A volatile spring is predicted and that means rain. But is it worth splurging on an expensive umbrella or will a cheap one do the job? Mava Moayyed investigates for Fair Go.
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Spring has a stellar reputation; sun-kissed flowers emerging from the fog of winter, children frolicking in meadows, longer days in the smiling sun. In reality, spring is a wild ride and this year, experts say it could be even more volatile than usual. They’ll be a mix of warm, cold, wet, and windy weather so it pays not to be caught without an umbrella.
But we’ve all seen the victims clinging to bent handles with broken canopies, or naked frames stuffed into rubbish bins. They’re umbrellas that simply couldn’t handle the weather.
So, what makes a good umbrella? We tested four different types in the wind and rain to find out which will keep you sheltered the best.
The cheapest of the lot was an Anko Golf umbrella $17 from Kmart. We also tested the H&H Vented umbrella $30 from The Warehouse. Moving up in price Kathmandu Travel Wherever umbrella was $80. And our most expensive brolly was the Blunt Metro at $129.
Putting umbrellas to the wind test
The University of Auckland hosts the country’s biggest wind tunnel. It’s an impressive closed loop circuit tunnel with two 1.8m fans blowing wind down a diffusion section and through two mesh screens to remove turbulence. It’s used to test the aerodynamics of everything from yacht sales, performance cyclists, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The team helped us set up an experiment where we tested the umbrellas’ resilience in different wind speeds. To simulate a “real” experience we held the umbrellas upright, then toward the wind, and against the wind to see how they’d respond.
Associate Professor, Dr Rajnish Sharma explained how several elements go into making a “wind proof” umbrella.
“It’s the aerodynamics of the canopy that determine the load on the whole umbrella but also the structure, the structural strength, the materials the frame is made up of is quite important as well.”
He said the bigger the canopy, the bigger the aerodynamic forces acting on it so our bigger brollies were at a natural disadvantage.
The Kmart umbrella held up well, inverting once without breaking and surviving 45km/h winds before a snap in the frame.
The Warehouse one has a vented design which Dr Sharma said allows for “equalisation of wind pressure on both sides”. It’s a useful feature for resilience in wind but the umbrella completely blew apart at just 30km/h winds. Dr Sharma suspects it’s due to the weakness in the frame and the quality of the materials.
The Kathmandu with its asymmetrical canopy changes the point of air load application, said Dr Sharma, which makes it easier to handle. It got up to just over 50km/h winds before part of the metal frame snapped.
The Blunt made it all the way to the wind tunnel’s 70km/h limit. Despite inverting several times, it was able to come right without breaking.
But what about rain?
We tested the umbrellas’ coverage in rain by simulating a downpour using a sprinkler attached to a pole. I wore a backpack to see if these umbrellas kept that dry, too.
Of course, the umbrellas varied in size so, as with the wind tunnel, it’s not a completely fair test, but it gave us an idea of how different sized canopies perform.
The $129 Blunt umbrella kept me dry and handled the heavy water pressure of the sprinkler well. The $80 Kathmandu umbrella asymmetry meant we needed to keep the longer side at the back to ensure my backpack stayed dry. The $30 umbrella from The Warehouse was a surprise. Despite its large canopy which should’ve offered good coverage, it seemed to be leaking. I could feel a light spray of water.
Upon closer inspection, we could see the tiny holes along the stitching which were allowing water to come through.
Lastly, the $17 umbrella from Kmart with its big canopy had no problem keeping me and the backpack dry.
Overall umbrella verdict
The Blunt was unparalleled in that wind tunnel and offered good rain coverage, but it’s not cheap at $129.
If you need more rain coverage, the $17 cheapy from Kmart is a good option. It also held up well with its bigger canopy in the wind.
The Kathmandu, with its longer side, gives good coverage for your backpack and has great wind resilience – a good choice in the mid-price bracket at $80.
Unfortunately, the $30 H&H vented umbrella from The Warehouse didn’t do so well. It completely died in the wind test and underperformed in the rain test too.
We reached out to The Warehouse for comment, and they said:
“We’re very sorry to have missed the mark and are getting this sorted! Our team are working on a new range to give Kiwis the best value and quality umbrellas, arriving in stores next year.”
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