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umbrellas

October 1, 2015 By Chas Bruce

Travel Umbrellas Without Compromise

Example of an umbrella in use in Great Britain
Umbrella in Great Britain

British PM Neville Chamberlain travelled to Munich for a 1938 Agreement, appeasing fascist Europe before WWII. Contemporary observers noted, “I wish [Hitler] had to deal with someone stronger than Chamberlain. He brought his umbrella with him you know? Bloody little bank manager…” (The Pale Criminal, Philip Kerr, 1990.)

Well. This early umbrella review seems a little harsh….

One the other hand, umbrellas sheltered English explorers for decades as they suffered steamy rainforest approaches to Mount Everest. For these adventurers, beset by leaches, swollen streams and constant drizzle, umbrellas were an expedition essential. (Everest the Hard Way, Christian Bonington, 1976.)

Unless you’re dealing with fascists, COG recommends keeping an umbrella with your traveling kit at all times.

But which umbrella tests best? We’re rejecting the nine-dollar umbrellas that pop up with the first shower, mostly at drugstores. These units are invariably heavy and flimsy: OK, but only if you’ve ignored our testing.

COG first reviewed trekking umbrellas last summer. These specialized units excel for a wander up to base camp: wide canopy coverage, study construction and stouter weight displacement.

However, with this current review we’ve the tested the lightest-weight umbrellas we could find: umbrellas less sophisticated than your diplomatic mission might require and probably not “up” for high winds at altitude. Here we’re looking at “urban” cruisers so lightweight that you can’t leave them at home.

Umbrella in use in front of a cathedral
COG tester at Il Duomo de Firenze

Check out the photo of COG tester Patricia Crawford enjoying a first look at the Renaissance architectural masterpiece, Il Duomo di Firenze (1436 AD). While less severe than the Khumbu icefall, Florence presents unique challenges. September rains overmatch Gore-Tex rain suits in seconds, driving thronging tourists inside. Notice the snapshot’s few, high-season background figures bent-over against the downpour? Their shell-jacket hoods permit zero visibility beyond rain-soaked shoes. Patricia’s GoLite Half Dome Umbrella frames unobstructed views of the Duomo’s unique, early Gothic, white marble facade.

GoLite’s Half Dome

GoLite HalfDome umbrella
GoLite HalfDome

Featuring a 41-inch canopy-arc, 6-ounce weight and super-compact size (just larger than a men’s wallet), GoLite’s Half Dome is easily the never-leave-it-at-home winner for travel umbrellas. Such convenience requires user effort, however. The umbrella must be deployed and closed by-hand: an occasionally less than graceful maneuver. Also, the 6-ounce, lightweight unit employs a skeletal framework that’s a bit unstable in brisk wind. Patricia turned her GoLite inside-out a time or two with no ill-effect: she reversed the process by facing the umbrella’s crown back into the wind. But it’s best for GoLite’s lightweight wonder to deploy crown-forward, toward the wind, with a firm grip high-up on the handle/stem.

$30

See a comparable, if slightly heavier, Trekking Umbrella from Sea-to-Summit (8-ounces), $40.00, (COG review, August 15, 2013).

REI’s Travel Umbrella

REI Umbrella
REI Travel Umbrella with vents

At the other end of our review’s strength-to-weight scale is REI’s vented, Travel Umbrella: 43-inch canopy-arc, sixteen-ounces (1lb.), push-button open/close and, folded, about the size of a compact police baton. Besides its self-defense capability, REI’s umbrella features a vented, wind-tunnel-tested canopy: the vented, double-covering allows trapped wind (when gusts force you into a horizontal, Marry Poppins configuration) to pass through the inverted canopy-arc without turning the umbrella inside-out.

REI Umbrella folded up
REI Umbrella

Your COG testers found the REI’s umbrella’s vent and study framework resisted even the eponymous “typhoonal flow,” a weather pattern unique along Australia’s northeast coast. Less euphemistically, Americans would call this sort of weather an hurricane’s outer edge: in this part of Australia, wind-driven rain courses over roof-tops in forty-foot long, horizontal “mare’s tails” spray. Our REI umbrellas didn’t keep your COG testers dry down under, of course, but the umbrellas fought the local Coral Sea typhoon winds to a stand-still. If you’re looking for the toughest, compact umbrella we’ve ever used, REI vented Travel Umbrella.

