DropLit LED Umbrella: FirstLook

Tweet

The umbrella has been around for a long, LONG time. Earliest examples have roots in ancient China and Egypt, sometime between 2450-3500 BC. It was originally used for sun protection, but the Chinese waterproofed the umbrellas so that they could be used in the rain.

The modern-day umbrella came into being as the result of a few innovations:

• Jean Marius (1710): This Parisian merchant popularized the first lightweight, folding pocket umbrella in Europe.
• Samuel Fox (1852): This English inventor created the modern, lightweight steel-ribbed umbrella, and was originally designed to use surplus steel from corset stays.
• Hans Haupt (1928): This clever German developed and patented the modern collapsible pocket-sized umbrella, eventually manufactured by the German’s company.

We are here to tell you about a “why didn’t I think of that?” innovation to the ordinary, contemporary umbrella. We love the concept, the execution, and we thank our readers for urging us to take a look!!!

DropLit

Leaving home without an umbrella in Spring is not a good idea, because rain in April is a given, especially in New England. We have lots of umbrellas… big “golf” umbrellas that can cover two people at once, small umbrellas that fit in a pocket, and clear umbrellas so you can see through them.

However, the DropLit umbrella is the first one we have seen that can light up! Once we saw it, we knew we had to tell our RainyDayMagazine readers about it.

The umbrella came fully assembled and with the batteries supplied. Not that we needed them, but the instructions were clear and easy to follow 🙂

Install Batteries

The handle of the umbrella houses the batteries that power the DropLit LEDs. To install the batteries, just twist off the end cap to access the battery holder. Three AAA batteries power the lights. While the DropLit umbrella came with AAA batteries, we will replace them with rechargeable batteries once those run out.

FirstLight

The button at the top of the handle opens the umbrella and is also the On/Off control for the light. Nothing complicated here.

The metal frame of the DropLit umbrella is sturdy, feels well-made, and has a nice weight to it. The handle is comfortable to hold, and the umbrella itself is quite stiff when opened. 

The LEDs give off a brilliant white light when on. The reflective inner lining makes the entire umbrella pop, even during the day. To think of it, it is almost bright enough that we can use the DropLit umbrella as a light source for studio photoshoots…hmmm 🙂

FirstThoughts

The “umbrella with a light” idea is genius, and the execution is brilliant (see what we did there?) The DropLit LED, leveraging the white reflective lining, is bright enough to light up the ground. It’s also bright enough to make the holder of the umbrella highly visible. 

We’ll take ours out for a spin in the rain the first chance we get. Look for the FirstUse soon. In the meantime, we hope DropLit is busy working on a smaller folding version that can fit in a backpack or a coat pocket soon…hint, hint!!!

Links to items mentioned:

• DropLit LED Umbrella