******
- Verified Buyer
I had done months of researching different brands and styles, reading through hours and hours of their reviews and adding them to my list. This including the Purple Leaf brand. Then, Prime Day came and this one was over 50% off and I just couldn't pass up the deal. Especially after already reading about this company and seeing that their products received such high reviews from others. To be fair, I was already leaning towards Purple Leaf and now that we have it, I would have been just as pleased had I paid full price. Honestly, I wouldn't have batted an eye. The Prime Day discount just helped speed along my actual purchase.Next thing I did was order the Purple Leaf in-ground base (separate from the umbrella order).We previously had a Costco Sunbrella that we had inserted through a patio table hole and into a base rated up to 140lbs but because of the steady breezes and (more often than not) occasional gusts, the Costco umbrella base wasn't nearly strong enough causing the umbrella to tip over, usually taking the table with it.I knew that because of the winds we get, a bolted or in-ground base would be more practical and safe for our particular environment. That is not to imply in any way that the Purple Leaf water/sand fillable bases wouldn't adequately hold up against breezes. I just knew the issues we had with our previous umbrella stand blowing over and didn't want to have to use the giant base required for this cantilevered umbrella simply due to it's large footprint and knowing the kind of winds that can come through our property. However, having the option to move the umbrella around on our patio would've been ideal but I just didn't want to chance it. Bolting it down to the patio would've been a slighty cheaper route too but there's always that trip hazard if we decide to store the umbrella inside so, in-ground with cement made the most sense for us. Just know, depending on your soil conditions, digging to the recommended depth and width isn't always an easy task so do keep that in mind.Order and Delivery: Upon ordering on July 12th, I had to choose from a list of delivery days. The soonest date available was Sat July 29th between 8am-8pm via CEVA Logistics and it stated that a signature was required at the time of delivery. Once it finally shipped (from Florida) I was able to start tracking the shipment through Ceva's website. As a side note, I did become a bit concerned about possible shipping issues after noticing that most reviews, mainly from Amazon customers, for this particular carrier were dang near all negative. Most mentioning that the logistic company would call the customer to confirm the time and day but then they'd never show or even call to reschedule. There were plenty of stories that sounded like complete nightmares so I prepared myself for that as best I could. Once the tracking showed that the shipment had arrived at SeaTac Airport and was picked up by CEVA's ground transportation in Seattle, I was able to go online through the CEVA website, click "change my delivery date" and was able to pick a new delivery date 3 days earlier than originally scheduled. The new date also updated through Amazon's tracking as well. The day of delivery, I'd read that I'd be getting a call from their driver at least 30 minutes prior to arriving and a signature would still be required but that call never came. While I was out running a quick errand that day, my Amazon app updated my order status as "delivered" which did surprise me since nobody was actually home to sign for it.They had dropped the box off on my back patio. The box itself definitely looked a little worse for wear so I took plenty of pictures of the damaged packaging knowing that until we got the hole dug and base cemented, I wouldn't be able to open up to inspect for damage to the umbrella itself.IN GROUND BASE: *ORDERED SEPERATE* We did use the Purple Leaf in-ground base. It was sold out on the Purple Leaf website but I did find them available on Amazon for the same exact price. According to Purple Leaf, their in-ground base will fit ANY of their purple leaf umbrellas but that bases from any differing brand, would not. I simply typed in Purple Leaf in-ground base and it popped right up. I also saw in past reviews where someone else had successfully made their own in-ground cement base to mount the base tube assembly by matching its bolt pattern which I'll touch more on a little further down in my review.My husband dug our hole 33" deep x 25" wide. This is a bit deeper than the required 28" depth but he wanted to cement it in with 800lbs vs 500lb of fast-setting Quikrete. Probably overkill but the base wasn't going to be coming back out of the ground one way or the other so the extra 300lbs was for peace of mind only.We let the base set up overnight in the concrete and next day my husband bolted the base tube assembly onto the (cured) in-ground base plate. Then