Balios Travel Folding Umbrella with Real Wood Handle Auto Open Close Vented Windproof Canopy - Designed in UK

A very well made product. A tad on the heavy side and a little longer than makes for easy packing into a purse but excellent performance -- would work well even in heavy wind and rain. And the open/close feature is very good -- helpful with arthritic hands.

Best umbrella ever!

Really nice quality. The auto-close/open is solid built and a great feature. The wood isnt as dense as I thought it would be, but its still smooth and nice to the touch. The handle is fantastic to hold. Im a big guy with large hands and hate the compact umbrellas with the handle smaller than the width of my palm because it makes holding on to the umbrella so awkward. This umbrella does not suffer from that at all. I can get a nice grip on it without feeling like Im awkwardly squeezing my hand too tightly and my pinky isnt dangling at the bottom with nothing to hold on to. If itll fit my hand, its probably going to fit just about anybodys hand. I picked this umbrella because I wanted something that could fit in my backpack, but bigger than your typical compact umbrella. I do wish the umbrella was a little wider, I feel a little rain coming in from the sides BUT ! this is because Im wearing a full backpack all the time, so Im taking up more space than usual. On top of that, I live in Florida and the rain this time of year is brutal. I think the umbrella is more than wide enough, its just my particular situation is extra tough to accommodate. I almost forgot to mention that water does not stick to this thing, at all. When I go to close it, its almost completely dry even after getting hit by these monstrous Florida downpours. The only thing I cant comment on is how it will hold up over time. My greatest concern is that the auto open/feature means moving parts, and moving parts means more potential points of failure. Ive used it quite a bit this past month and it shows no signs of degrading at all, I think it will hold up for the long run. If it doesnt, this review will definitely be edited to reflect anything I discover. But even assuming it holds up for just a year down here in windy/rainy South Florida, I still think itd be doing really great for the price.

The wooden handle and double canopy (to allow air to escape on a windy day) were the main reasons for this purchase. Leave it to the British to design a nice umbrella, but the Chinese to actually make it. (As in this case.) Initially, the standard colors of (yawn!) black, grey and green almost eliminated the Balios for me. But the more I looked around, the initially chosen sky lining (inner layer) of another model made room for a seemingly better build quality. (Which is putting a lot of trust into online descriptions.) Once received, the umbrella turned out slightly smaller and lighter than I anticipated. In fact, it’s nearly identical to a department store umbrella it replaced. The automatic open/close mechanism is fairly standard for this type of umbrella. Push a button and it opens fully (provided you took it out of the sleeve first). Push the same button again, and it folds the canopy without retracting the shaft. That still needs to be done by hand, but again that very much how most of them work. The springs in the Balios that are associated with the open/close are fairly stout and at least initially may surprise you with the force needed to actuate. To me it’s not a big deal. The canopy consists of two partially overlapping layers. This is not meant to be a liner as in some cases (i.e. for pictures inside the umbrella), the Balios is doing it to provide an opening for wind to pass thru while the overlapping layers make sure rain doesn’t get thru in normal use. The umbrella oozes build quality, and it remains to be seen if that translates into durability. The wood handle is well formed and stays in your hand despite the complete absence of any elastomer (“rubber”). The sculpted inside of the grip is fairly effective. The wood finish has a reasonable grip, too, and makes for a comfort grip in colder weather. The fabric of the canopies is claimed to be a tightly woven 300T and that seems to be about the tightest you’ll find anywhere. It also means that the fabric is fairly thin and once again it remains to be seen how it holds up. The handle doesn’t have a loop, but the sleeve does. I normally use the loop only for hanging the umbrella and this constellation is fine. However, at least in the past I typically didn’t keep the sleeve for that it didn’t seem useful. The Balios may change that. Btw., the metal finish at the handle is significantly darker than the pictures suggest. I think that’s a good thing, but it remains to be seen if this coating is as durable as Id expect from a nickel plating (or especially stainless steel).

