GustBuster Metro 43-Inch Automatic Umbrella

Terrible Umbrella, Poor Warranty (2010-06-28) Rating: 1/5
Purchased this umbrella in February 2010. First, this umbrella is VERY heavy. Not easy to carry, especially if you are commuter. First real thunderstorm and a gust of wind broke the umbrella in 3 different places. Called Gustbuster because the umbrella has a lifetime warranty. Unfortunately, you have to pay to ship it back to them and then give them another $10.00 for them to ship the repaired umbrella back to you. Where does it say this in the description of the item? Now we are adding about $20.00 to the price of an already expensive umbrella. Given how it stood up to the wind, you might be sending it back a lot. Not worth it!
Best umbrella ever -for me (2010-06-20) Rating: 5/5
This is a great umbrella. I live in the SF Bay area and have had this umbrella for a couple of years. Generally, I keep it in the car during rainy season and it has worked unfailingly for me. It is compact enough for me to shove it in my backpack or sling it across my back with the tidy little sack that comes with it. The ties on the sack are long enough for you to do this. I love this umbrella. I've taken this umbrella with me to China and Russia and it has performed exceptionally well in very windy conditions.
Do Not Buy! Poor Construction, Shady Company. (2010-06-18) Rating: 1/5
Overhyped product and breaks consistantly. Returned it recently to the company for a replacement under their warranty and had to wait TWO months for a new umbrella. Kept getting the run around when I would call the company trying to find out what was the delay. Lastly consider that in order to get a replacement you will have to return the old umbrella and pay $10 under their warranty program. Shipping and costs run near $20 in order to do this. Poor product and a disreputable company makes this a poor choice.
Bad Construction, Bad Warranty (2010-06-16) Rating: 1/5
I only used mine less than ten times before both of the rivets holding one of the spines in place just disappeared. I'm lucky I noticed the spine was loose before it took an eye out. Then when I wrote them about the warranty I found out that I had to call them to get a return authorization and send them a check for $10 for shipping. I would NOT buy this brand again.
Broken in 3 places after a couple of times, the merchant is a liar (2010-06-10) Rating: 1/5
I used it a couple of times and it broke in 3 places. What's even worse is when I wrote a bad review about this product and its merchant, I got a phone call from the merchant to ask me take off the bad review (the one I got is an exception ... it would hurt their hard earned business ... blah blah blah) and promise to replace it with a new one. You know what, after 3 weeks I am still waiting for the replacement...

I strongly recommend you walk away from this product, and the merchant - North Avenue.