There is no perfect stand. They all take work and time to iron them out as best as possible. Worth the effort if there's something to work with. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE COMES IN ONLY2 VARIETIES, GOOD AND BAD.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. They'll get an earfull from me if I ever run into them and I will for sure not talk well of them when I see someone about to buy one. I have done just that with other products that have not lived up to their hype in places like cabela's. People have put the item's down and thanked me.
Could have told you about the seat. A bench is always better as far as noise goes. My new stand as well as the old ones have a sling seat and for comfort they are great, using it is a pain. I'm cutting the back off and just using the seat next time out with it. Didn't use the back much in the last couple days except for when it poured. Put the umbrella up and settled in for a nice nap. Finished the last couple days with theupper section of the standalmost resting on the base and standing most of the time. Not very comfortable, but got'r done.
It's all a learning curve isn't it.