I am so happy that I chose this travel umbrella! The quality is outstanding, seriously.... outstanding! I needed a size that collapses small, but still has normal coverage and this is exactly that. The actual umbrella itself is a very high quality thick waterproof material and it has the double canopy for those extra windy days. It also has a gorgeous wooden handle with grip. There is a button near the handle that releases and expands with a spring loaded mechanism, so opening and closing is a breeze. There is also a waterproof case with handle that comes with the purchase and to my surprise it was actually easy to get it back into the case after use! This is one of those purchases that I am patting myself on the back for buying because I know this umbrella is going to stand the test of time!

Its a sturdy and compact umbrella that fits easily inside my bag. The fiberglass/steel frame is strong. Ive had the umbrella for a month now, and weve had a couple of strong thunderstorms since. Ive yet to experience a break in windy Mid Atlantic conditions. When its very windy, the umbrella flips inside out, but its very easy to flip it back the correct way. I actually prefer that it flips because it lessens the chances of the umbrella breaking. The case for the umbrella is not flimsy and does quite a good job of keeping the inside of my bag dry. The size of the umbrella is a bit smaller than I expected but that has nothing to do with the quality and construction of the umbrella itself and more to do with the fact that I expected a bigger umbrella without really taking into account the stated measurements. Overall, a very good purchase for the money. Works better than a more expensive Shedrain umbrella I had.

So, this was a very nice umbrella. It was stylish and sleek. It worked amazingly in the wind and did its normal job of keeping the water off you perfectly. But, dont let your kids borrow it, because they will accidentally leave it at the park and since it is so stylish and amazing, you will never see it again. Ever. RIP umbrella.

***UPDATE*** After posting my initial review, the seller contacted me about replacing the malfunctioned umbrella within a couple of days. The replacement process was extremely easy; no returning of the old product was required or asked. It was fast, efficient, and the representative that contacted me was very nice and professional. Ive been using this umbrella for almost a month now and NO PROBLEMS. One happy customer now with a working, comfortable and good-looking umbrella! Would order again. (PS: mom still loves hers) --original review-- After hunting for a stylish umbrella and reading lots of reviews I decided to purchase this Balios Travel Umbrella. Actually, I bought 2; one for my mom and the other for myself. Lets start with the good, shall we? These are beautiful umbrellas. Theyre sturdy, the smooth wooden handle is comfortable, and the fabric is of great quality. The grey color is handsome and true to the photos. I was happy when they arrived and my mom is very happy with her gift. Sadly, mine lasted one use. I get out of my car, excited to pop open my new umbrella (its been an embarrassingly long time since Ive had one) and get to to store. I try to press the auto button again for it to collapse and find that it is still pressed in. See attached photo. So, there is no closing this umbrella now unless I manually collapse it and wrap it shut. Which is a pain. Also frustrating when I need to use it I unwrap it and it shoots open like a rocket. Is it worth the money? Absolutely, if it functioned correctly.

The best umbrella I ever had was a London Fog, which got me through two years of living--and daily walking--in rainy Ireland. Ive only owned cheap umbrellas since then, and you get what you pay for, or in other words they were broken in a flash and un-memorable. I havent had this one for long enough yet to know if its going to last and last, but it feels very sturdy and its nicely made. I think its going to last as long or longer than my last nice umbrella. (We had a really wet spring and I didnt purchase this until after the wet season, so I havent truly put it to the test yet--my loss!) It also has wind vents so the wind cant blow the umbrella inside-out. Its a little on the heavy side for traveling, but thats because it is made of sturdy materials. Nice umbrella.

After finally getting to test this out in the rain, this is an awesome umbrella. It was shipped in a protective plastic case and has its own umbrella holder to put around it. It looks super classy with its really nice wooden handle. The best part is that it has a button to open AND close it (it took me a few minutes to figure out the button was used to close it as well, but I wouldve realized it sooner if Id read the words on the actual button). As for keeping the rain off me, it has a large radius and the edges turn downward to make like a bowl over you so the rain doesnt drip off the edges and onto you. Oh, and theres a cute tag with a quote on it - When it rains, look for rainbows. I thought that was a nice touch; it made me smile. Id definitely recommend this umbrella.