GustBuster Pro Series Gold 62-Inch Golf Umbrella

About 10 years ago I purchased a combined large and small umbrella at Walmart's for much less than I paid for this umbrella. I lost track of the small umbrella, but the large umbrella was sturdy, resisted the wind and kept me very dry. The large Walmart umbrella had better coverage than this umbrella and it only failed in very heavy winds about a week ago after 10+ years of good service. So I thought I would replace it with an equivalent or better model. *** WARNING ***: If you want to take advantage of the "lifetime warranty" that comes with this umbrella, keep the small glossy card that has a UPC code in tiny print. You'll need that tiny UPC code to register your umbrella in order to fall within the warranty. This is not like an L.L. Bean or Nordstrom warranty where you merely have to return the product.Is this umbrella better than a knock-off "totes" umbrella purchased for $5 from a street vendor? Yes, it is. Is this umbrella worth anywhere near the price charged? No it is not. Is this an umbrella that I would recommend to a good friend? No. I think a fair price for this umbrella would be at or lower than $15.99. In other words, it is grossly overpriced for what you get. Here is why: To begin with, this is a manual open/close umbrella, which is fine. Simpler is better usually. However, the plastic appearing mechanism that you must press to open or shut this umbrella is cheap, stupid and reflects either poor design or a shoddy attempt to save a little money at the cost of drastically reducing the quality of this umbrella. Read the other reviews. The plastic mechanism fails often -- sometimes it fails on arrival; other times it fails shortly after the purchase. But the bottom line is that it is difficult to open and shut this umbrella, which makes it far less useful.Think about that for a moment. It's like designing a world class race car and leaving out the wheels. If you are in the rain, as I was this morning, and you are struggling to open your brand, spanking new umbrella of what use is the supposed "resists winds up to 55 mph claim"? So that is problem number one. Cheap, flimsy often non-working opening/closing mechanism.Problem number two is that the ribs seem to draw water down to the shaft of the umbrella. As I walked home this evening, there was a steady trickle of water that ran down the shaft and gradually wetted my hand and then my shirt sleeve. I've never had an umbrella do this; not even a very cheap one. And it is unpleasant to hold a leaky umbrella.Problem number three: I question how water resistant the fabric of this umbrella is. I was fairly wet by the time I arrived home. Whereas with the large Walmart umbrella at least the top two-thirds of me would have been dry. I previously owned a smaller "gust buster." It failed after a few years, but it was definitely more sturdy than this model. The previous gust buster's main problem was that it was too small, offering coverage for only your head and most of your shoulders. This supposedly larger umbrella isn't much better as it has low head clearance. It is not a deep dome that properly covers your upper torso.I've had better umbrellas that cost far less than this one. This "new" gust buster feels so much cheaper than the mini gust buster that I brought a few years ago that I wonder whether that American phenomenon of a change of ownership/decline in quality to squeeze profits upwards has not occurred.Don't waste your money. I am returning both of the umbrellas that literally just arrived. On day number one, the umbrella that I used to get to and from work stunk. I arrived home wet and angry enough to write this review and return the item.Go to your favorite big box store and pick out the heaviest, sturdiest umbrella that you can find. It will probably be better than this one and cost half as much or less. In the meantime, I keep hoping that someone like Dyson will tackle the umbrella problem. I'll gladly pay more for a sturdy product, but this umbrella is not that better product. It's just priced much higher than it should be.Thank you.

I got this umbrella to shield me from the rain and wind in Philadelphia. While it is a little heavier than an average umbrella the wind does tend to go through the ducting (does not let rain in) and is moderately sized to protect myself and my legs when the rain is not being blown around. The fabric seems durable and appears unmarred after 6months of intermittent use. The handle has slightly loosened but with slight tightening of the exposed screw it is back to normal. The construction and design seems well thought out and durable. Clearly the company was trying to balance durability and weight and has struck a good compromise. As with any device, treat it too harshly and I'm sure it will break but it is stronger than most umbrellas I've used and has been very serviceable. I would buy this umbrella again.

If you use or break umbrellas frequently, this thing is very worth it.The last one of these I had lasted 5 years and it took one heck of a beating. It got extremely beat up over the years due to many non weather related incidents that I won't get into. ;-) As far as my actual weather related proper use of it, it was excellent.I've tried a few other "strong" umbrellas, and this one is way beyond. I am rough on umbrellas in general, as is a friend of mine. We hike together every day rain or shine. Wind, branches, bashing into trees, and all other sorts of other roughness occurs on are hikes and I've never had an issue with this umbrella. My hiking friend seemed to be buying several umbrellas a year so i convinced him to get a gustbuster. He's had it ever since and it still looks brand new. They are just made and designed very well in every way. They are light and easy to carry, open and close easily, and so on.Just a great product. Definitely worth the $.

This product is just what I was looking for. This is a great quality umbrella, but I had to return it because it wouldn`t lock when I let it up. The seller was more than happy to oblige me with another one with the quickness. I didn`t have to use this umbrella immediately, but the first time I did, it worked perfectly. The second time I tried to use my umbrella,(1/27,2019) there was a click when I let it up, it didn`t lock, and it hasn`t worked since then. I paid 49 + dollars for this merchandise and I try to spend money on quality things so as not to have to make the same purchase repeatedly. The material and structure are great but the locking system sucks!!! I know it`s been a while, but will the seller get in touch with me to send me another that will work without this hitch? A refund is more than likely out of the question by now, but I would really appreciate one or the other. Your response would be greatly appreciated.

Excellent, amazing umbrellaI bought a lot of umbrellas in my life and most of them were too gentle.This one is very, very sturdy. Can't stress enough how sturdy it is. Bravo!It's really large, but not the whole 5-people family large, not an outdoor table umbrella.I'd say it's a very large personal umbrella, or 2-person umbrella.But it's long. It's really long, so plan ahead, don't buy it if you don't want to carry it around or think it'll just fit in your bag or on your shotgun seat.The sleeve doesn't have any straps, so you have to carry it around in your hand.I easily solved it sewing a strap to the sleeve, it wasn't a problem for me, but may be for some one - so watch out!The handle is very comfortable, like it too.I think it'll serve years and years.Thank you GostBuster, bravo!

The best umbrella ever! Expensive.