[pct-l] The umbrella of the future?

[Unnu]

Well, maybe:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/02/11/080211fa_fact_orlean

	"The Hollinger Improved Umbrella—patent application 60/642,542—is 
teardrop-shaped: it has a rounded nose and a short tail, so it has a 
distinct front and back. The rounded nose and the shape of the dome 
optimize wind deflection around the canopy. Because it is elongated, it 
shields the user’s legs from rain while he or she is walking. It is 
large, but the shape makes it narrow enough to allow umbrella-carrying 
pedestrians to walk side by side. A fabric gutter around the front rim 
captures and diverts rain so the flow off the dome doesn’t land on the 
carrier’s feet. One version of the design has a foot-long wind sock on 
top of the dome to release air pressure under the canopy, which makes it 
easier to walk into a wind. (Another version has a dozen wind socks, 
giving it the spikiness of a sea anemone.) The handle and the shank are 
wedge-shaped, so they are aerodynamic; the ribs, which are thin 
fibreglass, are enclosed within the canopy, so there are no eye-poking 
points along the edge.
	"The umbrella looks like a cross between a bike helmet and a sou’wester 
fisherman’s hat—in fact, Hollinger made the pattern for his prototype 
using his bike helmet. His original model was made of silky black fabric 
with a fire-engine-red underside, which he liked because even in a 
rainstorm it would make the user feel as though it were a really bright 
day."

Makes my Birdiepal sound very old-fashioned, but I wonder just how heavy 
this one will be.  The article mentions the Senz as competition.

Unnu