Reader Reviews
I bought this base to do two things for me - it had to be able to fit under my picnic table and it had to hold the umbrella snug enough to keep it from spinning every time a light breeze came by. My picnic table has a support beam that only allows for a base that's 7 1/2" in height to fit under it to align with the umbrella pole holes. The height for this base is listed as 5 1/2" on Amazon. However, the full base height is actually 8" - the large diameter part is 5 1/2" tall, but the collar that inserts into the base to hold the umbrella pole is 8" in height. So, immediately, this base wasn't what I needed it to be, but I thought maybe I could cut the collar down by 1/2" to get it to fit. Before doing that, I decided to try inserting the umbrella just to check if the base would keep it from spinning - not even close! The umbrella spins just as freely as if it wasn't even inserted into the base. I understand that this is just a cheap base, and I wasn't expecting much, but if it can't even hold the pole tight enough to prevent the umbrella from spinning, I'm not sure what use it is. And, on top of all that, it looks quite ugly too. I should have just sent it back for a refund, but all the hassle just didn't seem to be worth it since it ships in a huge box.