Silver Shadow Mini – Ultralight Collapsible Trekking Umbrella – UPF 50+ Sun & Rain Protection – 6.8 oz Compact Folding Parasol for Hiking, Travel, and Daily Commute

My adult son and daughter and I went backpacking in Spain. Each of us had one of these umbrellas, expecting to use them to shield us from the sun. Instead, it rained almost every day and the temps were sometimes quite cool.The umbrellas are very lightweight and I had doubts about the sturdiness. After using them in some moderate with sometimes strong winds I am pleased with how rugged they were, and we used them nearly every day for 3 weeks. My son used his last year and made the recommendation to us to also get one. They fold down partially or fully and fit inside or on the side of the backpack. Their light weight makes them great for carrying along when walking around town as well. The ONLY negative comment I have it that you shouldn't expect to ever get the small fold to work. Most of the time we just closed like a regular umbrella and attached them to the side of the pack (with or without the cover). Trying to make that smaller fold where the umbrella is extremely short was just impossible to do neatly. You can fold it that way, but it's going to be wrinkled. It doesn't seem to affect its use, however.

I used it for my thru hike of the AT in 21’ and it lasted the whole way. Hiked in a lot of rain and this sucker got a ton of use but she made it. It’s a little beaten and battered at this point but I will definitely be getting another one for my future hikes. It’s nice and lightweight so it was always worth carrying in my opinion. Just a nice morale booster when it’s down pouring but some of you can stay dry. Highly recommend as a backpacking umbrella!! I never broke it down the whole way, just the main slide-y part since it saved a lot of time.

Kept me in the shade from Crazy Cook to Pie Town, NM without any tears or damage. Will invert in strong winds, a little inconvenient when that keeps happening, but all the other versions of this I saw out there were damaged in some way, this one held up for me.Edit: CDT round 2, same umbrella from Crazy Cook (US/Mexico Border) to Waterton, Alberta Canada. This umbrella has endured sun, rain, snow, hail, wind, and being dragged through desert sand, rocky mountain peaks and passes and forests like a champ. Towards the end there was some slight abrasion around the knuckles that lets the occasion drip in, the company suggested trying seam seal (which I haven't yet) for repair. Still has plenty of life left but I'm thinking about getting another.

Nice and light and small in size when folded up.But let's talk about the folding up of this thing. I gave it 4 stars as this takes a few extra steps in folding this thing up. But I'm sure this is necessary to have something smaller to hike/travel with. It may or may not be an issue for some but look into it. I decided to keep it and it does the job.

Update: The company replaced the umbrella quickly. I've revised my overall rating to 5. Hope this one doesn't break!!!Like the umbrella a lot. One of the little ribs broke after very limited use. Glad I am not in the middle of a desert hike depending on this umbrella. Have emailed the company and will revise this if they reply.

The design is clever in theory, but doesn't work in practice. The two way folds on the arms helps the umbrella fold down to a nice compact shape for easy packing but the light weight nature of the materials means it's a bit delicate/fragile, and within 2 minutes of using it in relatively light wind the tongs were immediately unfolding themselves and collapsing on top of me. The second time this happened one of the tongs snapped in half making the entire umbrella useless because I had to then pack it away or risk the now ragged edge of metal tearing the thin canvas and further damaging it.It's a nifty design, but in my opinion, they went a bit too far in wanting to make it light weight and compact and a result it's no longer functional except in the most mild of weather conditions.

I hike with this umbrella and had to figure out how to attach it to my pack. I think I have a good clamp now. Works best with 2 and one attached high on the shoulder strap. So far I have only used it for sun protection and it is super. Can take the hat off. Doesn't work well on a brushy trail. It folds up super small and weighs very little. I put it in the water bottle pocket of the pack since I'm using a hydration bladder for water. The umbrella will be a permanent part of my pack.

Will not keep you dry if you don't unfold it first.