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Parasol base sand or water

Updated: 22.10.2026

The same plastic shell is printed with two weights, and they are not the same load. A parasol base sand or water choice is the difference between a hose fill you can drain and a heavier fill you may never pour back out. Fabric bags in this comparison are a third case: several reviews say they will not hold water at all. This page does not pick a best ASIN. The listings themselves are on our [fillable parasol base comparison](/hub/sun-shades/fillable-parasol-base). Products Compared used amazon.co.uk bullets and UK retailer notes on 21 October 2026. There is no lab weighing of a filled base. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The same plastic shell is printed with two weights, and they are not the same load. A parasol base sand or water choice is the difference between a hose fill you can drain and a heavier fill you may never pour back out.

Our top picks

Straame Straame 50 cm four-piece base

Best overall

Straame Straame 50 cm four-piece base
8.1/10about £38.99
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VOUNOT VOUNOT four-plate 60 L base

Rank 2

VOUNOT VOUNOT four-plate 60 L base
8.4/10about £59.99
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Brislut Brislut round weight bag

Alternative

Brislut Brislut round weight bag
7.8/10about £19.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two numbers on one listing
  2. 2.Water when you may move or drain it
  3. 3.Sand or gravel when it can stay put
  4. 4.A fabric bag is not a water tank

Two numbers on one listing

Read the water figure and the sand figure as a pair. Water is about 1 kg per litre, so a 60 litre fill is about 60 kg. Sand is heavier in the same volume. Both Straame listings say 60 kg with water and 80 kg with dry sand, 15 litres in each of four pieces. VOUNOT says 60 litres of water or 100 kg of sand. Those pairs are not two ways of writing one weight. Opal's example turns a 60 litre shell into about 60 kg of water and about 90 kg of sand. That 90 kg figure is Opal's arithmetic, not Straame's 80 kg line and not VOUNOT's 100 kg line. Quote the listing you are buying. Plate fit belongs on the cantilever parasol base weights page.

Water when you may move or drain it

Water is the fill you can put in with a hosepipe and take out before a hard frost. Belveo says water is easy to drain, and that sand is heavier and harder to empty. Some people finish a water fill in a few minutes. One piece can leak at a cap, a pinhole, or a thread, while the other three hold. A water fill only weighs what stays in the plate. Water left in over a hard frost can split the plastic. Drain it unless that listing says the shell can stay full. Water is the worse fill when your maker asks for more than about 60 kg and the only water line is 60 litres. A sand claim of 80 kg or 100 kg does not apply until the sand is in there. The hose and the cap are how to fill a parasol base.
Straame Straame 50 cm four-piece base

Testsieger

Straame Straame 50 cm four-piece base
8.1/10about £38.99
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Sand or gravel when it can stay put

Sand is the heavier fill, and it is the one you commit to. Straame asks for dry sand to reach the 80 kg line. Wet sand clumps. Kiln-dried sand pours. Chelsea Home and Leisure notes that sand does not drain back out. You will shovel it later, not hose it. Gravel and pebbles appear in the bag reviews, not as a third weight for the Straame plates. Yattuyix says up to 50 lb of sand or gravel in each bag, about 22.7 kg, with no reviews to check it. Use gravel only in a bag the listing names for gravel. A full sand set is a two-person lift. Do not ask one person to carry an 80 kg Straame fill or a 100 kg VOUNOT sand claim. If the frame is still open, the buying guide splits plates, a socket, and a bag.

A fabric bag is not a water tank

The bags in this set are sand bags, even when a feature line says waterproof. Brislut B0GVHT1Y11 claims up to 50 kg of sand, and sand is not included. One review says water soaks straight through. Another filled nearer 25 kg than 50 kg. The 3.5 inch ring is a fit question, not a water capacity. The round Brislut bag is also £19.99. The title says up to 40 kg and a bullet says 85 lb. One review says it is not suitable for water and needs sand. Another says the opening has to be on top. That is enough to stop you pouring water into this ASIN. PokeAir states sand, pebbles, or gravel, with no water capacity. The title says 49 lb and the bullet says 15 kg each, which do not agree. Yattuyix claims a waterproof lining and has no review line. Do not read waterproof as fill with water.

Common questions

Is 60 litres the same weight as 80 kg or 100 kg?
No. Sixty litres of water is about 60 kg, because water is about 1 kg per litre. Straame's 80 kg and VOUNOT's 100 kg are the sand lines for those same shells, not a second way of writing the water weight. The higher number applies when you fill with sand, and only if the sand stays in.
Which fill is heavier?
Sand, in the same shell. Straame pairs 60 kg of water with 80 kg of dry sand. VOUNOT pairs 60 litres of water with 100 kg of sand. Water is the lighter stated load.
Will water freeze and crack the plastic?
It can. Gardenesque says to remove water before a cold snap so a freeze does not crack the base. One VOUNOT review says water left in could burst if it freezes. Drain a water fill before a hard frost unless that listing says otherwise.
Can you empty sand later?
You can, and it is not a hose job. Chelsea Home and Leisure notes that sand does not drain back out. You shovel it, or tip a plate you can still lift. Water is the fill to choose if you already know you will empty the base for winter.
Is gravel the same as sand?
No. Gravel and pebbles are what some PokeAir reviews actually poured, and Yattuyix names sand or gravel up to 50 lb a bag. Straame's heavier line says dry sand, not gravel. Use gravel in a bag that lists it. Do not count pebbles as the 80 kg or 100 kg sand claim on a plate set.

Related pages

Granite parasol base comparison

Fillable parasol base

Best fillable parasol base: top pick and who skips

Fillable parasol base: a buying guide for your frame

Cantilever parasol base weights for the steel cross

How to fill a parasol base without lifting it full

Sources

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.

  1. GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. legislation.gov.uk: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Met Office: Beaufort scale (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. Royal Meteorological Society: Beaufort wind scale (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Opal Retail: what size parasol base do I need (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Jati: four-piece fillable cantilever weights (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Bolton Council: parasol base build instructions (retrieved 22.10.2026)