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Comment by anormaluser | Hacker News Reader

How expensive is your umbrella? Just curious.

$50-ish — but that's not the point. I value my belongings because I spend great deal of time researching and finding products that I love using day in day out (unlike most people who constantly curse at stuff they have). I also modify things I buy to fine tune it to my needs. So even a $50 umbrella is more like $1000 in terms of time I've spent on it and I have no intention of doing it again. This particular umbrella was purchased 20 years ago in Spain.

The notion of an umbrella lasting 20 years boggles my mind. I've never had one last more than 2–3 years and I don't use them much. I've looked for premium umbrellas before but every time I find one that isn't ridiculously priced, there's always a contingent of reviewers who insist that it fell apart in heavy wind or frequent use.

Normally I buy $10 umbrellas from Australia's big hardware store chain. They aren't great but they're easily robust enough to last for a year or two. (Cheap umbrellas from anywhere else tend to break if you look at them funny, and they rust if you get them wet.)

I'd be willing to pay $120 AUD (or $80 USD) for an umbrella that was seriously good quality, recognising that the economics imply that it would need to last for at least a decade to be cost competitive.

> I'd be willing to pay $120 AUD (or $80 USD) for an umbrella that was seriously good quality

https://au.davekny.com/ has good stuff although I haven't had one long enough (only 5 years) to attest its durability.

They also have some promising guarantee terms: https://au.davekny.com/pages/lifetime-guarantee

I’ve been using a small folding umbrella from MUJI that I bought 8 years ago. Not particularly expensive.

My partner has probably been through about ten umbrellas in the same time-span, because she was reluctant to spend the modest extra amount for something she doubted would last so long. I recently bought her the same model of umbrella from MUJI, although it’s too early to say whether the company has maintained the build quality.

I think it’s this one (but hard to tell on their awful website) https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?PID=14951&qclr=45503441...

Approximately twice what I was hoping to pay, but damn those are some wild guarantees.

Yeah same. Seems worth it though. I’ve spent more than $200 over the last 5-10 years on umbrellas easily.

You should get Sam Vimes to tell you about his boots.

Like for many products there is an entire segment of the market that most people never even know exists. E.g. premium umbrellas that are made to last against wind and wear. I have this one, has so far lasted close to 10 years.

https://www.senz.com/

My wife had a small one around the time you bought yours. Started to rust after a few uses... I guess that sort of demonstrates GPs point.

I would guess a lot of people would bet such market segment exists, but are unable to find a manufacturer/seller. Since higher price often doesnt mean higher quality, its hard to distinguish expensive tools that will last decades from similarly priced tools that wont last as much.

It's certainly possible to build and even buy a very robust umbrella. I suspect the reason most people don't is that they know they're going to be lost or stolen.*

It's why Amsterdam bicyclists don't ride $5000 bikes.

*Especially in Tokyo. If you drop a wallet full of cash on the street in Tokyo, someone will chase you down to return it. But if you turn your back on your umbrella in Tokyo, kiss it goodbye. Then you have to steal another one.

I have a confession. A first time visitor from a small European town to a Japanese city last millennium, it was raining and a department store had buckets with mostly white or transparent umbrellas by the door.

How civilized, I thought, that a company would provide free umbrellas to shoppers when it rains, and so I took one.

Turns out that's where you out your umbrella when entering the store...

That's what everybody there does. I don't think the story is "everybody in Japan is honest except about umbrellas" but rather that the Japanese simply consider umbrellas to be community property.

I have a Bunnings umbrella that has lasted 10yrs, but to be fair, I do live in the sunshine state.

My last Fulton umbrella lasted me nearly a decade of London drizzle and Sydney torrential rain until I left it on a plane a couple of months ago.

Sports direct (of all places) ships them to Australia and they are around half of your budget (https://au.sportsdirect.com/fulton).

Parapluies de Cherbourg are definively worth the deal.

https://parapluiedecherbourg.com/en/

Please create or point me to your product review site!

Well, the $50 umbrella to last decades and the "tag things with sentimental/shopping research value" thing is not exactly the big motivator for AirTags, or a representative anecdotal case.

I have a bike, with a lock more expensive than the bike itself. Since I value the time that would be necessary to replace the stolen item, not to mention the disturbance caused upon loss.

Totally agree with your point.

With how easy it is to lose an umbrella, and how difficult it is to retrieve most of the time, I prefer to think of umbrella as disposable items. Depending on where you live, your need for umbrellas might be different, but a significant amount of time, say ~20%, i need an umbrella and don't have one, so I end up buying some disposable version anyway.

Some things have value beyond what you pay at the till.

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