Menades 157" Cantilever Outdoor Umbrella

Great, well made umbrella. The base is big so plan accordingly. I love it except for the fabric color - didn't have an option for grey or something that doesn't show dirt. Also, the fabric is soft and feels nice but I question whether its water protected or will last as some of the fabric is fraying.

This umbrella is very good, it’s substantial. We packed the 4 bags in the base with 400+ lbs of gravel - this thing isn’t moving unless we decide to move it! We have a lot of wind where we are and so far it has been very stable. It was a great price and it looks great as a piece of furniture. I like the wood base boards. I expect it could probably handle winds up to 20mph without us being worried about it. We get much higher speeds here, but we get enough notice so we can fold it down. I timed it this morning, it takes me 90 seconds to put it up or take it down. It’s trivial. (Not sure why they sent us a separate umbrella cover. It comes already with a very nice cover, so it’s a strange addition. Not even sure it fits the umbrella!) Oh, there is one possible thing that affects the functionality. It’s doesn’t really affect me, but it’s worth noting. Basically, it has 2 bars, anchored to the main mast, which plug into either side of the umbrella and they stabilize it. It works as you put the umbrella up and down, and tilt it on one axis. You can also rotate the main umbrella horizontally easily 360 degrees by standing on the pedal. However you can also rotate the umbrella vertically along another axis - you can effectively make it from going horizontal (aligned with the horizon) to being vertical (effectively it becomes like a wall when in this mode). However to rotate it that way, you have to unplug the stability bars, which is a bit annoying because then it’s less (duh!) stable. Not a massive issue, but it was a bit strange. We don’t actually rotate it that way much… but still. So yeah the umbrella has exceeded our expectations and is a solid addition to our (lovely) deck.

Screw holes are misaligned and very hard to put together. Overall quality is better than the cheapest outdoor umbrella, but still feels a bit flimsy.

The umbrella was shipped damaged. Package was missing a chunk of cardboard, and someone just taped the box together. I called and told customer service, since we weren't putting umbrella together till, we had better weather. Saturday we were finally putting it together and when we removed the tape the product was damaged more like crushed. I called customer service and sent them pictures and finally was told I would receive a new umbrella. It arrived and we finished assembling the umbrella. Umbrella is very nice. What I am very unhappy about is being told that I would get a 15% discount for all my troubles and that has not happened. I did get a discount but not what I was promised. Very disappointed.

Sand bags completely ripped to shreds on first use. Fell apart at the seems and sand was everywhere. Straps not strong enough to lift the sandbags once you fill them. Comical for this nice of an umbrella and paying this kind of money. Very disappointed. Overall the umbrella is beautiful but when you pay $1000 you expect the entire product to function and work. I hope the mfg will resolve this issue.