$37.50

Totes’ Lite N’ Go Travel Umbrella

Totes Umbrella open
Totes’ Lite N’ Go Travel

COG’s favorite umbrella tested to date: Totes’ new Lite N’ Go Travel Umbrella. The Lite N’ Go has two major defects:

  1. It’s got a “gimmicky” flashlight built into the handle;
  2. You can’t buy the Lite N’ Go until spring.

Of the pair, #2’s most serious. Outside of that, Totes’ travel umbrella tests best for our COG reviewers stationed in Western Europe, Northeastern Australia and, most exotically, Utah.

Side-By-Side Comparisons

Here’s the side-by-side comparison so far: our COG guy appreciates most that he can’t find his tiny GoLite umbrella until he needs it because it’s so small (it hides in his back pocket). Our COG gal likes her REI umbrella because no matter how hard the wind blows, she can make like Mary Poppins with no worries of canopy collapse. But the Totes umbrella does a great job mediating the trade-offs.

First, weight: at eleven-ounces (11 0z.), the Totes Lite N’ Go is dead-center between REI’s bomb-proof wind shedder and GoLite’s barely-there whisper. Second, strength: the Totes’ unit is tested to the same wind tunnel standard as REI’s but does without the wind-vent. COG thinks this results from Totes’ better, structurally integrated framework: frame cross-sections are closed hexagons and jointed members appear double-butted. Or something.

Weight-wise: the Lite N’ Go might discourage a small dog but is too lightweight for self-defense. 12” x 1½“ closed-size doesn’t fit in a back pants pocket, but Totes unit’s noticeably lighter in the day pack than REI’s. Also, the Lite N’ Go canopy opens and closes with a push button like REI’s. Totes Lite N’ Go Travel Umbrella, $49, maybe available spring 2014.

The Flashlight

Totes Umbrella folded with flashlight
Lite N’ Go umbrella with flashlight handle

Now about that flashlight built-in to the Lite N’ Go umbrella handle? First, distinguishing the open/close button from the flashlight switch requires close attention. If you accidentally switch-on the flashlight during daytime rambles, the light’s hard to notice since the handle/flashlight points down. By the time daylight fades, you’ll likely find your flashlight “dead.” Guard against accidental discharge by taping a spare battery (it’s dime-sized) to the umbrella handle. Secondly, the flashlight-in-the-handle concept seems weird in our outdoor (lightweight-is-right vs. function) gear-head world. Our COG guys have multiple flashlights stashed away: dashboard, sun visor, glove box, daypack (x2), shoulder bag, carry-on, bedside drawer, bathroom…so the fellows think the umbrella’s built-in flashlight’s over the top. But the COG gals think the flashlight-in-a-handle’s a neat idea…if you routinely have six flashlights at hand, how can one more hurt? Especially in the rain, at night, pointed (by default) at your footpath? Thirdly, an extra $7.00 at retail.

Auto open/close umbrellas (like REI’s and Totes’) require a two-handed maneuver to force the unit into its fully compressed position. This means wet hands every time you stow your umbrella. Guys! Don’t expect your mates to do this digit-numbing task themselves. If you find a gal so inclined, would you let COG’s HR department know?

Slipcovers and Carabiners

A note about travel slipcovers for travel umbrellas. As you can see with our product photos, both the REI and Totes umbrellas sport sleek, carabineer-carrying slipcovers. GoLite does the same, but without the carabineer. Besides looking cool, the carabineers secure umbrellas while you’re slumming around town or the backcountry in the sunshine. But it’s Murphy’s Law that, as soon as the clouds open, your umbrella won’t be where you left it: handy to have your umbrella secured by its carabineer. However, those umbrella slipcovers, empty and loose in a daypack, are certain never to be seen again. So, hang on to that little ‘biner: hook the umbrella handle. But let those slipcovers find their own special place in the universe; you won’t miss the extra weight while you’re dodging liquid sunshine.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: GoLite, REI, totes, umbrellas

March 29, 2015 By Chas Bruce

Trekking Umbrellas

In the Sahara Dessert with an umbrella
Umbrellas in the Sahara Dessert

A hundred and five in Moab and no rain in sight for weeks. Why are we thinking umbrellas?

