[NAGDU] Need an umbrella?

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Fri May 5 12:25:55 UTC 2017


And since I'm talking about potentially useful gadgets, here's another one that, while expensive for an umbrella, is a lot less expensive than the Walk Pro. 

I hate umbrellas. They're a lot of bother for not much benefit. So you have this thing you have to hold in your hand, a hand you really don't have free because you're already down a hand because you have to hold onto a dog. Or a cane. Rain blows in under them anyway, from all directions. They blow around in the breeze. They're just a huge bother. Putting up with being wet is less of a bother, because you don't stay much dryer with the umbrella, at least not enough dryer to justify the bother. 

Melanie, however, is still somehow convinced of the umbrella's utility. So when I saw a post on Facebook about a hands-free umbrella, I had a look. 

Nope, this isn't one of those dorky umbrella hats that, I dunno, I've never tried one, but how well can they really work? 

It's called Nubrella, and their website is here:
http://www.nubrella.com

They're another small company somewhere around Boston. I may or may not have talked to the CEO of Nubrella when he called me to follow up on my call because of a weird ordering glitch. 

So, OK, the Youtube videos are fairly clear about what this is, but I'll describe it anyway. It's like an umbrella, but pretty much rethought. You wear it like a backpack. Exactly like a backpack, as it turns out, complete with a waist belt for support and a strap that clips across your chest. It folds down the back when not in use. When you want to open it, pull down on the shoulder-height handles, and a canopy flips up over your head and locks into place. So when deployed, you've got your back, head, and sides protected, and a little in front, but the front is of course still completely open. You've got 180 degrees protection, however from the rain. Since your whole body stabilizes it, it won't turn inside out or blow away, and rain can only blow in on you from one direction (in front). It's only shoulder width, so it will fit through any human-sized door, even while deployed. You're kind of in a little bubble when the Nubrella is in use. When you come in out of the rain and want to get the Nubrella out of the way, push in on the spring-loaded buttons on either side, again at shoulder height, and the bubble collapses and folds back behind you again. 

I only tried it out taking Leno out to park this morning, and it seems to work as advertised. I didn't do an extensive road test with it. However, it does seem to work as advertised, and I did stay relatively dry. 

I'd make a small design change in the deployment and stowage though. The shoulder-height handles and buttons may be a bit awkward. I could operate them, but Melanie, who has limited arm movement, could not. I may try attaching some ropes or something that she could pull on to accomplish the same effect for pulling the Nubrella open. Closing it would be another matter, and I'm not sure how that could be improved, but surely there's a way. 

The website says it retails for $79, but they were selling it for $59 when I bought it. 

--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194 
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name








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