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Reviews > Rain Gear > Umbrellas > Montbell Sun Block Umbrella > Test Report by David Wilkes
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Read more reviews of MontBell gear Read more gear reviews by David Wilkes Reviews > Rain Gear > Umbrellas > Montbell Sun Block Umbrella > Test Report by David Wilkes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
most noticeable aspect of the Sun Block Umbrella is its reflective
canopy. It appears to be a rather standard black nylon umbrella
material with a silver coating on the outside. The rest of the umbrella
is black. The pole/shaft is in 3 collapsible sections. The ribs
(referred to as “arms” by the manufacturer) and stretcher arms are
mostly of plastic with the hinge pins and a few key sections being
metal. When collapsed the inner section of the ribs automatically fold
while the outermost hinge of each rib must be manually operated for
deploying and folding. The spike has a plastic cover and comes with a
piece of plastic cord tied into a loop. The handle (knob) is a simple
plastic cap that when the umbrella is closed the cap holds the
exposed ends of the ribs. Finally like many umbrellas there is a strip
of material (same material as the canopy is made from) with hook-n-loop
tabs (the hang tag says “Velcro) that is use to wrap the umbrella when
closed. The umbrella also came with a storage sleeve made from the
canopy material that has a hole in the top for the spike/loop and a 3/4
length zip to hold it snug around the umbrella.
My
gear is constantly evolving as I try to find the optimum balance of
weight, safety, comfort, and as much as I hate to admit it style does
come into play. Living in the Pacific Northwest (central Washington
State) weather conditions are difficult to predict and often change
rapidly. While the central part of the state tends to be quite dry (the
terrain is referred to as shrub steppe, similar in many ways to “high
desert”), the central and southern Cascades where I do most of my trips
can be quite wet. But even in the Cascades with its glorious pine
forests, many places I go involve stretches of exposed trail (either
due to logging, fires, meadows, or are above the tree line) where
combined with the altitude can result in significant sun exposure. Year
round, a rain shell AND sun screen tend to be included in my
“essentials” list. Recently I have been contemplating using an umbrella
for both rain, possibly eliminating a rain shell, as well as sun
protection. I have read many accounts on the pros and cons of an
umbrella for hiking and have internally debated how/if one would
benefit me. And as luck would have it, while researching what umbrellas
are available this test was announced so I jumped at the chance.
I
would note that I have recently adopted a section of the Pacific Crest
Trail, so I went out to hike my section to better acquaint myself with
the area and document any maintenance needs there may be. As it turns
out my section involves many exposed areas and it was a VERRY hot day.
I was often removing my hat to help cool off, but putting it back on to
help prevent burning my rapidly thinning scalp. I knew this umbrella
was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday (the hike was on a Sunday) so
throughout most of the 10 or so hours I spent on the trail, the
umbrella, or more precisely my not having it, was foremost on my mind
(along with how much water I had left and if I should have refilled at
the last stream). There were many times along the way when I believe
the umbrella would have been a blessing and I think this was good
timing since it will give me some recent experience to compare with
during the duration of this test. I am very interested to find out if
the weight of the umbrella can be offset by weight savings such as not
carrying a rain shell in wet conditions, not needing to carry as much
water in sunny conditions, or simply an improvement in comfort that
offsets the weight penalty.
Use
So
I am testing a sun umbrella, during one of the hottest and driest
summers the Pacific Northwest has seen in at least a few years. So as I
would expect, I had very few opportunities to actually use it to
protect me from the sun (thanks Mother Nature!). My first and most
intense use of the umbrella was for a hike that I have long avoided
simply for the fact that it is hot, dry, and exposed. So with the air
temperature at around 97F (36C) I hit the trailhead and commenced
to climb up the steep rugged trail. I brought no sunscreen and even
more abnormal for me, no hat. The heat radiating off the walls of the
canyon made what was already an uncomfortably hot day almost
unbearable.
Even the occasional gust of wind that would come up the canyon was hot
and unpleasant. Soon after leaving the trailhead I was sweating
profusely and stopping to rest often. As an experiment I would
occasionally drop the umbrella to my side to judge how effective it was
only to put it back almost immediately. Without the umbrella the heat
combined with direct sun was totally unbearable. I only managed about 1
hour of this torture before turning around. There is no doubt in my
mind that even with a hat I would have turned around far sooner. My
second opportunity to use the umbrella for sun was under far less
extreme conditions. The protection is provided, combined with better
ventilation than any hat, made me appreciate its functionality, even
under moderate conditions where I would normally have been satisfied
with just a hat. I was quickly becoming an umbrella convert.
One
item I noticed very soon into that first hike is that even a slight gust
of around 7mph (11kph) was enough to just about pull the umbrella out
of my hand if I was not paying attention. However, further use suggests
that the umbrella is surprisingly resilient and can handle significant
gusts without damage.
If
it is not evident from the above I am quite happy with the umbrella.
While I have tried to be careful with it, I have not always followed
the instructions of having all the ribs fully extended before
deploying. I find as long as they are mostly straight, when the canopy
goes taut, the ribs snap into place by themselves, but I could see how
a strut could break or the canopy rip if the strut was mostly folded,
so I try to avoid this.