While beach umbrellas and patio umbrellas may look and act similarly, they are two very different umbrellas. Patio umbrellas tend to be way heavier as you aren’t moving them around as much and their poles fit into a table hole and floor base. Beach umbrellas don’t need a base and often feature a pointed bottom to dig into the sand while patio umbrellas have a flat bottom, which would make digging difficult. It may be tempting to use one umbrella for your backyard and beach outings but, unfortunately, they don’t work the same.