Umbrellas may be a handy thing to have in a downpour, but opening and closing one is often tricky and coming in out of the rain raises the question of what to do with a soggy bumbershoot. The RainBender umbrella tackles this age old problem with an inside-out design where instead of folding, the canopy vanishes inside its own handle.
One reason why many an entry hall is populated with dripping umbrellas on a rainy day is because the conventional design doesn't leave any place for a used brolly to drain except on the floor. This makes not only lobbies, but also cars, lifts, and other areas vulnerable to a minor secondary deluge.
RainBender avoids this problem by replacing the rigid canopy frame of conventional umbrellas with flexible ribs attached to central pole. This pole sits inside of a lightweight carbon fiber cylinder that forms a thicker than usual handle. Instead of folding, sliding a ring down pulls the canopy inside the cylinder, which becomes a receptacle for dripping rainwater that would otherwise end up on the carpet or the head of an unlucky driver trying to get into the car.
When convenient, the RainBender cylinder can be drained and the umbrella opened up to dry. It secures with an adjustable shoulder strap that also doubles as a luggage strap that fits over a carry-on handle.
The RainBender is the focus of a Kickstarter campaign running through January 3, 2016 and is available in Noble Black or Nova Red at a pledge-reward early bird price of US$50 for the first 200.
The video below introduces the RainBender.
Source: RainBender
