Some odd umbrellas have crossed our path, ranging from a coat that catches rain on purpose to an umbrella that leaves your thumb free for texting. The Nubrella on Kickstarter is certainly an eye-catcher, even as it keeps rain off your head.
The whole idea behind the Nubrella is to keep your hands free. It achieves this by being worn like a backpack. It folds back to keep it out of the way or folds forward to supply rain protection, kind of like a big, see-through roly-poly shell.
The Nubrella Kickstarter campaign is aiming for $95,000 and has a long way to go to reach it. A $50 early-bird pledge gets you a Nubrella Standard backpack umbrella. A $150 early-bird pledge gets you the Nubrella combined with a full backpack that you can use to haul your gear around.
The handiness (or no-handiness) of the Nubrella is obvious. You get rain protection and keep your hands free. The aesthetics of the package, however, may be a bit divisive.
If you don't mind the inevitable stares and questions, the product could make sense for those who live and work in rainy climates, but need to man a camera or keep hands free for other reasons. Otherwise, you'll have to stick with either wearing a rain suit or just getting wet.
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