Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Recently I went to a an outdoor wedding where it rained during the ceremony. I offered my favorite folding umbrella to the Best Man to shield the couple. Sadly it got lost in the shuffle afterward. On returning home, it seemed to rain every ensuing day, so I researched & bought this Repel umbrella as a replacement. It has now stopped raining 😂 As luck would have it, the wedding venue found and shipped my lost umbrella, which arrived the day after the Repel (I got “Starry Night” which I call the Cosmic version). I decided to test them together, so I took each in the shower & turned it on giving each a hefty full force drenching. My old fave (Johns which I bought in India during monsoon season – doesn’t seem to be sold here) kept me perfectly dry. The Repel did likewise. But, I noticed that the water literally beaded up & rushed off the Repel much more so than the Johns. It is kinda cool to see the water madly scramble off the top of the Repel, almost like it's being chased. Afterward I tested how they dried with my technique of closing and then pressing the open button to pop open each one twice, in order to shed most of the water. And there was a distinct difference. The Johns shed nearly all the water, but was still wet in spots. The Repel was nearly dry, I can't even call it damp as the few very teeny beadlets of water were minute enough that I'd feel comfortable just folding it up & stowing it in the sleeve. Not so with my old fave. I took the photo right after drenching each & using my unpatented drying technique. You can readily see the difference. The one with the shiny center button is my old fave, and still needs some drying, whereas the Repel is essentially dry. The Teflon definitely makes a difference. I have noticed that after pressing the button to close the Repel, that it sometimes sticks when pushing on the handle & top to close it. (Stubborn) Persistence wins the day. And in fairness, the Johns still does that on occasion after several years. Do be careful to give this, or any automatic umbrella, plenty of room to open. I cleared an outdoor table once with the Johns by not being mindful enough. And they open with enough force that one could get bruised if whacked by it opening. Oh, and hold the handle & top firmly when closing it - should it slip from your hand while pressing, you could find your voice go up an octave. And I don't recommend bracing it against your stomach to close it either. (Don't ask me how I know this.) I can't speak to the windproof-ness. I did try jerking it suddenly toward me and away with it open. And I jumped down off a 3' wall with each while open. The Repel seemed to have a little less resistance than the Johns (which survived monsoon winds), meaning it seemed to flex into the "wind" a little better. I'll update this after the next wind storm. I have never had an umbrella with a push button close feature. I like it a lot and can see it will be handy for quickly ducking into a doorway or car. And the Starry Night is just so, you know, totally Cosmic, man! With some tears, I have to admit this Cosmic Repel bumberchute is my new fave.