Purple Leaf Cantilever Umbrella Review 2023

If you don't want to plop a patio umbrella in the middle of your outdoor seating area, a cantilever umbrella with an offset pole is the way to go. I tested seven popular options to find the best patio umbrellas, including cantilever models, and the best cantilever umbrella was the Purple Leaf 11-Foot Cantilever Umbrella. This umbrella is built to last with heavy-duty materials, and it was also one of the easiest to tilt and rotate thanks to its unique two-crank system. The overall ease of use and high-quality construction, paired with unmatched wind resistance, made it the clear winner among cantilever-style umbrellas I tested.

The best cantilever patio umbrella I found is the Purple Leaf 11-Foot Cantilever Umbrella.

The Purple Leaf 11-Foot Cantilever Umbrella is a bit more complicated to set up than most market umbrellas, but the effort is worth it if you’re looking for a large canopy that's easy to adjust. It's effective at shading chairs, as well as dining tables, and it even comes with a cover to keep it in pristine shape during the off-season. Keep reading to learn everything I loved about this product.

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Canopy Diameter: 11 feet | Height: 108 inches | Weight: 65 pounds | Canopy Material: Polyester | Frame Material: Aluminum | Pole Size: N/A | Tilt: Manual

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Of all the umbrellas I tested, the Purple Leaf 11-Foot Cantilever Umbrella was by far the easiest to adjust. Its pole has a sliding, easy-to-grip handle that allows you to lock the canopy into six different tilt positions. A secondary crank at the bottom of the pole rotates the umbrella 360 degrees, and it's smooth and effortless to operate.

The Purple Leaf Cantilever Umbrella is easier to adjust than other large canopy umbrellas I tested.

With these two features, I could quickly adjust the canopy to block the sun, with an ease that is impressive for such a large product. The umbrella is well-suited for shading dining tables or seating areas; thanks to its oversized canopy, you could even use it to cover multiple seating areas, if desired.

This cantilever umbrella also beat out the competition when it came to wind resistance. Its unique design uses two arms to support the canopy, forming a sturdy triangular shape, as well as a large, tiered wind vent on top. Together, these features kept the umbrella perfectly stable, even when the wind was gusting over 10 mph. (The brand claims the umbrella is safe at wind speeds up to 30 mph.) The canopy barely swayed at all, and I felt safe sitting under it on breezy days.

By comparison, many of the market umbrellas wobbled or swayed in a breeze, and the other cantilever umbrella, the Sol 72 108-Inch Outdoor Umbrella, whipped around dangerously, as it doesn't have an arm to steady it.

Most of the umbrellas I tested weighed less than 20 pounds and could easily be set up by one person, but when it came to the Purple Leaf Cantilever Umbrella, I needed a helping hand. It weighs more than 60 pounds, and its pole is much more substantial than any of the other umbrellas. With the help of my partner, we bolted the umbrella directly to the decking.

The Purple Leaf Cantilever umbrella had some standout features like an easy-to-use crank, a sturdy ... [+] pole and opaque fabric that blocks the sun.

Although the heavy-duty construction did make the umbrella a bit harder to set up, the tradeoff is worth it. This umbrella was the most stable of all the models I tested, and seems like it would last the longest—especially since it came with a cover for use in the off-season. The aluminum pole's powder-coated finish makes it look like wood-grain, and the canopy is actually screwed onto the frame, ensuring it will never slip off.

Some umbrella canopies allow light to filter through, but the Purple Leaf Umbrella's thick polyester fabric is UV-resistant, water-repellent and is completely opaque. The only downside is that the canopy only comes in four basic colors.

Alternatively, if you want a Sunbrella canopy, the brand offers the same 11-foot Cantilever Umbrella with the high-end fabric. It's slightly more expensive, but all the experts I spoke to said that Sunbrella (a brand of outdoor acrylic fabric) is a worthwhile investment, as it resists fading and is easy to clean.

Cantilever umbrellas are great for covering a large area, but if you don't want something so big, I also highly recommend the Treasure Garden 9-Foot Market Umbrella, which also performed well in testing. Because it's a market umbrella, it has a straight pole and can either be used freestanding with a base or in the center of a patio table. This umbrella offers an easy-to-use auto-tilt function, and it was one of the most stable market umbrellas on a windy day—though it didn't quite match the stability of the Purple Leaf Umbrella.

I spent a lot of time lounging on my deck to test out the seven patio umbrellas—it's a tough job, but someone has to do it! After setting up each one, I used them for three weeks, shading lounge chairs and a dining table with their canopies. I evaluated each model on factors like its ease of opening and closing, its tilting function, and its stability on a windy day. I also looked at the overall construction, for things like high-quality fabric and neat stitching.

I tested patio umbrellas on my deck to check for ease of set up, stability and more.

Because patio umbrellas generally stay outside year-round, I also wanted to see how easy the products were to clean. I smeared a bit of mud onto each canopy and let it dry in the sun for a few days before washing it off. I noted which umbrellas came clean with the hose and which ones needed soap and scrubbing.

I’ve been a professional product tester for more than six years, and I’ve done firsthand testing on hundreds of products, including lots of patio and outdoor gadgets. I also have a degree in textiles, design, and fashion merchandising, which included several courses on textile science. I used this knowledge to evaluate the umbrellas as I tested them over the course of three weeks. I’ve also tested the best robot mops for Forbes Vetted.