I bought this umbrella before a recent trip to Japan where I knew that there woudl likely be some rain.  I used to have a similar umbrella from Sharper Image, and was hoping this would be just as awesome as that one.  It wasn't.

The build quality is fine, but it seems a bit cheap.  Despite significant winds, the umbrella never turned inside out, and the auto open/close function always worked as it should have.

My main complaint is that after several hours of being out in the rain, it lost it's waterproofness. Granted, I'm usually not out walking in the rain for several hours at a time and this may be a common failing of all umbrellas, but it was a bit disheartening.

The umbrella IS a good size and easily kept me dry.  It would accommodate two people, but not as comfortably as a large golf umbrella.

All in all, it's a fine umbrella, it's just not as awesome as the one I previously owned.