received a reply from customer service rep Ninfa Morales on the 19th asking for photos. I sent those a few hours later and have not heard since. I sent a follow-up email on July 2, and still have not heard back. This is kind of crap. Why am I not giving it one star? Perhaps I should. However, I am still impressed by the canopy and the umbrella arms. This weekend I was able to fix the umbrella with some epoxy, pipe, two nuts and bolts and 16-guage wire. I found that 1/2" polyethylene pipe is the perfect replacement for the lower part of the upper hub that fits inside the pole. I cut a 3" segment that I glued into the broken top. Also put in a few nails to secure things a little better. Drilling a hole for where the rivet used to go. I was able to insert it back into the pipe and I secured everything with nuts and bolts. For the rider, I used 16 gauge wire to reattach the arm support bars. Tightening it up with a pair of pliers, it looked almost good as new. The umbrella works again. I'll be using it at the beach. I figure next time it breaks, I'll try to replace the pole with some thicker steel conduit and make my own upper hub and rider. The best parts of this umbrella is really the canopy. It's too bad the other components let it down.

The Good: easy to use, works as advertised, nice and large, kept the rain and sun off of us. The Bad: On the first use, a decent gust of wind blew it inside-out and right out of the ground. I actually thought it had broken all the internal ribbing but after carefully working it back into position, all was fine. The plastic top piece and the rod threads aren't perfect though - they won't be the same, lol. It did leak in a couple of spots but for this price point I wasn't expecting Gore-tex and welded seams. Overall impression: I like it just fine. I knew going in that windy days could be an issue and it kept the sun off me during the events I bought it for. Be aware that every review that states it sucked in moderate- to heavy winds is right on the money - you will either wreck it or you'll be chasing it.

I purchased a Sport-Brella X-Large Umbrella to use on our vacation to the beach. I set it up on the first day and it was great protecting my infant grandson from the sun. It was very easy to set up and take down. On day two when I began to set up the umbrella, the whole thing came apart. The cheap plastic cap on top had come loose and it held the entire unit together. A small wire holding the supports for the fabric also broke. I spent an hour trying to make repairs but to no avail. I am very disappointed in this purchase. It now rests in a trash can on the beach.

The featured review here mentions that this is perfect for camping, not just the beach - I wholeheartedly concur. I purchased this based on that review because I'm sick of hauling along a big canopy on my camping trips only to find that it doesn't really give me the shade and privacy that I desire while in the great outdoors. This umbrella sets up quickly and can be easily repositioned as needed as the sun shifts during the day - try doing that with a big canopy by yourself. I covet my privacy while camping and this works wonderfully to provide that privacy, esp. with the large drop down side panels. I purchased it in the olive color and I'd describe it more like a "leaf green" rather than olive since it blends in beautifully on a nicely wooded campsite. Two adults with sizeable chairs can sit under this easily with a small table between them behind the support pole. I have not had problems with the support pole tension screw as others have mentioned, but did take it upon myself to print out that picture someone added in the reviews and take it to a local hardware store to pick a couple of those up just in case it should fail - hopefully better quality control has been put in place by now, but if not I'm all set and it cost me a whopping $2.50 for a set of 2. I also liked that the inside supports hold my Joby Gorillatorch Adjustable and Flexible Tripod Flashlight, Gray with its magnetic feet and adjustable light for when the sun goes down. When I was camping on a large inland lake earlier this season I had a site that was about 100 feet from the water. It was a very breezy weekend and this was a Godsend. I was able to position the Sportbrella XL in such a way that allowed me to use my firepit despite the ongoing strong breeze of at least 20 mph. Others at the campground were unable to have good strong fires since the ongoing strong breeze prevented them from getting one lit or blew the flames in such a way that it wasn't an enjoyable campfire experience. I was the envy of the campground with my nicely burning fire - everyone passing by asked where they could get one. I've been lucky enough to not encounter rain on my camping trips so I can't speak to that. From close examination I'd venture to say that this could support keeping a couple of adults reasonably dry during a light rain with a little bit of breeze - I don't think it would be that helpful in a real downpour and/or wind driven rain. I own a 2011 Jeep Liberty and it does fit in there, but at an angle in the back seat. I find it more useful to store it by opening the tailgate and sliding it in so it goes along the support of the back seat and front seat. It takes up no room this way and you can angle the tip down as it slides over the back seat so it won't go slamming into your windshield if you have to brake suddenly. I'm hoping that this product stands up to years of use, but since it's my first season it's hard to say. Given the utter ease of virtually instant set up and privacy factor I'd have no problem purchasing one every couple of years if need be. Highly recommended.