75 Advanced Umbrella Designs

If your umbrella flipped inside-out on you during yesterday's Toronto flood, you probably wished you had a sturdier, wind-proof umbrella. Heavy rainfalls and windy storms will ruin most umbrellas, but these advanced parasol designs may have been close to withstanding the rough weather.

The ‘Rainshader’ by Stephen Collier is specifically made to endure wind speeds up to 60km/h, which is like a small hurricane. It is helmet-shaped and wraps close to your shoulders like a shield. The Backpack Umbrella from Hammacher Schlemmer will let you walk in the rain hands-free. With its built-in, adjustable support rod fixed onto the knapsack, the parasol will hover over your head from behind.

While some of these are innovative in shape and design, others are actually technologically advanced. There are many umbrella designs that light up, with embedded LED lights in the fabric of on the umbrella stem. The Starry Sky Umbrella has numerous blue lights on the parasol, letting you glow according to three different flash settings.