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 ?

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 and 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 cottonThe 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.

Where are umbrellas manufactured in France ?

In France in the early 1900s, there were 400 umbrella factories. Unfortunately, the two world wars destroyed many of these factories, but some survived, like the François Umbrella Factory !

In the 1960s, there were still a few dozen umbrella manufacturers. But from the 1970s onwards, with the arrival of supermarkets and over-consumption, prices and quality plummeted until the 1990s. At that time, umbrellas could be found all over France for 5 or 10 francs (around €1.50).

During this difficult period, other umbrella factories closed and many of our suppliers also disappeared, weakening the entire chain.

But despite a lot of stress and the redundancy of 11 employees, we weathered the storm. Little by little, consumers changed their habits and returned to a search for durable, solid products that could be repaired, even if it meant paying more. Lifespan has once again become a major issue in the face of disposable imported products !

Even so, this change in mentality came rather late (in the early 2000s), and it was only 10 to 15 years later that the Made in France movement made it possible to assert the know-how of French craftsmen both in our beautiful country and internationally !

Today, there are only a handful of artisanal umbrella factories left in France. François Umbrella Factory located in Poitiers (Vienne), in the north of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

So thank you for taking part in this virtuous movement!