In Which I Wax Poetic About My Umbrella

A photo from long ago

Lately, the weather here in the Manila is more unpredictable than my temper on an incredibly hormonal day: one minute it’s bright and sunny, and the next it’s raining like hell. For commuters like myself, getting caught in the rain on your way to work or to a movie date or wherever, well, sucks. You didn’t waste all that time prepping yourself up just for the rain or your sweat to ruin your carefully prepared look. An umbrella is a must-have item in every commuter’s bag.

BUT what umbrella should you get? Definitely not Fibrella.

About 6 months ago I got tired of always getting soaked (I try not to bring umbrellas if I can help it, as I am most certainly bound to lose it after a few days) after running through an unexpected rain shower, so I looked for a small umbrella I can easily fit in my bag. I was willing to spend for it, too. I needed an umbrella that is as klutz-proof as possible, because as all of my friends know, I am the queen of all creatures who can’t manage to not fall over or rip something as she goes to work. I decided to get one that had a good reputation. Yep, Fibrella.

I decided to get their smallest model (3-fold). A bit pricey (600 PHP), but I thought it was worth the investment. It had good reviews, and it’s so small and can always stuff it in my bag, therefore, I’m not likely to lose it.

Then Mother Nature decides to test my brand-spanking-new umbrella the very next day–there was a typhoon that not only brought on fits of torrential rain, it came with a rather ferocious wind as well. We stepped outside, K using an umbrella an aunt gave to him for Christmas, me using my new Fibrella, and just as we stepped off the stairs in front of our office, a strong wind blew and both of our umbrellas flipped out! K’s flipped back in without any damage. I swear to high heavens, it looked as good as new. Mine, however looked like an old elephant with sad, wrinkly, flappy skin. It looked droopy.

But I didn’t spend 600 pesos to stop using it after a day, so though the way it seems to sigh in exhaustion depressed me, I plowed on and continued to used it for 6 months until the button used to fold it up gave out too and made it practically unusable. K’s umbrella, now almost a year old, still looked brand new.

Best umbrella in the world!

I gave in and got my own (it’s brand is Grosser Schatten), and the sad thing is, unlike the Fibrella, it only costs 380 PHP.

I’m very happy with it. It’s water-resistant and water-repellant, so when you use it all you have to do is shake it off, and it’s ready to be folded again. It looks like it’s glad to shield me from the rain and of course, I’m pretty confident this will last me at least a year like K’s did, lest I lose it of course.

Waterproof and Water-repellent

So if you’re on the lookout for a trusty umbrella to use in this unpredictable Philippine weather, I suggest you go for the Grosser Schatten one.  I got mine in Landmark Trinoma.