This umbrella is amazing. Simply put, I could not be happier.

Pros:
1) When it's on your back, from a distance people always think it's a sword. I've had two police officers so far ask me about it. They're typically pretty cool about it, and one even said he was gonna buy one himself.

2) The umbrella itself is quite sturdy. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and right now we're gettin some nice stormy weather. Lots of wind. So far in roughly a week of use it hasn't turned inside out once.

3) On BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) people will glance over at me and inch away. Amazingly useful for morning and evening commutes on packed trains.

Cons:
1) The sheath. It's holding up OK so far. But it's going to come apart, it's just not made to last that long. But that's not that big of a deal, because I've already come up with a solution.

My solution to the sheath: Essentially it's a hard rubber tube that fits the umbrella snugly. It did take some machine work to make it the perfect length and to drill holes to attach the strap, but I'm happy with it.

Also, it adds to the look of a sword with a hard sheath.