I’m far from a patio umbrella connoisseur, but I can say that this umbrella upgrade has made my deck space much nicer. We are using the same base that we had with our previous umbrella, but somehow, we no longer have the struggles of the umbrella taking flight in a slight breeze, or swaying violently on a nice day during dinner. It’s really a nice piece that you just don’t notice, which is what I WANT in an umbrella like this. The light linen color is perfect, too.