Versatile outdoor shade: VonHaus Roma Garden Parasol review

This is a review post in collaboration with VonHaus

We’ve had some gloriously sunny days this month, and in our house that means it’s officially patio season!

Our patio is south-west facing, which means it’s a real sun trap.  On a sunny day there’s no shade from mid-morning, and by late afternoon the low sun can really dazzle us.  In the past we’ve had a small, upright garden parasol, which we’ve had to drag around as the sun moved to keep us shaded – not ideal!

We’ve been sent the VonHaus 2.5m Roma Parasol to try out, to see if it can provide us with better, more adaptable shade.

The Roma garden parasol costs £99.99 and is a ‘banana’, or cantilever style parasol, which means the supporting pole sits to the side of the shade.  This gives you a lot more flexibility with the angle you can position the shade, and also allows for a much bigger shade which will cover a larger area.

The parasol was very easy to assemble, it took about 20 minutes to put together.  The pole and stand need to be secured with four weighted base segments, we used two packs of VonHaus 2 Pack Banana Parasol Bases which cost £24.99 each.  This does make the footprint of the base quite large (it’s a circle measuring approximately 1 metre diameter), so it’s worth checking you’re going to have enough room for it.

The parasol is really sturdy, with a strong powder coated steel frame and a hardwearing polyester canopy that delivers UV30+ protection.  I love the soft grey colour – so much easier to take care of than white or cream, and it won’t fade visibly either.

For such a large and heavy product, it’s surprisingly effortless to operate.  There’s a sliding handle which slots into a number of notches on the pole to give you a range of angles, plus a crank handle to fully open the shade once you’ve chosen your angle.  There’s also a foot pedal at the base which allows you to rotate the whole thing through 360 degrees.

I’m SO impressed with just how flexible this garden parasol is.  You really can completely control the shade throughout the day, and it has made it so much easier to enjoy our outdoor space for longer.  We can keep the kids out of the sun, read a book or chat to friends without being dazzled, and enjoy being outside without overheating.

I also really like the fact that there isn’t a central pole getting in the way, it makes the space feel much more open. It takes seconds to make a slight adjustment when the sun has moved too – such a huge difference compared to having to drag our old parasol base around!

The Roma parasol is part of the VonHaus Garden & Outdoor range, which has a lovely selection of products including furniture, decorative accessories and tools. You can check out the full range here.

Could the VonHaus 2.5m Roma parasol be the ideal shade solution for your outdoor space?

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I was supplied with a Vonhaus 2.5m Roma parasol and two packs of VonHaus 2 Pack Banana Parasol Bases for review purposes.  All comments and opinions are honest and genuine.