Rainkist 43" Auto Open, Rainbow

Manufacturer should be jailed for intentionally polluting the environment, because this umbrella is nothing but garbage!!I bought it for the first time last Fall, and it broke on the 1 or 2 time I used it. Amazon generously gave me a replacement free of charge. I used it a couple of times, then Winter kicked in and I put it away for the season. It's Spring time now, which means some rainy days where I live. The replacement umbrella broke the FIRST TIME I used it this season!In other words, I have used two of these umbrellas, and each broke on the 2-3 time I used them. Garbage is a kind word for this item. I wish I could give them 0 stars. DO NOT BUY, no matter how cheap it is.An image is worth a thousand words. I am attaching a picture of the damaged umbrella.

I don’t like to give reviews with low stars, however I think I have to do it to save other people money. I truly wished I could love this umbrella but unfortunately its quality was so poor as if I had bought it in a “Dollar Tree” store at a super discounted price. The tri-color umbrella looked so pretty on the picture and the sale price was quite alluring so I couldn’t resist and I had ordered it in spite of a number of critical reviews. When I received the umbrella its colors looked nice as pictured but the quality turned to be quite poor. The umbrella’s fabric is very thin and looks somewhat “worn” in folds – that’s how things usually look when they are stored for a very long time. The auto-open mechanism worked only the very first time and then it was a little challenge to close the umbrella due to the loose conjunction of the moving parts in the groove on the shaft. When I managed to close the umbrella, it didn’t stay put so I had to try it several times until it worked. If you try to use “auto-open” for the second time – good luck with that. It looks like there is a malfunction with the spring inside.Considering the umbrella’s quality I think it is way overpriced and you can buy a similar one in any “99 Cents” or “Dollar Tree” store but you may not find such pretty colors there.

For 10 bucks, this umbrella so far does what it's supposed to do, which is keeping rain water and light to medium wind away from me. I haven't used it in stormy conditions, but I don't expect it to last in those conditions given its price. Diameter when it opens is 37 inches and when it's folded, it's 16 inch long.A few of minor complaints:First, button to open the umbrella frequently jams, and when it doesn't jam, I have to press it really hard to open my umbrella.Second, that same button does not close the umbrella like my previous compact umbrella. This is no big deal, but it's more convenient if the button is multifunctional.Lastly, I prefer it to be about 8 inch long when folded since it is a compact umbrella, which means one of its purposes is to save backpack space. I frequently found myself placing it in such a way that I could have more space to store my lunch in my backpack.--Updated Review: It seems to withstand the rainy and windy season so far; however, the "Auto Open" button has been mysteriously yet permanently jammed. So now I have to open the umbrella manually, which is frustrating to say the least. Because to manually open it, I'd have to press that metal piece, which my finger had repeatedly been caught and pinched. Avoid this umbrella!

I'm not exactly an umbrella authority, rather I live in Southern California and I can't pick out a substandard umbrella from a great one, but this seems like a winner for my winter break traveling adventure. This product has a very sturdy design with quality workmanship, and it surprisingly boasts a soft handle.As for my 4/5 rating, my point dock probably isn't appropriate because Amazon Prime fulfilled my order (I've also been extraordinarily impressed with Prime, well worth the cost), but I received the wrong color. I ordered black and red, but I received navy blue and orange which is strongly reminiscent of the terrible Denver Broncos. I've never had any problems with Prime, and this mix up is understandable because I ordered and received this days before Christmas, but it's kind of a bummer.Also, be advised that this umbrella does fold and compact, but it's not one of those mini compact umbrellas. Again, I'm no umbrella authority, but by the description I thought I was ordering one of those mini ones. This umbrella measures about 18" when compact.These are the kind of mix ups one says "meh, oh well" to, so it's not worth sending back, but also reasons not to be completely satisfied.

The umbrella seems to work well for keeping me dry, but that doesn't matter to me since I do not want to have to close it back up. I used it several times in the last week, and my hand got pinched on 3 of the occasions. I don't typically have this problem with the other umbrellas in my life, so I looked at the pinch point in comparison to the others. The plastic is not thick enough where the metal "catch" comes through. For some reason the hole in the plastic where this metal catches to lock the umbrella closed is at the thin part of the plastic "pull-down" piece - exactly where the curved plastic is enticing you to put your hand. I'm not clear why a hole is even needed - one of my other umbrellas is completely covered in this area. After all, you don't need to access that metal piece to open up the umbrella as it is auto-open. I tried to re-arrange how I pulled down the plastic and still got caught. It is just a bad design all around. I cannot recommend this umbrella. It will be a back-up in my car, but I don't want to use it and I certainly don't want my kids using it.