An umbrella flipping inside out is one of the most annoying parts of a rainy day. The good news: it's mostly about how the umbrella is built and how you hold it.
Why umbrellas flip
When wind gets under the canopy, it pushes up with a lot of force. Cheap umbrellas usually have a handful of thin metal ribs. Under that force they bend past their limit and stay bent, or the joints pop, and the canopy inverts.
How to hold an umbrella in the wind
- Point it into the wind. Tilt the canopy toward the direction the wind and rain are coming from, so air flows over the top instead of scooping underneath.
- Hold it lower and closer. Keeping the umbrella closer to your head shortens the lever and gives you more control.
- Turn with the gusts. When the wind changes direction at a street corner, rotate the canopy with it.
- If it does flip, turn around so the wind blows into the inverted canopy – it will often pop back into shape.
Features that stop flipping
- More ribs. A frame with more ribs spreads the load, so each rib does less work.
- Fiberglass instead of thin metal. Fiberglass flexes under pressure and springs back, where thin steel tends to bend permanently.
- A strong central shaft and joints. The weakest point of a cheap umbrella is often where the ribs connect.
Our pick
Our Windproof Automatic Travel Umbrella uses a 20-rib reinforced fiberglass frame designed to flex and recover in gusts, opens and closes with one button, and folds to about 11 inches. It ships free with a 30-day money-back guarantee.