The best fillable parasol bases, compared.
Top pick: PokeAir two sand bags Best value: Straame 50 cm four-piece base – About £38.99 for a stated 60 kg water or 80 kg dry-sand fill, 4.5 from 255 reviews, about £21 less than the top pick. Leak reviews keep it off the top score. Updated 22.10.2026.
A fillable parasol base is a hollow plastic stand, a set of hollow plates, or a fabric bag that you load with water, sand, or gravel so a garden parasol stays upright. In the UK you usually already own the parasol. The ballast has to match a cantilever cross, a centre pole, or a stand you already have. You judge a suitable one by the filled weight for the fill you will use, a cap or seam that holds that fill, and a fit to the frame. Water is about 1 kg per litre. Sand is heavier in the same volume, so a litre figure and a kilogram figure are two different loads. Plates sit on a cross you usually already own. A socket takes a centre pole in a stated millimetre range. A bag adds weight to a stand that is already there. No British Standard for domestic parasol ballast turned up in the sources used here. The split between plates, a socket and a bag is in the [fillable parasol base buying guide](/hub/sun-shades/fillable-parasol-base/sub/fillable-parasol-base-buying-guide).
A fillable parasol base is a hollow plastic stand, a set of hollow plates, or a fabric bag that you load with water, sand, or gravel so a garden parasol stays upright. In the UK you usually already own the parasol.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What do you already own?
PokeAir POKE-N044 is two black Oxford bags at about £9.99, sold without sand, with handles and double Velcro, each about 72.5 x 30 cm. The bullet says 33 lb, which it also writes as 15 kg, per bag, while the title says 49 lb. The listing does not reconcile those figures. The star line is 4.9 from 12 reviews, and the six review texts are positive, which is too thin to lead this comparison. Those texts mention garden gravel, leftover pebbles, or sand, and one says you need at least two bags of sand in them. They sit on a base, a gazebo, or furniture rather than forming a pole socket. There is no water capacity. At about £9.99 they are the cheapest listing here, and the review count is the reason to treat that price as a trial, not as proof of a 15 kg fill.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a cheap pair of gravel bags for a stand or gazebo you already have, and you accept a 12-review sample.
Less suitable: You are choosing the main base for a cantilever, or you treat 4.9 from 12 as equal to 4.4 from 1,389.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the PokeAir two-pack include sand?
No. The title says without sand. Reviews mention filling with gravel, pebbles, or sand.
How much does each PokeAir bag hold?
The bullet says 33 lb, which it also writes as 15 kg, per bag. The title says 49 lb. The listing does not reconcile those two figures.
Are these a parasol socket?
No. They are fabric weight bags for a parasol, gazebo, cantilever, or furniture, not a plastic base with a pole hole.
Straame B094DDRZ55 is four black plastic plates at about £38.99. The bullets say 60 kg with water or 80 kg with dry sand, each piece 50 x 50 x 7.5 cm and 15 litres. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.5 from 255 reviews. Reviewers use them on X-shaped stands and on 3 m banana parasols, and several call the set sturdy once it is full. The same reviews include leaks from a hole or a faulty thread, and one pack arrived short of a handle nut. One review says the plates only weigh the flanges, not the feet. The parcel line of 15 x 5 x 20 cm is not the plate size. At about £21 less than the VOUNOT set for a stated 60 kg water fill, this is the best value if the cross is already on the patio and 50 cm squares will fit.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want four plates for a cross you already own, at a lower price than the most-reviewed set, and you have room for 50 cm squares.
Less suitable: A small patio, a centre pole through a table, or anyone who reads the parcel line as the plate size.
Specifications
Common questions
Will these Straame plates fit a cantilever parasol?
The bullets describe four pieces pinned around a cantilever stand. UK reviews use them on X-shaped and 3 m banana stands. The cross itself is not named in the included-parts line.
Is the fill 60 litres of water or 80 kg of sand?
The bullet gives both. Each piece is 15 litres. Filled, it says 60 kg with water and 80 kg with dry sand. Water and sand are not the same load.
Do the plates leak?
Many reviews fill them with water and keep the parasol up. Others report a hole, a leak at the thread, or one piece that would not hold water.
The VOUNOT set is four black HDPE plates with handles and U-shaped pins, at about £59.99. The listing says the set holds up to 60 litres of water, about 60 kg, or 100 kg of sand. Across 1,389 amazon.co.uk reviews the line is 4.4. Many people fill with water and keep a cantilever up, while a repeated complaint is that one of the four pieces leaks at a pinhole, a plug thread, or a seam. The included line is four slabs, and reviews say the cross feet are separate. One reviewer with a matching 3 m parasol found the legs stuck out past the plates. Empty weight is listed at 7.9 kg, so a sand fill is a two-person lift. In this set it is the top pick when you already own the cross and you will check each cap before you leave water in.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already have a cantilever cross and want the plate set with the most UK reviews in this comparison.
