Contact

  • French fr
  • English en
EPV
François Umbrella Factory Logo

La Fabrique
de Parapluies François

Since 1882

Your cart is currently empty!

  • Homepage
  • All our umbrellas
    • All our umbrellas
    • Straight umbrellas
    • Folding umbrellas
    • Large umbrellas
    • English walking stick umbrellas
    • Shepherd umbrellas
    • Children's umbrella
    • Sunshades
  • The Factory
    • Traditional Workmanship
    • Made in France umbrella
    • Choosing a high-quality umbrella
    • The workshop
    • 3D Tour
    • Our history
    • Living Heritable Label Company
  • Services
    • Repairs
    • Restoration
    • Bespoke and customisation production
  • Last news
    • All our news
    • Umbrella crafted in France
    • How to buy a good umbrella 
    • Windproof umbrellas 
    • How to care for an umbrella
    • How to fold a straight umbrella?
    • How to fold a folding umbrella?
    • The English umbrella: an exceptional umbrella
    • France 3 Météo à la carte programme
    • Choosing a folding umbrella or a straight umbrella?
  • Contact us
    • Contact
    • Estimate
    • frequently asked Questions
  • Parapluies Français

    How to buy a good umbrella 

    Here are our tips on how to buy a good umbrella and how to recognize a quality umbrella. Choose an umbrella manufacturer with real know-how!

    How to buy a good umbrella ?

    Buying a good umbrella

    Make sure you know where it comes from and manufactured on site.

    Don't buy from a reseller who is an intermediary and won't know how to repair the umbrella.

    Buy from an umbrella manufacturer, who knows his materials inside out.

    Check the quality of materials on its website and contact the manufacturer if necessary.

    See how the manufacturer can repairing umbrellas in case of after-sales service and that the follow-up is serious.

    Take a look at the manufacturer's online reputation, such as Google reviews or various videos and articles.

    How to recognize a quality umbrella ?

    The handle or knob must be made of wood not plastic, which is a sign of poor quality.

    The shaft of a straight umbrella avoid metal or carbon shafts, which are hollow inside and weaken the umbrella. The shaft of a folding umbrella should be made of steel, not aluminum, which can warp in the slightest gust of wind.

    The tips should be made of metal not plastic, as they will crack over time.

    The bottom of the canopy the umbrella must have a hem, this will prevent the fabric from fraying after years of use.

    The number of ribs must be at least 8 for a well-balanced umbrella. However, to say that the more ribs the stronger the umbrella is is false - it's a sales argument!
    An umbrella with 16 aluminum ribs will be weaker than one with 8 steel ribs.
    For an even more resistant umbrella, opt for carbon fiber ribs.

    The ribs of a straight umbrella must be in carbon fiber or fiberglass. Avoid metal ribs, which can rust and bend, making your umbrella heavier, even if some steels are extremely resistant and high quality. For this make sure your umbrella comes from the right source.

    Give preference to manual openings for straight umbrellas. In fact, some of the ribs used for straight, self-opening umbrellas are made of metal and mounted in a compressed mechanism with a spring, which makes them more fragile in windy conditions and less repairable.

    Folding umbrella ribs must be made of steel (qualitative) or in fiberglass but never in aluminum. This ensures that the umbrella will withstand the wind for many years to come.

    The umbrella canopy should be made of polyester (taffeta being the best quality available today), It can also be made polyamide or cotton. The canvas seams around the ribs should be overlocked, rather than flat-stitched, which is more fragile and less waterproof. Most imported umbrellas are made with flat seams. The quality of the sewing thread is also important.

    The umbrella closing braid should be fitted with a snap fastener. Avoid Velcro fasteners, which will wear out and prevent the umbrella from closing properly.

Contact us
Quote request

Opening hours

MONClosed
TUE10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
WEN10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
THU10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
FRI10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
SAT10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
SUNClosed

MENU

  • Homepage
  • All our umbrellas
  • Our history
  • Made in France
  • Last News
  • frequently asked Questions
  • Living Heritable Label Company
  • Handcrafted umbrellas
  • Choosing a high-quality umbrella
  • Umbrella repair service
  • Umbrella restoration service

And watch all our videos on our Youtube channel

Our Youtube channel
  • Legal information
  • Privacy statement
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Sales
Manage consent

We use cookies to improve your experience by processing navigation data.

Functional Always active
Storage or technical access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of transmitting a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
Storage or technical access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
Storage or technical access used exclusively for statistical purposes. Technical storage or access which is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. In the absence of a subpoena, voluntary compliance by your internet service provider or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this sole purpose cannot generally be used to identify you.
Marketing
Storage or technical access is necessary to create user profiles in order to send advertisements, or to track the user on a website or on several websites with similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Preferences
{title} {title} {title}