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Papa Bear
05-29-2003, 10:57
I'm thinking about getting an umbrella for hiking.

It seems the problem of long wet days where you are just as wet inside your rain gear as outside would be addressed by this, at least when there is not much wind.

Anyone use one?

What kind? (I know Golite makes one).

Does it work?

Is it strong /sturdy?

Light weight?

How do you fasten it to your pack?

What comments do you get?

Thanks
Pb

Blue Jay
05-29-2003, 11:27
I use one from time to time. I cut the handle of a cheap one off and electrical tape it to the top of my external frame pack. It works very well till I fall on it and crush it or forget and drag it through a blow down. When it is windy I colapse it around my head.

Youngblood
05-29-2003, 12:43
I carry an umbrella most of the time. I used a GoLite umbrella for a while but switched to a cheap collapseable umbrella that weighs about the same.

The reason that I switched from the GoLite has to do with it being 25 inches long when stowed. My GoLite Breeze backpack has a side storage pocket with a holding strap at the top of the pack that works well for storing the umbrella. The problem was that my pack was typically about 20 inches high and this left the umbrella extended about 5 inchs above the pack. Several times I got hung up when climbing through blow downs and it also sometimes would catch briars when I would have to hike through overgrown sections of trails. I decided that it was just to dangerous for me to hike with it, so I switched to a smaller compact umbrella.

In the right conditions the umbrella works great because you get great ventilation when it is warm and raining, it can block some of the wind/rain when it is cold and it can provide some shade if you are hiking it open fields in the heat of the summer. In the wrong conditions it is useless. It is nice to have around campsites & shelters and it also doubles as a door when tarp camping. I have seen where other hikers have used it to hang no-see-um netting from.

If you are interested in using one, I would suggest that you get a cheapo, small, manual collapseable one an try it out and see if it is worth it to you.