I use this as the base for my umbrella that I use with my patio table (the table has a hole in it for the umbrella).  It's heavy enough to hold the umbrella in place (when closed) during high winds, and it looks great with my patio table.  The only thing I can complain about and it's not much of a problem is that when it rains, water sits in the top of the umbrella base until the weather gets hot enough to evaporate the water.  I haven't had the stand long enough to know if that will be an issue over time.