Sun sail or parasol – what fits your patio?
Both create shade. They just do it very differently.
The Area
A parasol shades a circle or a square around its mast. That is perfect for a dining table. As soon as the area becomes larger or has an unusual shape, you need several umbrellas – or a sun sail. The sails from Bahama span over areas for which you would otherwise have to set up three umbrellas.
The Mast
The second difference stands in the middle of the room. A center-mast umbrella needs its space, a cantilever umbrella needs a heavy counterweight on the side. A sun sail hangs from the edges – underneath, everything remains clear. On a terrace with a fixed seating group or over a pool, this is often the decisive point.
The Wind
Here, the advantage flips. An umbrella is closed in ten seconds. A fixed-tension sail is not – which is why the models from Bahama are retractable. The square4sun line stretches straight over rectangular areas, square4sun cross and cross pro cross multiple panels, the elips4sun is the elliptical shape. The Summerday by CARAVITA is the more compact sail for private terraces.
Arguments against cheap sails
A fixed-tension triangular cloth from the hardware store will be ruined within two seasons: it remains under tension in wind and rain, the fabric stretches, and the attachment points work themselves loose. A retractable sail retracts before anything happens.
And what if both are options?
Then it depends on whether you want to take the shade with you. An umbrella can be moved and rotated to follow the sun; a sail hangs in place. Anyone who needs shade at the breakfast table in the morning and on the lounger in the evening is often better served with a cantilever umbrella.
To the range: Sun sails and umbrellas
