Kincmo Motorized Outdoor Shades Review: The Perfect Deck Upgrade

Table of Contents

The Lowdown

Kincmo makes it easy to get custom blinds by mail. I found the outdoor shade well-made, and the customer service was super helpful when I ordered. If you need a special-sized blind or want to automate blinds in your home, you should definitely check out what Kincmo offers.

Overall

Pros

Free shipping
Smooth motor operation
Quality remote control
Multiple charging options
Smart home integration

Cons

Buy from Kincmo

The Kincmo Motorized Outdoor Shade gave me the perfect opportunity to upgrade a not-so-classy curtain that the previous owner of our home used to block the sun and wind on my deck. It arrived quickly, was easy to install, and really exceeded my expectations. The shade and the remote work perfectly, and it definitely upgraded the space.

What Is It?

The Kincmo Motorized Outdoor Shade is another option in the custom shade market. Gear Diary has reviewed a few indoor shades from Lutron and PowerShades, and they offer custom shades or blinds shipped straight to your door. Kincmo is based in Wyoming, and fabric swatches are available here. There are plenty of customizable features, including mounting, charging options, and smart home integration. If you want good ol’ normal manual blinds, they have those too.

What’s in the Box and Specifications

My shade was made to the specifications below. The blind, remote, Matter hub, and hardware all shipped in one box. The upgraded solar panel was shipped separately and arrived a couple of days after the blind.

Setup

Kincmo ships their blinds for free, and mine arrived within a week. The instructions are easy to follow, and the four included brackets are very solid and clicked securely when mounted, so you know when it engages. Since I was mounting it to the deck ceiling, I measured from the roof edge and wanted to make sure everything lined up, so I used a straight edge as a guide. This made lining up the brackets much easier and let me make sure they were parallel to the railing.

: The old pipe and curtain that I am replacing.

: Instead of trying to measure from the edge I used a straight edge I had to better line up the 4 brackets.

: All lined up.

Since I specified an inside-mount shade for an 88.5” wide opening, it ended up 1/4″ smaller to allow proper installation. This made the blind itself just shy of 87″.

: The brackets fit into this groove so once installed you can slide it sideways for the perfect fit.

: If you order an inside mount, it will be at least 1/8″ shorter than the measurement you specify.

: For my 88.5″ inside mount order the shade itself was just under 87″.

I chose the motor on the right side and went with the upgraded solar panel. Any USB-C cable and charger will charge it, or, if you already have a solar panel, you can use that. The upgraded solar panel comes with an 80.25″ USB-C cable. The base solar panel is a little cheaper and comes with a coiled 40″ USB-C cable, so that is also an option.

: Plug for the motor is on the right side as I specified along with a wire for DC charging.

: Once mounted it will slide sideways along the mounts to get the perfect fit.

: I used the included double-sided tape to attach the solar panel to the siding since the blind was too recessed to get any sun.

Once installed and all the way down, we did notice the wind can push it in quite a bit, so it was nice that wire-guided anchors are included.

: I decided I should probably install the anchors.

: All the way down with no wind.

: Once the wind kicked up it really pushed in.

Since I did not want to drill into the tile floor, I decided to screw the anchor points into the railing. One small design flaw is that the top clip part has a little barrel on the bottom that you push up to slide the cable through.

While it makes installation easy, a consequence of this design is that when you roll the blind up, the round silver wire guide hits the little barrel and pushes it up, releasing the cable. You have to stop it right before it hits, or you will have to route the cables again. I swapped that part out with a barrel stop that was included in the kit to avoid this.

: Included barrel stops.

: Much better.

: Very nice upgraded 15 channel remote came preprogrammed.

Overall, I found the Kincmo Motorized Outdoor Shade well made with quality components and definitely an upgrade to the curtain I had before. The 5% gray openness is perfect because we can still see the full view from inside without being blinded, and as a side benefit, it blocks the chilly Pacific Northwest wind, making the deck more comfortable as the sun sets.

: From outside you can’t see in so the 5% openness is perfect for a deck.

: Not a bad view.

The Bottom Line

I am really impressed with the Kincmo Motorized Outdoor Shade. It really upgraded the old curtain that you couldn’t even see through. I can now still appreciate the sunset without being blinded, while also blocking the wind in the evening.

The Kincmo Motorized Outdoor Shades start at $169.99; they are available directly from the manufacturer.

Source: Manufacturer-supplied review sample

What I like: Free shipping; Smooth motor operation; Quality remote control; Multiple charging options; Smart home integration

What Needs Improvement: Nothing