No joke - this is the best portable umbrella I've ever owned.  I've had drugstore umbrellas, Totes umbrellas, and a couple other Amazon umbrellas, and none of them are as good as these.  They are a little bigger than the others when they are collapsed, but that's because of the 10 ribs, and those make this thing much more wind-proof.  I bought three because my kid and wife were constantly taking mine.