I’ve tried recommending this in a few other venues and caught some jibes for doing so, but here I am again… I guess I never learn.
This is pretty much only a survival item in a truly urban context, although it can be a useful every-day carry (EDC) item in the suburbs, and there are those who are even devoted to using umbrellas while backpacking. I’ve never tried.
The thing is, emergencies don’t always happen in good weather. A small, lightweight, high-quality “travel” umbrella can be worth its weight in gold in the city, not just as a matter of comfort but to prevent soaking and hypothermia. If you’re traveling through an urban area, especially one that you know well, the most efficient route may well be partly indoors. If it’s raining, sleeting or snowing outside, the best route may indeed be as much indoors as you can manage. You may well find yourself inside and out, inside and out, repeatedly. Rain gear, waterproof clothing, works for this to some degree, but if it’s hot (and by if it’s raining, by definition humid) even a poncho will become intolerable in short order, and taking it off and putting it back on is not just a huge nuisance, it also slows down your progress and makes you more conspicous. If you’re trying to get away from the center of a disaster, out of the city or away from Ground Zero, you probably can’t afford the time.
In freezing rain the threat of hypothermia is no joke, even in the city, especially if you get soaked, and in urban environments your survival is much more likely to depend on others to some degree, even if it’s just letting you inside buildings, hailing cabs, or purchasing what you need. It won’t help your circumstances to be conspicuous in wearing a poncho or some other unusual rain gear, or be drenched, either with rain or perspiration, and looking a lot like a crazy or desperate person who might be a danger.
A good, well-designed umbrella solves all of these problems. It can be deployed and folded/stored repeatedly as needed while you’re on the move, without even breaking stride.
I started carrying one on my daily commutes into work decades ago, and wouldn’t consider doing without, even though I often wear hats and carry some other sort of rain protection. I’ve had a number of them, mostly Totes when they were pretty much the only quality, super-compact umbrellas to be found, but I’m not making a recommendation here, there are now many, many good brands and models available, and I haven’t even explored options to the degree that I probably should have.
There have also been times when I’ve needed it and didn’t have it. Aside from the trivial incidents in life, one stands out in my mind. I was working in a building downtown at the time, and commuting in by subway…. that is, driving in to a subway station, then riding, then walking a few blocks into work- typical. Of course I had my umbrella with me in, I think at the time, a shoulder bag that I was using for the commute.
One day I was going out to lunch with one or two co-workers, and didn’t even think about taking the bag, there was nothing in there I anticipated needing, it was a nice day outside, I didn’t even need a jacket, and I was only going a couple of blocks down the street on foot and could be back in a minute or two, and my office was relatively secure.
When we got back from lunch there was a crowd around the building, there had been a fire alarm and the fire department was there, no one was allowed inside. We waited outside for the “all clear” notice.
And waited, and waited… the crowd waiting to get back in the building started to thin out.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had left my vehicle and house keys in my pack at my desk. Even if I decided to go home, I had no way to get in my vehicle at the subway station at the other end, and no way to get in the house when I got there. I was sort of stuck.
Rumors floated through the crowd that it had been a real fire, not a false alarm. Then it started raining. The crowed REALLY thinned out, most people were apparently willing to write off the afternoon. A car full of our managers came by, they said that they were going to wait it out in a bar and asked us to call them when the building finally opened again.
Gee, thanks.
Now I was trapped not only without my keys, but cornered in the increasingly-pouring rain in my shirtsleeves under an awning on the sidewalk, unable to get back to my desk and unable to go home. The last of the co-workers on the sidewalk that I knew had given up and left.
It was, in the end, uneventful if unpleasant. After maybe two-and-a-half hours the fire department did indeed give the “all clear” and I went back into the offices. Almost nobody was there, so I grabbed my pack and left, I was in no mood to see if the managers bothered to come back or talk to them.
So, largely my own fault. I took two lessons away from the incident: 1. Always have spare keys, and 2. When in doubt, always err on the side of taking your stuff. You just never know. Years earlier I had a workplace fire, which thankfully occurred after hours, close the building for weeks… there are many ways in which it could have been far worse.
Sometimes you get a little wake-up call. I think it’s best to take the hint.
The umbrella in the city is one of those rare instances where a valuable piece of urban survival gear (IMHO) is also completely socially acceptable, expected by security and law enforcement, and can even help preserve your anonymity if you don’t want to be noticed. It just seems foolish not to take advantage of it.
– Robert the Wombat