[pct-l] Hands-Free Umbrella Holder

[blisterfree at isp01.net (Brett)]

I love the umbrella idea, especially in theory.

Having carried one for many a trail mile, though, I also 
accept its limitations. In theory, the umbrella augments or 
replaces a rain jacket, along with its associated lack of 
ventilation and feeling of vulnerability. Unlike a jacket, 
the umbrella shields the whole hiker, not just the his base 
layers, or so reads the theory. And sometimes it's true. 
Often enough it protects the head, neck, and shoulders, 
which sure beats the pounding and drip of rainwater onto and 
into a jacket. Often enough it protects the torso, and what 
rain does get in tends to evaporate from wicking garments at 
a fairly equal rate, unlike the environment inside a w/b 
jacket. Less often the umbrella protects the hiker's arms, 
and rarely much below the waistline. But there are solutions 
or acceptable compromises here, as well. In short, the 
umbrella works well enough in most "hiking season" storms to 
justify carrying the thing.

Still, in a heavy driving rain, especially with wind, the 
brolly sees less use, and the rain jacket makes more sense. 
So I typically carry both. Yet I still try to hang onto the 
umbrella as long as possible in such weather, because of its 
theoretical advantages. And here is where the idea of 
"hanging on" becomes critical. The umbrella can still work 
in fairly strong wind, and/or slanting rain, but only if the 
user is physically holding it, able to point the thing into 
the weather to keep both the umbrella and the user 
protected.

Keeping the brolly maneuverable makes sense in other 
conditions as well, maybe most. On a trail crowded with 
brush or low branches, the hand-held umbrella bobs and 
weaves around obstacles, whereas the hands-free umbrella 
forces the user to bob or weave. And then there's the brolly 
user's blue sky lament: even in the desert southwest, old 
sol for 10 months of the year spends most of its work day 
shining in from a shallow, brolly-defying angle. That is, 
unless the brolly is itself angled toward the sun, as is 
only possible on a winding trail while holding the thing in 
hand. I learned the painful way not to discount the strength 
of a sun whose rays angle in beneath the solar umbrella, 
most memorably between 10 and 11 am in mid-April along the 
CDT in southern New Mexico; the pain arrived next morning. I 
should have angled the umbrella more (and worn long pants).

So the umbrella is something of a gemini friend - two sides, 
and like it or not you get to have them both. You can rue 
the labor of holding it, but stay drier and less sunburned 
for doing so. Or you can use your hands as you normally 
would - say, for holding two hiking poles - meanwhile with 
the umbrella lashed in a fixed-position of some sort - on a 
shoulder strap, overhead of the pack like a Wile E Coyote 
contraption, or whatever - and accept that it won't do you 
nearly as much good. Considering that the item is for 
special circumstances only, and isn't really dual-use, I'd 
prefer getting the most benefit from it whenever it's 
needed.

Weather forcefields. Weightless and dual-use. Maybe someday.

- bf


> You might "feel" the holder through the shoulder strap, 
> but it has never
> really bothered me.  You just bang along the trail 
> protected from radiation (95%),
> snow (85%), and rain (75%), in varying degrees.  I have 
> been in all of them.
> You say to yourself, "It sure looks bad out there.  I am 
> glad I am in here"
>
> Happy trails, Switchback
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