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.)

--------- (Update 8/25) --------- I've read elsewhere it's an 8mm screw (m8) NOT 5/16" - be careful or you'll strip your threads - sklz.com sells replacement screws for $4 or so.. Anyway got a replacement sport-brella XL and was much more careful this time. Everything was fine. Some of the "ribs" became detached from the umbrella but it still worked. May be able to repair this by simply sewing them back in place. Not a big deal. My over all conclusion is this is a great concept but with poor design choices for this larger size - faulty screw knob, weak ribbing/ ribbing connections and attachments, weak extender pole (mine started to bend after a couple of uses), not enough sand stakes included. Have to say not sure I recommend this product in it's current form. It's close though so ymmv depending on how careful you are and how much you are willing to futz with it.. E. --------- (Update 8/13) --------- I contacted the company via email re:my wind "issue" (again MY fault - see below) and they were very responsive. That may be something to try if you are not satisfied or have a problem with the product. As far as the broken screw head - I replaced it with a 5/16" x 3-1/4" eye bolt from Home Depot (cost like 72 cents or something). Fits great and has the advantage of being able to hang stuff as well. I really do like the concept. It's very versatile. As others have said the XL model is very long probably not suitable for sedans. I lashed ours to the roof rack on our wagon and was fine (along with a soft roof carrier). Another thought is maybe the XL while providing decent coverage may tend to be a bit weaker thanks to the stress of the larger surface area at least in the upright position. I did have the umbrella in it's side position during a fairly windy day and it was fine. Could have used more stakes though. --------- Original Review --------- Bought this for a recent trip to OBX. Worked really well for the first few days in both the "leaning" position and the traditional straight up way. Loved the large area of coverage - very good sun protection etc etc. On the fourth day a small rainstorm hit, stupidly decided to tie down the umbrella in the upright position instead of lowering it. A small gust of wind blew over the umbrella and the metal "ring" (a loop of wire) holding in all the spines together broke as well as the plastic "holder" ring that kept the spines aligned. One of the spines bent and one of the support spines broke off (the metal rod holding it together). To add insult to injury the screw head of the tightening screw fell off (a common complaint in these comments it seems) so it was difficult to retract the lower pole. The spines themselves are metal which is nice (bending not breaking) but the design of the plastic holder ring and the metal loop wire seems to be a weakness - the spines can easily shear off from the top which is what happened in my case (again my fault for the most part). This CAN be a worthwhile purchase as long as you are very careful on windy days - only use the umbrella in the leaning position and be sure to close it at the first sign of trouble. The screw head situation is really annoying - It's a shame the company has yet to address this. Last thought is they have not included enough metal stakes for the tie down rings on the umbrella - have to supplement with some others which you can get at target etc. I agree with other comments - I love the concept but the design could use some refinement.

Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with the Sportbrella the first day we used it. I had it laying down in the sand with both air flaps open, but it was so hot and stuffy that we couldn't stay in it long. Sand jammed up inside the pole and we had a terrible time getting the inner pole to slide out. I also wasn't too thrilled with the quality of it... but aren't pretty much all things cheaply made these days? The only highlight that first day was that it fit two reclining beach chairs and a blanket under it - so the size was great. So Day 1 I would have given it 2, maybe 3 stars. But then we lugged it out again the next day and decided to stand it upright in the sand with both flaps out and - to my surprise - it was perfect. The breeze flowed through it and we still fit our two big chairs and blanket underneath. My 6 month old slept 2 hours in the shade and we didn't have to move her or it. For a beach umbrella, it did it's job. But I don't really know if I'd buy this again - I like it, but it's quite long and cumbersome when hauling to the beach. Plus, it's hard to avoid getting sand in the poles. Instead, I'd opt for an open tent like my hubby's cousin had - it's square frame provided more shade and air flow and was more compact when folded. The tent also had no inner pole and seemed to be more sturdy.

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.

I love the beach but just cannot bake in the sun for hours anymore. My old beach umbrella was not reliable in the wind and I saw someone with this product last year so I bought it. I love it! The umbrella measures 5"2" long - a passenger car with a opening in the back seat or fold down fits it easily. You figure it out. Its light and easy to carry. It is roomy enough for two adults with trifold/full size folding chairs. Your feet may stick into the sun but you can angle yourself into full shade. Alone you have all the room in the world. This creates a nice little beach hut with cool comfortable shade. Its also nice because it blocks the back and side views of your new neighbors on the beach who you may not want watching at you all day. As far as the wind- its VERY good but not windproof. Be sure to use the all stakes (8 in total) and front guidewires to secure it down- dig down alittle into the wet sand and tap the stakes down with a handy rock. Pile sand on top of the stakes and you're good. This is very easy to do and only takes a couple off minutes. It sits still while you watch other peoples umbrellas fold and fall over. In a STRONG afternoon beach breeze you can reposition so it doesn't get the full brunt of the wind. I admit I am too lazy to reposition it so only once of ten beach visits I have had to take it down because it did look like it was going to take off. This is a high quality product and I have been seeing three or four of these on the beaches of southeastern Massachusetts area. All perform perfectly. Get it, it's awesome.

I bought this due to the overwhelmingly positive reviews, and was shockingly disappointed. I initially returned the umbrella for a replacement, because the threading on the hand screw used to tighten the telescoping pole was stripped (the product is shipped with the screw fully inserted, and if the telescoping pole bounces around at all during shipment, the point impacts the screw and destroys the threading.). The replacement came with the same problem, but I decided against any more hassle and filed part of the threading down manually, and was able to get the screw back into shape. First trip to the beach, I was just itching to show off my new giant umbrella. I found a good looking sandy spot and began unpacking my equipment, completely unaware of the debacle I was about to find myself in. There was a mild wind (maybe 10 mph) coming off the water, which proved too much for this poorly designed contraption. As soon as the canopy was opened, the wind blew it inside out and snapped the pole near the top. The canopy came completely free of the supporting arms and took off down the beach, while the arms themselves - free of the pole and spiky points flailing in all directions - tried to enter the plot of our neighboring beachgoers. If I hadn't caught it, it could have easily impaled or seriously injured somebody. So, 10 seconds after opening the umbrella for the first time, I was holding a broken shaft of flailing and very sharp umbrella arms while the umbrella canopy blew away and surrounding people looked on in morbid fascination. As I did not think to bring a backup umbrella (who would, with a 9' diameter beast that promises to house you and a dozen of your next of kin?) OR a hat (big mistake, that), I spent the afternoon in the sun with lots of sunscreen and a very strong suspicion that I was being watched and talked about by dozens of nearby families ("Oh my god hun, did you see that idiot with his huge umbrella? What is he, daft? Now look at 'im, sitting out there in the sun with nothing but a pair of shades and a rapidly reddening epidermis. Poor sod. Don't let the kids near him.") Yeah this thing LOOKS sweet and it will make you the envy of the entire coastline if you get it up successfully in zero wind conditions. But consider how you'll feel if you end up like me.

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.