Well it seems like Autumn has finally arrived here in Sydney. After an unseasonably warm start to the month, we now have cool and rainy weather. Hooray for those who were tired of constantly sweating due to the humidity, not so great for anyone caught outside in the rain. it's time to break out the umbrellas. Having had a longstanding paranoia regarding rain - if I have a bag handy, you can bet I've got an umbrella, even if it's in the middle of a scorching desert like heatwave - I'm always on the lookout for fancy, high quality umbrellas. And this new instant dry umbrella has certainly caught my interest.

water repel

Shake and Dry in a Instant

Umbrellas are waterproof yes, but are they actively water repellent? Considering the fact that where I work in the city there are buckets for umbrellas and special umbrella bagging machines at the entrance to many stores and venues, I'd have to say not. Water tends to cling to the outside of umbrellas, despite our best efforts to shake it off. One of the best umbrellas I ever had, had a plastic casing that could be slid upwards to cover the umbrella and collect all the water without it dripping everywhere. Quite a nifty invention, but we can do better now.

water repel (2)

Case in point, these instant dry umbrellas. Made from special water repellent fabric, water bounces right off. Not only would it be more effective at keeping you dry, but a quick shake of the umbrella and you can flick off the rest of the raindrops quite easily. Quite an interesting development for umbrellas. Here's hoping it's as good as it sounds.

Of course that raises interesting questions about branding. I imagine applying an ink print to liquid repelling fabric would be rather tricky. Something to worry about for the future perhaps.

 

Originally seen on: http://laughingsquid.com/an-instant-dry-umbrella-made-of-water-repellant-fabric-that-goes-from-wet-to-dry-with-a-shake/