VOUNOT 3m Cantilever Parasol

Is the VOUNOT 3m Cantilever Parasol worth buying?

Yes, the VOUNOT 3m Cantilever Parasol is worth buying at £64.99 if your table seats six and the budget stops at £70, because it delivers 7.07 m² of shade for £9.19 per square metre and 717 owners rate it 3.9.

It suits a household that will fill the cross base with sand or water on the day it arrives and pulls the canopy down before a storm. It does not suit an eight-seat table or an exposed, wind-battered garden, where the 3.3 m Kingsleeve at £99.99 earns its extra £35.

How much shade does £64.99 actually buy?

Divide the canopy area by the ticket price and the VOUNOT comes out in front: a 3 m diameter covers roughly 7.07 m², which is £9.19 for every square metre of shade. The dearest parasol on the same shortlist asks £31.89 per square metre for 0.11 m² more, so you are paying three times as much for the same roof over the table.

The canopy is octagonal rather than square, so the corners of a long rectangular table poke out into the sun. Around a six-seat round or oval table the shade lands where the chairs are, and the canopy sits 257 cm above the ground, high enough for adults to walk under the arm without ducking.

What comes in the box and what do you still have to buy?

The box holds the parasol, a protective cover and an adjustable fixing strap that stops the head swinging round when the wind gets up. The canopy is 180 g/m² water-repellent polyester on an aluminium frame with a stainless steel shaft, and the pole runs to 48 mm across.

The cross-shaped base arrives empty. Sand or water bags are a separate purchase, and without them nothing holds the parasol down, because a cantilever throws all its fabric to one side of the pole. A crank handle does the opening and closing, and the same head tilts and swings through a full 360°, so the shade moves across the table without the base being touched. Colours run to grey, beige, green and khaki, and the grey one measures 3 m wide by 2.57 m high.

Where does the VOUNOT 3m Cantilever Parasol fall short?

It is a 3 m canopy, so it shades 1.48 m² less than the 3.3 m Kingsleeve, and that gap is noticeable on a table with eight chairs. There are no lights along the ribs either, so an evening in the garden ends when the sun does.

The base is the daily chore. An unfilled cross frame will not hold a 3 m canopy in a gust, and the fixing strap only stops the head rotating, not lifting. Steel appears in the frame alongside the aluminium, so the parasol wants a dry store over winter rather than a damp shed corner.

How does it compare with the Kingsleeve and the Neo?

The Kingsleeve Sochi 3.3m costs £99.99, which is £35 more, and spreads 8.55 m² against the 7.07 m² here. That works out at £11.69 per square metre, £2.50 above the VOUNOT, and it arrives with a five-piece wind kit and 953 owner scores behind it. It is the better buy for eight seats or a breezy site.

The Neo 3M at £89.99 adds 24 solar LEDs and puts a cross base in the box for £25 more, though 336 owners rate it 3.5. Buy the VOUNOT 3m on price per square metre, the Kingsleeve when the shade has to stretch wider, and the Neo if the garden is used after dark.