Windproof Umbrellas

December 17, 2003 9:39 AM

Do those "windproof" umbrellas actually work?
posted by Vidiot to Shopping (7 answers total)

I don't know if those umbrellas work as intended, but growing up in Mumbai, where we 3-4 months of monsoon, and the occassional typhoons. I've learnt that the best way to avoid turning your umbrella into a crow is to point it into the wind, which is usually where the rain is falling from anyway, so it avoids breaking the umbrella and keeps you dry.

Also spending a little extra on a *good* sturdy umbrella is always wise. Don't bother with the 99¢ store ones. The best umbrellas I've owned were made by Stag or Sun brands. My current one is a tri-fold automatic close and open Sun brand umbrella. It's *great* it hasn't even come remotely close to turning crow.
posted by riffola at 10:09 AM on December 17, 2003

Response by poster: Good to hear. Any good places in NYC to get Stag or Sun umbrellas? I'm tired of crummy umbrellas coming apart, even the ones that I do spend more than $5 or $10 on.

I do point the umbrella into the wind, but as you know, the wind direction can shift unexpectedly (especially in Manhattan) and you wind up with a wet piece of modern sculpture in your hand.
posted by Vidiot at 10:14 AM on December 17, 2003

I get mine from Mumbai. I don't know of any places in NYC that sell them. You might be able to find them online. Rediff.com sells them, but I think the best thing to do is look for places that sell umbrellas here in the city, and pick the one that you feel is the best.
posted by riffola at 10:31 AM on December 17, 2003

I have one of those umbrellas (it was given to me as a promotion) and have been very happy with it. It has never inverted yet, but I'm sorry to say that i haven't yet used it in one of those typhoon-like situations in which other umbrellas have. I'll let you know if one comes up.
posted by soyjoy at 10:39 AM on December 17, 2003

Hey, I was just outside in miserable weather. At one point the rain let up and it was just windy. I turned the umbrella the wrong way around - such that one of the cheapos would have snapped inside out - and it held up fine. This wasn't gale force, but it convinced me, anyway, that these things are indeed "windproof." Mine is this kind, I think.
posted by soyjoy at 12:45 PM on December 17, 2003

is it the ventilation or the strength that does the trick?
posted by scarabic at 1:23 PM on December 17, 2003

Those umbrellas are fantastic. I have a Fulton, and it stands up to Boston's worst wind (the three block radius around the Hancock Tower). It was a really, really good thing to get. It's sturdy and the vent works just as advertised. Sharp looking, too.

I know-- it's just an umbrella. But it's cool to have something that works as well as advertised.

scarabic-- it's mostly the vents, that are secured to the rest of the canopy with stretchy shock cords. However, they're also better constructed than most umbrellas.
posted by Mayor Curley at 1:48 PM on December 17, 2003