Less suitable: You need a centre-pole socket, or you will not check each cap before filling with water.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the VOUNOT set include the cantilever cross?
Included components say 4 weighting slabs. UK reviews say the cross feet or fittings are separate, and one says the plates need those feet.
Is 60 litres the same as 100 kg?
No. The bullet says the set holds up to 60 litres of water or 100 kg of sand. Reviews treat sand as the heavier fill and water as the quicker one. Water is about 1 kg per litre, so 60 litres is about 60 kg of water.
Do VOUNOT plates leak?
Some reviews hold water with no leak. A repeated complaint is that one of the four pieces leaks at a pinhole, a plug thread, or a popped underside dimple.
This Straame listing is about £36.99 for four pieces that the bullet sizes at 48 x 48 x 7.5 cm, again with 15 litres each and a claim of 60 kg of water or 80 kg of dry sand. The star line is 4.4 from 268 reviews. Several people keep a cantilever up with water or kiln-dried sand. Others report leaks at the cap, pinholes, a missing stopper, or a chunk out of a corner. One reviewer used PTFE tape on a leaking cap. That is that person's workaround, not a step the listing describes. The title says square, one bullet says the base is formed like a circle, and the parcel line is again 15 x 5 x 20 cm. One UK reviewer was annoyed that the cross was not in the box. The dimensions line lists 7.7 kg empty. It is only about £2 under the 50 cm Straame set, and the leak notes are the reason it is not the best value.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the cheaper Straame twin and you will inspect every cap, accepting a 48 cm piece and mixed square-or-circle wording.
Less suitable: You wanted the cross in the box, a sealed water fill on the first try, or the 50 cm plates at about £38.99.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this Straame set include the cantilever cross?
The bullets say the pieces pin onto a crossbar stand. One UK reviewer was annoyed that the cross to attach to the cantilever was not in the box.
Square or round?
The title says square 4-piece weights. One bullet says the base is formed like a circle, and a review describes a circular shape with rounded edges. Each component is 48 x 48 x 7.5 cm in the bullet.
Do these plates hold water?
The bullet says 60 kg with water or 80 kg with dry sand. Several reviews are happy with water. Others report leaks at the cap, pinholes, a missing stopper, or a broken piece.
Brislut SAN-BA-02 is two 900D bags at about £19.99, with Velcro, handles, and a 3.5 inch ring. The bullet claims up to 50 kg or 110 lb of sand. Sand is not included, and the empty weight is listed at 260 g, with a size of 45 x 46 x 10 cm. The star line is 4.4 from 25 reviews, a small sample next to the round Brislut bag's 1,654. Reviewers like the two halves for lifting a sand fill, and one person also steadied a rotary washing-line base. One UK review says water soaks straight through the fabric. Another gave 3 stars because the hole was too small for their parasol. A further review filled nearer 25 kg than the 50 kg claim. The ring can suit a pole near 3.5 inches if you measure first. These halves will not replace four plates on a wide cross.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want two sand halves around a pole close to 3.5 inches, and you accept a 25-review sample.
Less suitable: You need a water fill, a plate set for a cantilever cross, or a review sample in the thousands.
Specifications
Common questions
Can you fill the Brislut SAN-BA-02 with water?
The bullet rates the bag for sand, up to 50 kg or 110 lb, and says sand is not included. One UK review says water soaks straight through the fabric, so sand is the fill that review could use.
Will the 3.5 inch ring fit every parasol pole?
The listing says a 3.5 inch inner ring fits most cantilever and garden umbrella posts. One reviewer gave 3 stars because the hole was too small for their parasol.
Is the sand already in the bags?
No. The bullet says sand is not included.
The round Brislut bag is about £19.99 of 900D polyester, listed at 200 g empty and about 47 cm wide by 16 cm high. It is extra sand ballast for a stand you already have. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.2 from 1,654 reviews. The title says up to 40 kg, a bullet says 85 lb, about 38.6 kg, and a size line lists options from 14 kg to 50 kg without showing which capacity this listing is. Sand is not in the box, and some buyers still expected a filled bag. One review reports about five years on a long-reach parasol, while another bag arrived with a hole and still felt unsteady in a light breeze. A UK review says it is not suitable for water, despite a waterproof feature line, and another says the opening has to sit on top. It helps when the stand is already there. It is the wrong order if you still need plates or a socket.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already have a parasol stand and want a sand bag with a large UK review count, not a new plastic base.
Less suitable: You have no stand yet, you need four plates for a cross, or you planned to fill the bag with water.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the Brislut weight bag include sand?