he lifted and installed the actual umbrella main base by sliding it over the mounted base tube assembly he had just bolted on.He did this by himself but since the umbrella is attached to it's main base tube, you may need two people to help lift it up and onto the short base tube assembly since the umbrella and main tube is quite heavy.I wanted to be clear on this process because I saw alot of questions about whether a Purple Leaf umbrella stand itself could fit into or bolted onto any base (water/sand filled, bolted plate base or in-ground base) made by another brand or company. See, there are TWO base components that come with these umbrellas. The "main" base tube which comes attached to the umbrella itself and a short base "assembly" piece. The short base "assembly" piece which is about 2 ft tall has to first, be bolted or attached to whichever type of base (in-ground, water or bolted plate, etc) you choose. But again, the main base itself must be bought SEPERATE and is not included when you purchase the umbrella. The shorter base tube "assembly" piece must be installed for your umbrella to work properly.I did attach illustrations from the umbrella manual itself that I also typed a short explanation next to on how the main tube slides over the short base tube assembly, regardless of the type of base it's being installed on.Just remember, unless you're able to engineer something that the shorter base tube assembly piece can bolt directly onto and it's sturdy enough to hold the weight of the umbrella up under breezes you'd be better off to just buy one of their bases that they recommended depending on the size of your umbrella. Their in-ground base and bolt to structure plate systems can be used on all their cantilevered umbrella's. But not all of their water/sand bases are interchangeable so be sure to go to the Purple Leaf website to confirm which one they recommend based on the umbrella and size you're buying. The base that may show up as "other customers also bought with this item" on the Amazon app isn't the route you should go. Do yourself a favor and just go to the Purple Leaf website or their store on Amazon.After Installing: There is foam packaging that is wrapped around each individual umbrella rib that will prevent you from opening the umbrella after you've installed it onto the base. Be sure to remove that before cranking the handle to open the umbrella. Also, somehow we missed this in the manual, but the main umbrella base is intended to lean backwards 2.5°. So don't spend 5 minutes scratching your head and double checking the bubble on your level like we did before referring back to the manual. Derp!The handle moves quite easily up and down the tube, locking into whatever hole I need depending on the angle I want the umbrella raised or lowered at. For me, it takes both hands to raise the handle when the umbrella is closed. But once it's cranked open, the counter weight seems to be what helps the handle glide up and down the tube so easily.It does spin around 360° by turning the botton crank at the foot of the umbrella base. This also turns nice and easy. To open or close umbrella, you will turn the crank on the side of the main handle. When cranking to open or close there's a center black plastic piece inside the umbrella that disconnects when closing or connects when opening (see last 2 pictures). It may seem like you have no tension on the crank when opening until it's cranked enough times to slide up into the main center tube. So if it feel like you've been turning alot to open the umbrella, make sure you check that it's pulling itself back up into that center tube. The last two pictures will show you what center tube and plastic connector piece I'm talking about.First Impression: Upon first opening up the umbrella to inspect the fabric and supports, I noticed a very small hole in the double top fabric piece. I took pictures and emailed their customer service requesting a replacement fabric for the top piece. If there's any issues in getting that replaced free of charge, I'll be sure to update but I truly don't expect that there will be.Other than the minor hole in the fabric, I am absolutely thrilled with quality and look of this umbrella! I especially love the wood grain finished look on the tube and frame. The fact that it was over 50% off for Prime Day was just an added bonus!The one I purchased is just as beautiful and built as sturdy as the commercial ones you see at the resorts. It's gorgeous!I am so relieved that all the great reviews I read here on Amazon actually do match the product I recieved! I won't even hesitate a little bit when we're ready to buy another one for the seating area on the other side of yard! Get your base figured out and buy the umbrella! You won't be disappointed! Enjoy! ?Hopefully the illustrations and pictures I added can help those trying to understand how this umbrella attaches to the seperate base.
