Camping Umbrella

A good jacket will keep you dry and protected from the rain. But a camping umbrella does an equally good job, and while it might not be suitable for many situations like a windstorm, to name one obvious one, an umbrella has a lot of advantages over the traditional rain jacket, such as the ample amount of ventilation it provides. No one ever got overheated from wearing an umbrella, for instance, a problem that many people who wear rain jackets experience if they’re not careful to prevents themselves from becoming overworked.

Camping Umbrella

Features to try and find when you're shopping for camping umbrellas.

• Size – The size of your camping umbrella, or more accurately the diameter of the umbrella when it’s open can be rather important. You don’t want a very small umbrella, because you need some amount of protection from the weather. But at the same time, an umbrella that is overly large will easily catch the wind, another situation that you want to avoid.
• Compactness – What you definitely do not want to do is bring a big umbrella from home. When camping it helps to have gear that is compact when you’re not using it, so that it’s not taking up a great deal of room in your backpack. An umbrella that is compact can fit in to a pocket, which makes it easily accessible, so that you don’t have to take your backpack off to get at it.

Best Camping Umbrella

Some of the very best camping umbrellas for sun, rain or both.

• GoLite Dome Trekking Umbrella - For those that would prefer a nice, big camping umbrella to shelter under, there is the GoLite Dome. With a diameter of 45 inches it's bigger than either of the other two umbrellas below. But size does tend to weigh more, and at 11 ounces, which is 311 grams, this is also the heaviest camping umbrella on this list. Still, a great umbrella for use while camping.
• REI Flyweight Siliconized Nylon Umbrella - The Flyweight is a good middle-of-the-road camping umbrella. It's a good size, with a diameter of 36 inches, and doesn't weight too much either, at 7.1 ounces, which is 201 grams. It's also nice and small when packed up, and could easily fit in to a jacket pocket, so that you don't have to go searching for it when you do end up needing it. The carrying case even has a little carabiner on it for attaching to your backpack, if you don't have any available pockets.
• Mont Bell U.L. Trekking Umbrella - If you'd prefer something small and lightweight, this umbrella from Mont Bell is both the lightest and smallest on the list, at 32 inches of diameter and 5.8 ounces, which is 164 grams. 32 inches isn't large by any means, but it is big enough to cover you and a backpack from sun or rain. And being so small it does, of course, pack up in to a nice, small package for easy carrying.