No. The bullets say sand is not included, and UK reviews describe buying sand separately.
Can this bag wrap a bare parasol pole?
One bullet says it is extra weight for a stand you already have, and that wrapping the pole alone is not recommended. Another bullet says a 3.5 inch inner ring fits most posts.
Can you fill it with water?
Special features say waterproof. One UK review says it is not suitable for water and needs sand.
Yattuyix model 001 is four black 600D Oxford bags at about £12.29, each listed at 30 x 70 cm unfilled and up to 50 lb of sand or gravel, about 22.7 kg. The empty weight is 700 g. The product dimensions are 70 x 30 x 1 cm, which is the flat pack. The bullet claims a waterproof lining, double stitching, sealing strips, and side straps. This listing has no review line, so there is no buyer report on whether the seams hold 50 lb or whether the lining holds water. A filled weight is not listed as included. Four bags can add gravel to a gazebo or an offset stand you already have. They are not plates for a cross. Until a UK star line appears, the 50 lb figure stays a claim.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want four empty bags to load with sand or gravel on a stand or gazebo you already own, and you accept a listing with no UK reviews.
Less suitable: You need plates for a cross, a water capacity, or any buyer text before you trust the 50 lb line.
Specifications
Common questions
How much does each Yattuyix bag hold?
The bullet says each bag holds up to 50 lb of sand or gravel, about 22.7 kg. There is no separate buyer answer, because this listing has no reviews.
Are the bags waterproof?
The bullet says 600D Oxford with a waterproof lining and double stitching. No review on this listing confirms that the lining holds water.
Will sand leak from the seams?
The listing claims reinforced double stitching and sealing strips. No review reports a seam leak, and there is no written buyer answer.
The Cococheers UMBRELLA BASE-1 is an HDPE shell on a metal cross, listed at about £179.99, with four castors, a grooved handle, and an empty weight of 13.5 kg. The size line is 84.99 x 84.99 x 17.98 cm, and the bullet claims 150 kg when filled with water. Sand is also named, with no kilogram for sand. The listing has no customer-review line, so that 150 kg figure is seller wording only. Two large filling ports and two side drainage outlets are described. The title calls it a cantilever base and says it suits most parasols, without a millimetre range. One bullet also describes a Purple Leaf parasol, which is a different product. Wheels on an empty 13.5 kg shell are not a trolley for a full water load. Leave it off a first shortlist until a UK star line exists.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are only comparing this row because the title says 150 kg and wheels, and you will wait for UK reviews before you pay about £179.99.
Less suitable: You want a reviewed plate set, a known litre capacity, or a base you can judge from buyer texts.
Specifications
Common questions
How do you fill the Cococheers base?
The listing says two large filling ports and two side drainage outlets, and that you can use water, sand, or a mixture. The question about filling with water has no written buyer answer.
Does this Cococheers base have wheels?
The bullet describes four castors and a grooved handle on a metal cross. The question about whether the wheels are easy to move has no written buyer answer.
What pole size does it take?
No millimetre range is printed. The bullet says it is compatible with most parasols, and the title calls it a cantilever parasol base.
The Kawiithn listing is a fillable base at about £39.99. The title states a 25 mm to 60 mm pole and water or sand, and it does not print a litre or kilogram capacity. The package line is 1.85 kg and the parcel line is 50.01 x 50.01 x 16.99 cm, which describes the carton rather than a filled weight. There is no customer-review line and no review texts. Material, piece count, and whether sand is included are missing from the listing. A 25 to 60 mm range can cover many centre poles if the live page still says that when you order. It does nothing for a cantilever cross, which needs plates rather than a socket. At about £39.99 with no capacity and no stars, it is a specification gap, not a budget socket you can size from this comparison.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You have measured a centre pole between 25 mm and 60 mm and you will confirm capacity on the live listing before you buy.
Less suitable: You own a cantilever cross, or you need a reviewed fill weight before you spend about £39.99.
Specifications
Common questions
What pole fits the Kawiithn base?
The title says 25 mm to 60 mm. The question about fitting a particular umbrella pole has no written buyer answer.
How much water or sand does it hold?
The title says fillable with water or sand. No litre or kilogram figure is printed, and the weight question has no answer.
Is there a UK review score?
This listing has no customer-review line and no review texts.
Scores use the nine amazon.co.uk listings on this page. Prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures already stored for this set, not a live re-check. There is no laboratory wind test, and no British Standard for domestic parasol ballast is cited. A missing star line scores 0 on the star block and on the review block. The blocks sum to 100. The highest score is the top pick in this set only. Best value is a separate result: a stated water fill under about £45 with at least 200 reviews, not the same listing as the top pick.
Amazon stars
20%The stored star line times four, rounded. A listing with no star line scores 0. This uses the stored amazon.co.uk star line, not a new scrape.
