Review on DAVEK SOLO UMBRELLA Classic Black by Karen Rivas

Earlier this year I vowed to myself I would never fight a crappy umbrella again so I either donated or threw away all my crappy umbrellas and went in search of quality options did. Of course, I quickly found my way to Davek, and over the last few months I've bought 12 of these in different sizes and styles to hide in my family's dozen or so umbrellas (cars, work bags, backpacks, coats). shelves, etc.). For reference, I bought one of the Elite umbrellas, a couple of Duets, a couple of Solos, three Travelers, and four Minis. What I love about them: Every part of these umbrellas is undeniably high quality - fabric, opening/closing mechanism, shaft, handle, straps, everything. With the exception of portable mini umbrellas, umbrellas open with a strong, pleasant click and are strong and durable. My son and I love walking in the rain, and a few weekends ago we got caught in a storm - biting winds, heavy rain, rumbling thunder. The umbrellas were amazing! In a storm like this it's not so much about staying dry as it is about protecting your face from the rain and wind so our feet got wet from the horizontal rain, but the umbrellas did a great job, particularly in terms of wind resistance was worried. Couldn't be happier with their quality and performance. What I don't like about it: I found that there are three things that aren't very good, two of which are related to the pen. On Duet, Solo and Traveler the handle is nice but round and small, about the size/shaped of an egg. It might seem like an ergonomic design that fits snugly in the palm of your hand, but what you really need for an umbrella is a longer handle that offers some leverage so you can push upwind. For example, the handle of a knife or a fishing rod. . Imagine trying to cut vegetables or draw a line with a knife or egg-shaped stick. It just doesn't work. What happens is that your thumb and forefinger aren't holding the pen at all, instead clinging tightly to the pole, leading to arm muscle fatigue on long walks. Now imagine that the egg shaped pin is made of hard plastic. The tongue protrudes from its underside, so you have to twist it to get the tongue to fit perfectly into the small gap between the end of your pinky finger and the bottom of your palm so it doesn't cut into your palm - and there you have problem number two with the handle. This little tab holds the leather strap and causes trouble and frustration. (regarding the handle is not from someone with XL hands.) The last issue is related to the difficulties we had with folding the stem on our Traveler wings. None of the other sizes have this problem, but all Traveler umbrellas are REALLY difficult to fully fold/retract the umbrella stem. As if the spring were too tight (?) or something like that. That takes a lot of strength - I usually put the end of the umbrella on the ground and close it with my body weight. I actually bought one of the travel sizes especially for my youngest (10 year old) son but it's too heavy for him to handle. He has no problem with solo or duo. Simply traveller. Not a deal killer for us, but I thought it was worth mentioning as it could be a real problem for some. So... well, I LOVE our umbrellas. Elite is amazing and perfect - 5 stars. Solo, Duet and Travelers get 4 stars due to pen issues. I would give minis 5 stars; They're MUCH more streamlined and without some of the more technical stuff (opening mechanism etc) but for what they're designed for they're amazing. This has been a long read for those of you still here with me, but I hope the ideas are helpful.