Are all brollies crap?

[JimT]

If not, and you know of any specifically, please tell me what brand you use.

I use medium-sized brollies going to and from work, as I need something that fits comfortably in my bag. About 10 years ago I had a black Carlton brolly, it was sturdy and reliable and cost £5 at Shepherds Bush Market. It lasted me well for years until a couple of years back and the inevitable (with me, anyway) - I left it on a bus. Since then, I've had a succession of utterly crap, flimsy ones that malfunction in a variety of ways or just die at the first slight gust of wind. I've been back to the market and they don't have the Carltons anymore, I've looked Carlton up on the web but strangely have found no evidence they even do any kind of umbrella.

Dug an intact brolly out of our cupboard this rainy morning. Before I'd even got to work, the locking clip had failed and one of the spokes had snapped and gone through the fabric. Where do they get these pieces of rubbish from, christmas crackers?

[pink-kittens]

dont kn ow where you were looking but Carlton have brollys for sale on the web
http://www.carltontra...t_Listing.aspx?cat=11

As for the 'are all brollys rubbish'? Yeah, they are apart from my uber light very large golfing style brolly i got from Primark for £2.50! yes, just £2.50 and t'is still going strong 4/5 years later =)

[theonlyone]

I just buy cheap brollies as they all seem the same , clips break and the
spokes . Have you tried one from Bhs as they used to be good.

[beastmonkey]

if you invest in a proper umbrella such as james smith and son www.james-smith.co.uk, you will find that it last a lifetime.

the initial cost is higher, but written off over the length of years use, it is a better investment than the cheap ones.

[JimT]

Thanks for the responses. pink, swear last time I looked (though it was a while back) I searched andsearched, found Carlton web pages but no sign of brollies, so thanks for that.

beast monkey I will look into the smith ones thanks.

[joggerjayne]

Folding brollies all have additional "points of possible failure ...

... the joint on the stem, and the joints on the arms.

For a reliable, solid brolly, you need the "walking stick" variety.

The downside is that, when it's rolled up, you look like Mary Poppins.

[carlton23]

Whilst on my hols a few years ago in St Helier (Jersey UK) I purchased one from a large store that gave a lifetime guarantee with their brollies and it lasted about one year when a gust of wind blew it inside out and broke the stays, and of course I hadn`t kept the receipt so now I just get wet.

[carlton23]

Oh, I have nothing to do with `Carlton Umbrellas` bye the way.

[Bobbisox]

my daughter bought me a Radley umbrella, it's so femur, pay for the name that's all, cheapies are better, it blows inside out, you get another !