Greetings Adventurers,
Ok, I feel kind of funny writing a review about an umbrella… just gotta say.
Over the years I have hiked with very few other hikers, probably less than 25 all put together, but the one constant piece of gear that every single hiker that I have hiked with has, is a good hiking umbrella.
My true love is, and probably always will be, the “GoLite Chrome Dome Trekking Umbrella”. It is one awesome all weather umbrella! It is the leader of the pack and by far the most used umbrella on most of the long distance trails here in the USA. But, it is also a heavy umbrella, at 230 grams (8.11 ounces).
As my readers well know, I spend a whole lot of money in order to save an ounce here and an ounce there as much as I can. So there are times when the necessity of the GoLite Chrome are just not warranted, and thus I am able to go out with a lighter weight umbrella. During the summer and shoulder season I have been fully committed to the GoLLite Chrome, but when I do not need the weight of that umbrella, when it is not hot and sunny outside, it offers me the ability to take the significantly lighter weight Snow Peak Ultra-Lite Umbrella.
Here are the specs:
133.243 grams (4.7 ounces)
8.6″ in length when not in use
21.5″ in height when fully extended.
37.5″ in width when fully opened
Snow Peak Ultralight Vs GoLite Chrome:
Two very important differences between the Snow Peak Ultra-Light and the GoLite Chrome:
| Snow Peak UltaLight | GoLite Chrome | |
| Height: | 8.6″ | 25″ |
| Weight: | 4.7 oz | 8.11 oz |
Compactness:
The biggest difference between the two, is the height of the two umbrellas.
Check out this photograph below to see just how big of a difference there is!
UV Protection:
Below is a comparison photo of the inside of each of these two great umbrellas.
The GoLite is coated in black to help reduce light reflection in very bright conditions, and it has a reflective coating on the top.
Inner Workings:
Here are the internal working of each of the umbrellas:
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One of the important features of a hiking umbrella is how deep they are, here is a way I measured that:
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Snow Peak Ultra-light Umbrella: A Folding Umbrella
One of the more unique parts of the Snow Peak Ultra-light Umbrella is how it is a folding umbrella. It does this in order to reduce the overall height, a good thing when bulk/volume space is limited, and at first I thought it was a bit cumbersome and a potential break-point. However the folding mechanisms have held up very well and I have not had any failures, and I have not found myself annoyed at having to take the extra time to fold up the extra part each time I stop using it.
Thru-Hiker Worthy Umbrella?
Perhaps. It all has to do with the lack of UV reflective coating. That is so vital for thru-hikers in desert areas. Outside of the sun intense areas, yeah, make the switch to the Snow Peak Ultra-Lite Umbrella away from the Chrome and save yourself 50% of umbrella weight.
Heavy Rain Friendly?
Yes. In regards to dealing with a heavy downpour I would put this almost as good as the GoLite Chrome. It can handle a beating.
Message Friendly?
Nope. I have no idea who took this photograph, nor who the hikers are, but this is one of the best photographs of hikers using an umbrella I have ever seen!
Final Thoughts:
I love the Snow Peak Ultra-Lite Umbrella! It provides me a much smaller umbrella for the summer time when I am using a much smaller backpack. It provides me a great around-town and on-the-trail umbrella. It is one of the lightest compact umbrellas I have found. It is fairly priced. It gets the job done that I ask it to do!
Thanks,
+John Abela
In accordance of USA Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255: I hereby declare that the products mentioned within the content of this article were not supplied to me in exchange for services. All products mentioned within the content of this review are free of endorsements between myself and the manufacturers and meets all FTC 16 CFR.255 compliance requirements.