Mary Poppins with her umbrella
Mary Poppins and her magic umbrella

Not because we like the Mary Poppins look, but you’ll find umbrellas, well, incredibly and comfortably shady. Even a compact umbrella can shade most of your upper body, and the breezes will find you–just hang on tight. Ultralight gear guru Ray Jardine considers an umbrella an essential item. He of course strips them, discards unnecessary parts, reduces the weight by half, and discards the junk along with his toothbrush handle. Several manufacturers now offer umbrellas with silver reflective fabric, to ward off the hot rays of the sun. Much cooler.

Needless to say, a long stay in Portland convinced me that an umbrella topped any sort of rain gear in all but gusty conditions. Often in the drippy forests that contain the wind, the umbrella rules. The best part is the open ventilation. Rain hats and hoods just seem to divert rain down my clothing, and even with the best rain gear you can be steaming.

What if you are a two handed trekker or out to shoot photos? It really is no trouble to attach the umbrella shaft to the front strap of your pack or in some combination of pockets and straps on the pack itself. Simply take velcro straps and attach the umbrella at two points on your strap and make sure to attach through the looped cord of the umbrella, in case gusts do come up.

Telescope Handsfree Umbrella

couple with trekking umbrellas
Telescope Handsfree Umbrella

The TeleScope Hands Free Umbrella does just that. It can be easily attached on the shoulder straps and hip belt on nearly all kinds of backpacks. It can be also attached via a carrier-belt-system made by EuroSCHIRM. Both hands remain completely free which is ideal for walkers who don’t want to go without trekking poles in rain, either. Also the perfect umbrella for nature photographers, map readers, etc.

$70

Helinox Trekking Umbrella

red umbrella
Helinox Trekking Umbrella

The Helinox Trekking Umbrella is a tough Walkabout unit from our friends in Australia. Big enough for a crowd, it opens to 39 inches, with a 24 inch shaft. Even the bright red fabric offers UPF 25 of sun protection. Weighs only 200 grams. Not easy to find in the US.

$60

Ginkgo Umbrella

CUSTOM Umbrella
Ginkgo Umbrella

We’ve been keeping our eye on an Indiegogo project called the Ginkgo Umbrella. Not necessarily made for the rigors of the outdoors, it is however made of entirely recycled plastic that snaps together. No metal parts or springs to bend and break. Best news is if it every goes south on you, caught in a gust and busted, you can always heave it in a No. 6 recycling bin and call it done. They raised their goal, so it should be on the market soon.

GoLite Umbrella

Chrome Dome Trekking Umbrella
Golite Umbrella

The GoLite Umbrella is something I will use when I’m out hiking, both for rain protection and to hide from the fierce sun at higher elevation. The GoLite Chrome Dome weighs in at 8oz, but does not collapse. When I’m hiking in the backcountry I slip it in a side pocket. It’s tall enough to provide shade from there. GoLite offers a collapsible version, but all the extra parts add 3oz to the weight of the GoLite Collapsible Chrome Trekking Umbrella. The big Canopy of the Chrome dome measures 45″ (114 cm) edge to peak to edge / 39.5″ (100 cm) edge to edge. Length is 25″ (63.5 cm). Frame features high-density fiberglass ribs and a highly flexible and nearly unbreakable full stick handle. Grip is high-density EVA hard foam with grooves that ensures a dry feeling on the handle when wet. The top is lightweight, waterproof and tear-resistant polyester UV Reflective Coating (UPF 50+) that Blocks Harmful Rays and Keeps you cooler on hot days. Now I’m trying to figure a way to reverse configure this so I can concentrate the sun for a little solar cookery.

$20

Sea to Summit Trekking Umbrella

Sea to Summit Trekking Umbrella
Sea to Summit Trekking Umbrella

The Sea to Summit Trekking Umbrella is made of  waterproof 30D Siliconized Cordura, weighs only 8 oz. The 9.5 inch package opens out to 38 inches of rain and sun protection. I like the sturdy feel of this unit. The flatter crown is more compact and offers minimal protection, but is less likely to hang up on trail obstructions.  It hangs easily on the shoulder without fancy attachments. The shaft is aircraft grade aluminum with a rubber handle. Solid brass rivets lash it all together. Comes in Black Gold and Gray.

$40

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Helinox, Sea to Summit, trekking poles, umbrellas

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