A Good Brolly

Of the many innovations in technique ushered in by Ray Jardine's classic book, one of my favorites is the use of an umbrella. Equally useful in rain and hot sun, a brolly adds a sort of gentleman-of-leisure air to the whole endeavor of backpacking. GoLite has been offering their Dome umbrella for a couple of years, and I use one quite happily, but I wondered if there were any other contenders out there. As it turns out, Mont Bell offers its own trekking umbrella. The compact size is a big draw, but I wonder how they hold up in the wind [They do, as windy days in northern Germany have proved - ed., 1.29.05]. I also read a posting over on BackpackingGearTest raving about the many wonderful facets of the Birdiepal (catalog), a line of German-made golf umbrellas.