i'm wet, and it's not the good kind of wet

September 28, 2008 9:48 AM

So we've had about 6 inches of rain in the past 3 days, and I think I need to buy an umbrella.

I've been prone to buying cheap, flimsy, small, black, boring, generally useless umbrellas.

I would really like to buy a sturdy, wind-resistant, attractive, non-boring-black, larger (but not obnoxiously "sidewalk-hog" large), umbrella that keeps me and my bag mostly dry.

There are people I see with AWESOME, cool-looking, gorgeous, fairly strong umbrellas. The times that I've asked them where they got their umbrella from, it was always some obscure store somewhere far away, a long time ago.

I live in the Boston area, and would love to find out if there are any secret cool umbrella-selling stores in the area, or any neato websites that you suggest, or specific umbrellas that you can recommend.

I prefer to *not* buy a compact one (I will forget it somewhere). Or one that is boring and generic looking. Is there such a thing as an aesthetically pleasing, yet wholly functional rain umbrella??

posted by raztaj to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

Shed Rain umbrellas are the best ever. They have a special flap at the top that is wind resistant and keeps them from flipping inside out. After getting one, I don't understand why anyone would buy a different umbrella. They're kind of boring, and not so large. But you will see people wrestling with their umbrellas, straining against the wind, and you will laugh your smug dry laugh under your Shed Rain.
posted by sweetkid at 10:49 AM on September 28, 2008

I don't know about "AWESOME, cool-looking, gorgeous," but for the past couple of years I've been using this very sturdy totes Windmaster. The ribs and stretchers have never seemed like they'd give in high winds, even though the canopy is pretty big. The ferrule has a rubber tip, so it stands up to being used as a walking stick when it's not raining. And the shaft is solid; it has a carbon fiber look, but I don't know that it really is. It's pretty big, so it's hard to lose. And it's pretty inexpensive, so if you do somehow manage to misplace it you won't hate yourself.
posted by kortez at 10:57 AM on September 28, 2008

Here's a previous question you might find useful (in which I recommended a London Fog automatic for sturdiness, although it is boring old black).
posted by good in a vacuum at 11:02 AM on September 28, 2008

You want whatever the US equivalent of Umbrella Art is, although she's happy to ship to the US.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:01 PM on September 28, 2008

Aesthetically pleasing? Maybe not but here's a great conversation starter! The rest of their range seems to fit the "AWESOME, cool-looking, gorgeous" requirement though.
posted by ceri richard at 3:31 PM on September 28, 2008

They're nothing fancy, but I totally recommend the umbrellas they sell at the Gap. The patterns are really cute, they're light, and they totally hold up for more than one season. I always get compliments and my friends are impressed that I always have an umbrella with me. They go on sale at the end of every clothing season, and you can pick them up for like $6.
posted by jrichards at 8:31 AM on September 29, 2008

This umbrella flashes blue when it is going to rain. Not $6.
posted by about_time at 5:14 PM on September 29, 2008