The Pros and Cons of Backpacking Umbrellas

[Praveen M]

Looks like the hands free model of the silver umbrella with longer shaft is finally out.

http://www.antigravitygear.com/swing-hands-free-umbrella-metallic.html

[Ceph Lotus]

The Antigravity Gear umbrella looks great…but it weighs 13 oz. :(

[Joslyn Bloodworth]

For me if the rain and temp is too hot for a rain jacket and pants what's the point of rain gear at all anyway? It's not like I'm going to melt from rain. A hat with a brim to keep it out of my eyesis all I need. If you go with that idea then, the only time rain gear is even needed is when it's cold and you have to stay dry in which case I personally can't risk even a stray wind soaking me or worse my insulation. Although in really hot and sunny conditions I can totally see myself replacing any rain gear with the weight of an umbrella purely for sun protection.

[Emmett Lyman]

"Emmet shows us how to use clips to hold his brolly hands-free. it works!"

Thanks Mike – I was trying to find that post to put up here. I've been using this method for 3 seasons now and I've only grown more convinced that it's a winning solution. One note – my father tried this with his GoLite Dome and found that it didn't work as well – the Dome might be just a little heavy to be stable with two clips – maybe better to try it with three.

[Terry Trimble]

I own the sea to summit Umbrella it great if you overheat in rain gear it keeps the rain off of you. Windy Rain that is going diagonally or sideways in to your face or back. You can hold horizontally in front of your face to stop the sting of the rain. A strap is a must on the handle is nice to keep the umbrella from being taken from your hand in windy conditions.
I really don't know any cons to carrying a umbrella.
Terry

[Art …]

this is BPL, right ?

given that, its either rain gear and a sunhat … or an umbrella.
I'll take the rain gear and sunhat.

all the arguments "pro" aside, it just seems like a step backwards in the area of ease of travel in the backcountry.

now if I was walking down the Promenade in my orange and red Salomon trail shoes … an umbrella would fit in just fine :-)

[Buck Nelson]

But let me start by saying that if you are an umbrella user and you like them, you don't need my opinion.

On the PCT many people start out with umbrellas. Many find that when they want them for shade in the hot, open country of the desert, the wind can make them unusable. When they want them in the cold rain of Washington, they need rain gear anyway to keep wet vegetation from soaking them. For me, that makes umbrellas too specialized.

In my experience I tend to see many more umbrellas at the start of long trails than at the end.

My rain gear is multi purpose.

1. Rain
2. Wind block
3. Warmth
4. To wear whilst doing laundry

When I REALLY want and need rain gear is when it's wet, cold and windy. Conventional rain gear is much better under those conditions. Personally, I'm not going to carry both a rain parka and an umbrella, so a rain jacket (plus rain pants depending on where and when) wins easily. I leave unneeded gear at home, and for me that includes an umbrella every time.

[Inaki Diaz de Etura]

Try to see everything as a kit that works together and not just separate pieces. Having an umbrella may condition the rest of your rain gear: for example, a non-breathable (silnylon or cuben) rain jacket may be extremely light but it may also be difficult (or very difficult, depending on conditions) to make it work. An umbrella allows extra ventilation when wearing the jacket so a non-breathable one may make sense. A cuben rain jacket and a lightweight umbrella may be not any heavier than many lightweight breathable rain jackets.

[Francis Tapon]

In Feb 2012, I wrote this article about hiking with an umbrella:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/backpacking_and_hiking_with_an_umbrella.html#.UnIvN_m-1k4

It was available only to BPL members.

Now, nearly 2 years later, I've updated the article substantially and made it free and open to the public my website. It has many never-before-seen photos and more explanations. Best of all, you can share it with Facebook and Twitter friends who are not BPL members. Help spread the word! Here's the link:

http://ftapon.com/umbrella

Happy Trails (with or without an umbrella)!

[Brett Peugh]

Good to see an expansion of the article that I also liked. I have been using an umbrella myself a lot more along with a trash bag rain skirt and some plastic bag foot covers and have found it to be more flexible. hopefully soon some Borah wpb socks for my size 15EEs. I have also done the umbrella and bug netting thing for sleeping and am trying it out with a poncho/tarp in flat areas to give support. Very versatile.

[Van DeWald]

Really enjoyed that. Great points on using an umbrella.

[Anonymous]

Hi Francis, good article and thank you for sharing it. I haven't really used an umbrella yet on any hikes per se, but i did use an umbrella at last years Burning Man, and it was nice to have that shade. Since it was a week of living mostly out of a backpack, and walking around A LOT, it was kind of like a backpacking trip.

Handled some fairly strong winds too at times. Would have been nice if it was a reflective type.

The Senz umbrellas look very interesting.

[Francis Tapon]

Yeah, umbrellas were ideal in Burning Man! I would even use the umbrella while I was on my bike. :) I had a great time there:

http://francistapon.com/Travels/Burning-Man

I'm glad the last few commenters have enjoyed my Umbrella 2.0 article. :)

FT

[Desert Dweller]

My husband and I were hiking in Arizona this summer at 9,000 feet when a summer monsoon came up very fast. We decided to stay low just before the trail met a high pass and wait it out as lightning started. I had my umbrella, he had his rain jacket and I had a windbreaker and rain skirt which I immediately put on before the deluge began and we sat down next to a large log for a windbreak together…then the temperature dropped 30 degrees and the hail started! The hail got to be marble sized, three inches deep and went on for 45 minutes! Without that umbrella life would have been miserable and bruising….it kept us both sheltered and reasonably dry until the hail quit…then we had to start climbing again to regain our warmth. When we reached the pass the sun came out and we dried our wet stuff and hiked on down to a lower campsite. I had been using it all summer for the hot sun while hiking and don't leave home without it.

[HkNewman]

Drusilla said: ..The hail got to be marble sized, three inches deep and went on for 45 minutes! Without that umbrella life would have been miserable and bruising….it kept us both sheltered and reasonably dry until the hail quit. ..

I had just put a rain jacket on while hiking (running, actually) down from Albuquerque's Sandia's a few summers ago when I got hit in the head with a chunk of hails (explains a lot …haha). So maybe an umbrella would have kept that hail off of me but I'm also thinking that hail could shred an umbrella. Then again better an umbrella than one's own head. Could be a project, … a sun reflecting, yet waterproof ultralight umbrella that does not shred easily in a hailstorm.

[Anonymous]

Interesting project H.K., got me thinking! Materials that come to mind.

A layer of clear/milky UHMWPE film outside, with a layer of SOL emergency sandwhiched in the middle (reflective side facing up obviously), and a layer of Cuben on the bottom… sewed together. Carbon fiber shafts.

Not sure what to use for the ribs or structure part. Would probably want to do a modified Senz like design for better windproofness.

[Author]

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