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

Im leaving a five star review because the first umbrella I received had a few issues but amazon sent me another one that seems just fine. However the 5 stars largely goes to the customer service. The company doesnt want you to have any faulty products and if there ever is any issue, they will solve the problem to ensure that you are satisfied. Im glad that they are very responsive to customer feedback and are happy to make things right! Below was my initial reviews of the product before I got my replacement, which works as expected. I just got this umbrella in the mail and it looks great! I love the craftsmanship and wooden handle. However, after checking out the product, I went to place it back inside the included sleeve and as Im zipping it closed the zipper broke RIGHT off! I didnt even pull that hard. I was surprised that this happened on my first time packing it away. Amazon isnt able to send me a replacement sleeve by itself Im going to have to get a whole new set and send back the one with the broken zipper. Other than that issue, it seems to be a quality umbrella, I havent had a chance to use it and get a sense of its sturdiness since I just got it. But the sleeve quality is not so good. Maybe mine was just a bad make, hopefully the manufacturers can improve on the sleeve quality. UPDATE: I added the third photo after playing around with it a bit more. Its already broken on me. Initially I thought the zipper itself on the sleeve was the only issue. But now the umbrella has already shown a big sign of unreliability.

ORIGINAL (2 STAR) REVIEW: Really great umbrella. Nice size, easy to open/close, good looking. Everything appears to be high quality, but I think they should use a higher quality stainless steel. As you can see, there is quite a bit of rust in my umbrella, after only 4-5 uses!! I reached out to the company via their website, sent the above pictures, but Ive heard nothing back. I want to like this umbrella, but I dont think I would purchase again, especially considering their (non-existent) customer service. EDITED (5 STAR) REVIEW: Apparently I have a very aggressive junk filter on my email client so it took a few emails from Balios before I received a response. They agreed that the umbrella shouldnt have rusted, and went above and beyond to get me a replacement. Assuming the rust was a manufacturing defect, this is a top notch umbrella. 5 stars for the replacement.

Best umbrella I have ever owned! I know that sounds strange to talk that way about an umbrella, but this is a really great piece of rain-protecting gear. I bought it for a trip to NYC and, luckily for this review, it rained, snowed and was windy the whole time. This umbrella was amazing! I have been using it as my go-to umbrella ever since and it has been put to the test (wind-wise) several times. Heres the rundown: Pros: Easy to open - the button works great! Really slick, actually. Makes you look like a real baller. Easy to close - again, just hit the button. Closes right up. Very James Bond. Real pro-style. Keeps rain off of your head - LOL right? I mean, it is an umbrella. But, for a small umbrella, it really does a great job of keeping a wide swath of rain off of your melon and body. Wind resistant - I should have put this first. I have used this thing in sustained winds of 40 mph and it didnt flinch. Gusts up to 60 mph and it didnt even think about going inside-out. .Rock solid in the wind. Buy it just for this fact alone. Wood handle - It really sets off this umbrella. Really makes you look like a player. Seriously. If I wasnt married, I am pretty sure I could have gotten several dates just based on the wood handle of this umbrella alone. Cons: None. It is the best umbrella on the planet. It may actually change your life. Pick one up now.

The wood handle is very nice. I can fit all my fingers around it and the notches are a nice touch. The brass button is flush with the brass ring above the handle giving it a discrete and clean look. The action has a strong kick, giving a satisfying whoosh as it deploys. It retracts quickly and quietly and takes a decent push to lock it into travel mode. The dual layer design is great in the wind. It really makes a difference when a gust of wind catches the bottom it doesnt rip it out of my hand and it doesnt need a strap which would make it not look as clean. It packs up super tight and it comes with a nice water treated case with a tie strap.

Very high-quality super lightweight umbrella great for traveling I have been looking for a very lightweight umbrella so I can take it in the car with me that wasn’t very heavy and it was compact this one works excellent very nice quality very sturdy and great for anybody that has travels a lot I like that it comes with a bag to store the umbrella has a handle on it

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.

So when it comes to umbrellas, I always thought you had to make a choice: either a big golf umbrella for quality (but a lack of portability, plus its expensive), or a smaller one for an on-the-go lifestyle (cheap, and cheaply made). So color me pleasantly shocked with this umbrella from Balios. For starters, when I opened the box, I was happy to see that it was a decent weight... you could tell it had a bit of a rugged feel that made me feel this thing, before trying, felt well-made. Then I saw the handle. Yes, the style is nice (though style doesnt really make me purchase an umbrella, per se), but the ergonomic grip was fabulous. My hand felt like it belonged there, and that it would be easier to hold should conditions be more blustery than an average rain shower. The first time I pushed the button, it opened effortlessly, and I was really surprised to see a vented canopy, like youd see in much bigger (and much more expensive) umbrellas. I havent seen too many like that in this size, and I have to say it was really impressive. But the real clincher for me happened this past Saturday. Sadly, weve had a TON of rain in the area where I live this year, with flooding at near-historic levels. It seems like every other day were getting rain, and not just the wetness, but lots of wind, as well. We had a ridiculous soaker the other night, with a good 15-20 MPH wind. I dont care how well this thing feels like its built... its not going to stand up to the weather. Or so I thought. This umbrella not only kept the top third of my body dry (not a whole lot you can do with blowing rain), but it held its shape and didnt fly up like many I saw that evening. I was absolutely shocked. And it fits two people surprisingly well, though adding a third means that one of you is getting at least half-soaked. I seriously cannot recommend this umbrella enough, and I will absolutely be buying a few more to keep in our cars, as well as by the front door. It really is remarkable.

I love the look of this umbrella! I have been traveling with it in Europe for 2 months now and it is fairly good for travel. It is lightweight enough and easy to strap to the side of my bag. On one of my first windy days, though, One of the arms did break though. It did not take too strong of a gust to break it. I havent had luck in poping it back into position, but it is still useable just not as aesthetically pleasing. Maybe dont buy this if you live in a windy city.

I picked this up after my sister stole my other ones. It came just in time for some rain that we had here the past week. I really like how it expands and collapses at a bush of a button, leaving you to only have to push it back together and wrap it up. As far as cons there arent a ton, a little longer strap would be nice, its a tight fit sometimes if the umbrella bunches up in certain ways, another half inch would be wonderful so you can always button it back up with ease. The only other thing was that it was shipped in a black fabric case that was torn when I received it; I was concerned my umbrella might be torn too, but I pulled it out and it was protected by another little carrying case that was just fine, and the umbrella was too. Not worth taking stars off for those minor things, still the best umbrella Ive ever used!

Easy to open but VERY difficult to fully collapse. It’s very awkward and embarrassing esp in public.