The video doesn't answer the crucial question -- will it still offer some protection from the rain? If not, what's the point, you can just fold it down :-)
I second the question. If the wind is blowing at 20 mph, the rain is going hitting the person from the side. It's not enough to solve the inverted umbrella problem when the main purpose of the umbrella is to shield a person from rain.
The sole purpose of this design is to avoid "the inverted" umbrella problem. But how much a problem is this? I have never seen this happen in real life.
Since moving to the Boston/Cambridge region, I've never had an umbrella last more than about ten rainy days.
I've been thinking about different ways to solve this exact problem for quite some time. The damage is largely caused by high shearing forces on the spurs that hold the umbrella up, so allowing those forces to be relieved by something in tension (I used 200lb test fishing line) should work pretty well -- but it tends to get in your way.
I'm tempted to order one of these just to see if it stands up to Boston weather. I've tried other commercial "inversion-proof" umbrellas before, and they were... not, but I don't think I've ever seen one that did this using a flexible aerodynamic design.
To answer both parents, the issue is gusting winds which can suddenly catch the brolly and invert it. This is a real problem, especially for cheap umbrellas.
Clearly if the winds were a steady 60mph or so you'd never bother to open the brolly or if you had it open you'd close it to save struggling against the wind.
In downtown Boston it's a big problem. You either dress like a fisherman or carry an umbrella with two hands. Mangled, discarded umbrellas are a common sight.
Fucking bay area man. It never even thunders here. I've been here two years and already I'm a wuss like everybody else. I'm sick of complaining how hot it is when it hits 80 and how cold it is when it hits 65, and how it's raining when there's just a thick mist in the air.
Actually, the last time this happened to me was when I visited SF a few weeks ago. There was pretty shocking rain and awful winds. I had a cheap umbrella.
