Air Umbrella – Daft or Genius?

Air umbrella by Air umbrella — Kickstarter.

On paper (perhaps not the best metaphor) this sounds equally daft as it does genius. One thing I think most people would agree on is carrying an umbrella is the problem, not the job it does. A decent sized umbrella works. Ok, it isn’t much good when the wind gets involved, but otherwise the basic design of an umbrella works well enough and has done for centuries. The pocket or bag sized umbrellas are really just for light showers, but what ever version you buy you’re destine to loose. The Air Umbrella seems more compact, easier to stow away without soaking everything it comes into contact with. But the obvious issue with the design is not if you’re luck enough to be under the protective air canopy, but if you’re adjacent. Spinning an ordinary umbrella scatters water in every direction, I can only imagine what this will do. But it is a great example of tacking original design and functionality with new technology – didn’t do Dyson any harm!