A couple of years ago Backpacker had an article suggesting umbrellas an alternative to conventional rain gear. Certainly umbrellas breathe well, but they're a bother to carry.

It seems to me that one attractive alternative would be an umbrella hat:

but the coverage is less than ideal. (That model may also be offensive to US hockey fans.)

Does anyone have experience using umbrellas in the backcountry?

Not personally. I've met guys who do use them in really wet areas. They seem to like em.
I've always wanted to create an umbrella/trekking pole/ice axe combination. It would be unstoppable!

I went on a guided trip a couple years ago and one of the guides had a small, packable umbrella. Have been meaning to pick one up but haven't found a decent one yet...

I've certainly seen parasols used as sunblocks in NV. I just don't feel comfortable giving up the hand.

I use them backpacking here in NorthEast. They are great when there are intermittent showers, so you don't have to stop and put on or take off your raingear. I just have it in the side pocket of my pack easily accessible. If there's not much wind you can stick it between your pack and your shoulders, so you have your hands free. They are also great when building a camp in the rain. I also used one on a backpack in the Grand Canyon to cover myself from sun.

I've carried an umbrella (recently a compact Jack Wolfskin) since a friend of mine discovered, some 30 years ago, how useful they can be on a Himalayan trek. Talking of the reasons - besides what Squishy and Welle say just above - you probably like your umbrella more if you wear glasses.

Arthur Digbee wrote:A couple of years ago Backpacker had an article suggesting umbrellas an alternative to conventional rain gear. Certainly umbrellas breathe well, but they're a bother to carry.

It seems to me that one attractive alternative would be an umbrella hat:

but the coverage is less than ideal. (That model may also be offensive to US hockey fans.)

Does anyone have experience using umbrellas in the backcountry?

Does that come in red, white and blue with a rock shield?

On non-windy days I have happily used an umbrella while walking on the local parkway. I have so much water resistant gear, but it does leak eventually. Despite some umbrellas being sold as wind proof, they do fold up backward and break.

On the peaks, it is simply throwing away money to attempt to use them there. The gusts will tie knots in a wind sock, and they will never keep you dry. With up to 60 mph winds they'd quickly be destroyed. Though on a drizzly day I can see using them in the desert, with no wind at all. They compact down and can easily fit in a pack, while not being used, and as in town and all, you just have to know when they can be used.

I carried a small fold-up one a few times in place of rain gear about 10 years ago. The first time I got to use it on a small circuit in the Sierra Nevada it was rendered useless in less then a minute due to the winds mentioned above. I spent the next hour cowering behind a boulder until it let up.

Since then I switched to one of those $0.99 plastic rain covers that fold up smaller and lighter than an umbrella. Of course they too will shred in high winds. All part of the fun.

Rain?

I've used one strapped to my back for desert hiking. I would never consider using one for rain. As for the hat, it isn't going to work well with a pack on.

One has to have some common sense to use a brelly in the backcountry. See the above negative experiences for examples.

For example, when the wind is blowing? The brelly must be pointed toward that wind or it will invert. Not ironically, by pointing your brelly to the wind, the wind will no longer blow rain onto your torso. Boo yah!

In very high winds, no, brellies don't work.

But if you insist in walking in strong winds they do make tougher models... look in golf shops for example. They are heavier and not compact, however.

Read Ray Jardine's light weight hiking material ... dude's got it down. And yes, brellies are good in the desert too. And on lengthy sunny belays on El Captain too!

They are not for everyone.


DMT

Yeah, I'd say wind is the major culprit. Most often than not, a rain storm in the mountains is accompanied by wind...

um, is it me or is this high on the "not cool" list?!

tigerlilly wrote:um, is it me or is this high on the "not cool" list?!

I'd agree. Sometimes it rains in Washington. If I was stationary and belaying, maybe, just maybe I'd want one. But when I'm actually on the move, no thanks. A little rain (even a lot of rain) isn't going to hurt me. I'll dry out.