If you choose the wrong base for your patio umbrella, you may be facing disaster. The next strong wind may topple your umbrella right over, or even carry it away! Finding the right base is absolutely necessary to the success of the umbrella in terms of keeping it secure and in place.

Take your time and consider the important aspects of a base before making a final selection. In general, you should be concerned with the size and weight of the base as well as the neck diameter. The weight is what most people focus on, and this is definitely with good reason.

How heavy the base should be depends on a couple of different factors related to the umbrella’s size and it’s location. These two factors must be understood to make a proper decision regarding which base is best for your patio umbrella.

Without a doubt, a larger patio umbrella canopy will equate with a heavier base. Make sure that you know the diameter of the canopy before you look for a base. The weight that you’ll need is easy to look up based upon this one statistic of the umbrella.

Less weight is needed for the patio umbrella base if the umbrella is situated inside a table. This is because the table will share some support to the umbrella. Since the base isn’t relied upon as much to keep the umbrella in place, it doesn’t need to weigh as much.

In general, you can shift the necessary weight of the umbrella base down one category if you put the patio umbrella inside a table. So if a base needs to be fifty pounds for a free standing umbrella of a particular size, it would only need to be thirty five pounds in a table.

You also want to make absolutely sure that the base’s neck diameter is the right size for the patio umbrella. If the umbrella’s shaft is too wide for the stand, you won’t be able to assemble the umbrella at all. This is definitely frustrating.

If you want to make sure you have the best umbrella base possible, make sure to keep account of these two critical aspects - the weight and neck diameter of the stand. Once these are good, take the time to pick out a stand that’s attractive, too!