<div id="video-block-R35AARQPMP3PYW" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/D1%2BT%2BJmnx6S.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71P7CPiHslS.png" class="video-slate-img-url">The truth must sound out.  I even went so far as to post pictures so people can understand that I'm not feeding baloney here.

First, let's get the easy stuff out of the way.  The umbrella is attractive.  It gets attention, especially depending on how you hold it.  If you hold it like the CGI chick from Animatrix, or like Morpheus from Matrix Reloaded, then people will definitely be convinced until you show them it's an umbrella.  The handle will fool them.  TSA will question you - they might even pat you down.

The problem...which is major...is the construction quality.  It's not durable for the long term.  There are many reasons I say that - first, water will soak through the umbrella fabric, which is to be expected on cheaper unbrellas that you'd get from Rite-Aid, but not one that costs this much.  To put it into perspective, I live in San Diego...the place that gets rain MAYBE three times a year.  Yet, during this last major rainstorm, even before I had gotten really wet, I noticed spots inside the umbrella.  Not good.  And no, I open it in a shielded area first before walking out, so it was not exposed at any time to the rain.

Also, the shaft is almost like a bamboo-like material, not metal or aluminum like it really should be.  AS a result the hooking mechanism, given the size of the umbrella, will eventually bore through and crack the two holes, causing issues like where the umbrella will not stay closed (because the hook near the handle is low), or if it does, is extremely difficult to get open (because the hook further up has bored outward).  It's a poorly designed system made worse by a shaft material not designed for the long term.

Does it work?  Yes.  But I was disappointed for the price paid.  Now maybe they've fixed and improved it, but I simply was not impressed.