Review sample
15%0 if there is no review line. 4 if under 30 reviews. 8 if 30 to 199. 12 if 200 to 999. 15 if 1,000 or more.
Specification
25%Points for a clear type, a numbered water capacity or an explicit sand-only listing, one sand or gravel figure, and a specific fit. Two capacity figures that do not match score less. A parcel line that contradicts the plate size, or a bullet that describes a canopy, is deducted. The block cannot go below 0.
Review use
25%0 if there is no review line. Otherwise a base score, plus points when reviews describe the base doing the job that type is for, minus points for a repeated leak, water through a fabric bag, a missing cross, or a fill well below the claim. A handful of texts does not take the full uplift. The block stays between 0 and 25.
Shelf value
15%Higher when the price is under about £45, the review count is at least 200, and a water fill is stated. A bag under about £25 with 1,000 reviews scores for adding weight to a stand, not for replacing plates. No reviews and a price over about £100 scores lowest.
You already own the parasol. This page is the ballast: plates for a cross, a socket for a centre pole, or a bag for a stand you already have. The nine amazon.co.uk listings run from about £9.99 to about £179.99. These are stored prices, not a live re-check. The top pick is the VOUNOT four-plate set when you already own the cross and you want the largest plate-set review count. Best value is the Straame 50 cm set, about £21 less, with a stated water fill in the same band.
A fillable parasol base is hollow plastic or a fabric bag. You add water, sand, or gravel. You do not buy it already at its working weight. UK buyers usually already own the parasol and need ballast that matches a cantilever cross, a centre pole, or a stand. Solid concrete and resin bases are a different product, because you do not fill them. Read the frame before the kilograms. Plates are four pieces that pin onto a cross you usually already own.
Water is about 1 kg per litre. A 60 litre fill is about 60 kg of water. An 80 kg or 100 kg figure on the same listing is the sand load, not the water load.
Plates pin onto a cantilever cross. A centre pole needs a socket in the stated millimetre range. A bag adds weight to a stand you already have. The three are not substitutes.
Sand is not included on the listings that say so. The plate sets here pin onto a cross that reviews say is separate. A parcel line of 15 x 5 x 20 cm is not a 50 cm plate.
Start with the frame you already own. Plates sit on a cantilever cross. A socket takes a centre pole, often in a stated millimetre range such as 25 to 60 mm, or the 38 mm and 48 mm sizes common on centre-pole tanks. A bag adds weight around a stand and is a poor wrap on a bare pole. Then read water and sand as a pair. VOUNOT states 60 litres of water or 100 kg of sand. Both Straame sets state 60 kg of water or 80 kg of dry sand, at about 48 or 50 cm a side.
A kilogram on a bullet is seller wording until reviews describe that fill. Plate reviews in this set often fail at a cap, a plug thread, a pinhole, or one piece that will not hold water. Check every cap before you leave water in, and drain it before a hard frost unless that listing says otherwise. Fabric bags can let water through even when a feature line says waterproof. The round Brislut bag has one UK review that refuses water.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You already have the cross and want four plates with the most UK reviews in this set. The VOUNOT set is the top pick at about £59.99, 4.4 from 1,389 reviews, for 60 litres of water or 100 kg of sand. The cross is not in the box, and one piece leaking is a repeated complaint.
You already have a stand and want extra sand ballast, not a new plastic base. The round Brislut bag is about £19.99, 4.2 from 1,654 reviews. Sand is not included, the title and the 85 lb bullet do not name one capacity, and one review says not to use water.
You have measured a centre pole between 25 mm and 60 mm. The Kawiithn listing names that range and water or sand, at about £39.99, and it prints no litres and no star line. Confirm the capacity on the live page. It is not a plate set for a cantilever cross.
The top pick is the VOUNOT four-plate set at about £59.99. It scores 84, the highest here: four HDPE plates, 60 litres of water or 100 kg of sand, and 4.4 from 1,389 amazon.co.uk reviews. The cross is not in the included line, and a repeated review theme is one leaking piece. Best value is the Straame 50 cm set at about £38.99, score 81, with a stated 60 kg of water or 80 kg of dry sand and 4.5 from 255 reviews. It is about £21 less than the top pick for a stated 60 kg water fill. The round sand bag is cheaper and has more reviews, and it does not replace the plates.
Straame 50 cm four-piece base
About £38.99 for a stated 60 kg water or 80 kg dry-sand fill, 4.5 from 255 reviews, about £21 less than the top pick. Leak reviews keep it off the top score.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources first, then the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Prices and star lines are the stored figures, not a live re-check. Updated 22.10.2026.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk (tag pcuk26-21). If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures already stored for this set. This is not a laboratory test.
