Montbell umbrella shaft material?

I believe carbon fiber is conductive so that wouldn’t be less of a lightning risk than aluminum.

Fiberglass is non conductive so that might help

From a lightning standpoint I don’t think any of these materials makes a meaningful difference for an umbrella shaft. Lightning is going to depend a lot more on whether you are a high point — after all, wood doesn’t conduct electricity but lightning strikes trees all the time. The shaft of a backpacking umbrella will extend only a few inches higher than the top of your head so not much difference.

I’ve witnessed 3 lightning strikes on trees within 100 yards in the past 5 years, all in NM. None of those strikes were on the top of a directly adjacent ridge top or higher up on mesa.  Ponderosas and a juniper took the hit.  (the latter caught fire and i was surprised by a blm fire crew hours later while i ate dinner with this tree burning from the inside out)

All were more random strike locations than I would of thought because taller trees and landscape were readily available if the strike preferred the tallest conductor. n = 1

This evening I finally got an email back from Montbell:

“Hello Mina
The shaft & main hub is aluminum, while the last two extensions of each rib are carbon.
We thank you for your patience.
Customer Service Team
Mont bell America Inc.”

So that’s answered.  Would y’all avoid this for high alpine trails?  We are looking at thru-hiking the Colorado Trail in July-August 2018.

What JR said.

But I’ll point out that trees contain some moisture inside and, more importantly, on their surface, so, yes, they do conduct electricity.

xkcd did an article that nicely explains the whole “hits the nearest thing around” with much more precision. And math.

https://what-if.xkcd.com/16/

There was a rash of reports about lightning strikes associated with ear buds use.  Er, no.  You’re a 5- to 6-foot tall sac of saline whether you’re using ear buds or not.  However, if you are hit (perhaps because you were zoned out on your music?), then more current will flow though those wires than elsewhere.  Hence, you’ll get burns where the wires were.

Short answers, whether carrying an umbrella or not, wearing ear buds or not:

Pay attention and if thunderheads are developing in the late afternoon, avoid high, exposed places.

If you find yourself in an exposed place with lightning strikes going on around you, get lower (but wary of flash-flood risk).

If your hair ever stands on end, throw yourself to the ground.

If you’re in a car, stay in the car (which will conduct the electricity around you), staying low and centrally located in the car.

I would buy whichever one you liked the most. 6in of non-conductive material is not going to stop that bolt of lightning from sending you into orbit.

Ryan

For those who have no time for Ben Franklin science, please just consider whether tempting fate by holding a conductor in the air in a lightning storm is a good idea.  If caught and too far or otherwise unable to quickly get well below tree/timber line, put your pack on the ground and sit it out on the pack.  Survived a storm in the South San Juans this way for well over an hour, watching the strikes all around.   Plus if you do get hit, you are in a better position to kiss yourself goodbye.

Even worse than unprotected areas are solitary isolated trees.  A youngster was killed close to such a tree in the Uintas shortly before I arrived one trek.

After the above incidents, I just wait below trree/timber line for lightning storms to blow over.  In Colorado, where the thunderclouds often circle about, it can be a challenge to get up and over open areas before the next cloud comes along.

Later I got to thinking, well, if the umbrella is up and there is lightning in the area then it is probably up for rain not as a sun shield.  Which probably means it is wet.  So perhaps having a few inches if fiberglass in the shaft might not make much difference in safety.  And we are more likely to want to actually deploy umbrellas in slow drizzle, ie not thunderstorms, or hot sun.  So maybe the shaft material doesn’t matter as much.

Snow Peak is offering one at only 4.7 oz (according to their site) but it is not silver–choices are dark gray or else tan.  Does anyone have one of these?  Does having silver make a big difference for sun?

And we are more likely to want to actually deploy umbrellas in slow drizzle, ie not thunderstorms, or hot sun.

Hot sun is where I use mine the most.

The silver coating does make a noticeable difference in reflecting away heat from direct sun, and thus keeping you cooler under. it. The weight of the Snow Peak is tempting, but the canopy is small — the Swingtrek Lightflex (which is the same thing as the old Chrome Dome and what is now sold by Gossamer Gear, Zpacks, SMD, etc.) covers 43% more area.