The Best Personal and Portable Hiking Umbrellas for Shade and Rain

A proper umbrella’s a wonderful asset out on a hike. You don’t realize how much you need one until you’re out in the desert, or in a rain storm without one. But, with all the thousands of different types of umbrellas on the market, which type of hiking umbrella do you need? Well, the answer is that not all umbrellas are created equal when it comes to finding a solid hiking umbrella.

If you’re hiking in desert conditions, you’re going to want an umbrella that has sun protection built into it. Generally, such umbrellas are coated in a silvery chrome to reflect light, or have dark and thick fibers which keep ultraviolet radiation (UV) from penetrating the material. When you’re in a rainstorm, these UV umbrellas will work just as well at keeping the rain off your back. So, what are our top picks here at Paragon Trails?

What are some of the best hiking umbrellas for shade and rain?

• Umenice UPF 50+ UV Protection Ultralight 42” Umbrella (12.8oz)
• Aspoorts Compact Sun and Rain 44” Umbrella (11.7oz)
• Lejorain Lightweight White 42” Umbrella (9.0oz)
• EEZ-Y Compact Double Canopy 42” Umbrella (15.2oz)
• UV-Blocker UV Protection Sun Blocking 44” Umbrella (18.0oz)

Our picks for the best hiking umbrellas are based on their ability to block sunlight, and provide protection from the rain, while still being small enough to handle on the trail. The following umbrellas weigh anywhere from a half pound to a little over a pound, so they won’t weigh down your pack too much, plus they’re less than 50” which makes them wieldy enough for the wilderness.

Also, some of the umbrellas are compact which means that when they are collapsed they take up very little space, others take up a bit more. In each section we’ll cover these details so you can compare, and decide which one best suits your needs.

Umenice UPF 50+ UV Protection Ultralight 42” Umbrella

First on our list is an umbrella produced by Umenice. This umbrella comes in three colors, black green and pink and has a double coated silver canopy which reflects the sun’s harmful rays. The umbrella sports an aluminum and fiberglass frame to help protect it from wind damage, compacts down to 11.6 inches allowing it to be fit into a backpack, and weight just shy of one pound.

What we like about this umbrella is its price. This is the least expensive umbrella on our list and it’s of pretty good quality. The umbrella does well at keeping the sun at bay, and it’s fairly durable. Under low to moderate wind conditions this umbrella holds up with a low chance of inverting, and even if it does invert, it’s durable enough to not be damaged. If you’re looking for a good umbrella with a shiny and reflective exterior, for the money, this is a great option as a hiking umbrella.

Aspoorts Compact Sun and Rain 44” Umbrella

With a thick vinyl fabric, fiberglass ribs, and an aluminum scaffolding, this umbrella by ASpoorts is designed to hold off the sun’s rays and resist damage from inverting, while still being lightweight. Folding down to just 10.2 inches, and weighing less than a pound, this umbrella will fit into your hiking pack really easily, and not weigh you down.

Unlike the previous umbrella in the listing this one comes with a full refund or replacement warranty for six months, and is designed in such a way that it can purposely invert without damaging it which means high winds won’t break it upon inversion.

What we like about this umbrella is its quality design while still being affordable. While it doesn’t have a shiny chrome exterior to reflect light it’s still rated as an SPF 50 sun blocker and has a thick enough fabric to keep the sun’s harmful UV rays from penetrating through. Plus, it has an interesting constellation design on the interior that we love.

Lejorain Lightweight White 42” Umbrella

The lightest option on the list weighing a little over a half pound, and the most compact umbrella which can fold down to only 7.5 inches, is the Lejorain Mini Umbrella. This umbrella, like the previous one, is made with a thread fabric which keeps the sun’s rays at bay. Rated with a UPF of 50 this umbrella will only allow only two percent of UV rays to penetrate its canopy, so it will shield you really well from the sun.

The umbrella is built with aluminum alloy ribs, with a small section made of fiberglass, which allows the umbrella to be inverted without causing the ribs to break. Under very high wind conditions there is a chance that this umbrella could break though since it is not designed to be inverted. Under normal conditions, with low to moderate wind, this umbrella will do well and hold together. This umbrella does have a thirty day return policy, so in the event that such a thing does happen, you can return it for a full refund.

If you follow the link for this umbrella you’ll notice we’ve chosen the white version because it doesn’t have the floral design that the others do which makes it an umbrella for everyone.

What we love about this umbrella is its weight and compact folding size. Since it’s so light and compact there’s really no reason to decide to not bring it out on the trail. A half pound of weight, a 42 inch canopy, and a 98% UV blocking fabric, means that this should be in every hiker’s pack. Plus, at just twenty dollars it’s not a big investment to add to your arsenal of equipment.

EEZ-Y Compact Double Canopy 42” Umbrella

This umbrella, and the one coming up, are the heaviest on the list, but they still only weigh a little over a pound. The EEZ-Y Compact Travel Umbrella has a double canopy design with an interior coated in silver chrome to filter out UV light. Like the previous umbrella, this one’s rated UPF 50, so it blocks 98% of UV rays.

What’s unique about the design of this umbrella is that due to its double layer canopy it allows wind to pass through to protect itself from inverting and breaking. The umbrella also sports a fiberglass rib system and a metal shaft to make it durable against gusts of wind.

When it comes to sizing when folded down, this umbrella compacts down to 11 inches, so it will fit in a bag pretty easily, but it is on the larger side when compared to the previous umbrella from Lejorain. Overall though, this is a really nice umbrella. It’s affordable, protects your skin from the sun really well, is resistant to gusts of wind, dries quickly due to its fabric canopy, and beads off rain really well.

UV-Blocker UV Protection Sun Blocking 44” Umbrella

At the top of the list is an umbrella produced by UV-Blocker. This umbrella weighs a bit more than one pound and folds down to 15 inches, so it’s the most hefty one on the list, but it’s worth the weight and space.

With a UPF rating of 55 this umbrella lets in less than two percent of UV rays through its silver chrome double canopy. This is the highest UPF rating on the market, and provides exceptional protection from the sun. Plus, since it’s a double canopy umbrella and has a high quality metal shaft, it’s designed to allow wind through to protect from inverting, and stay rigid in moderate to high winds.

What we love about this umbrella for hiking is its sun protecting ability which reduces the temperature under the umbrella about fifteen degrees. With a double canopy system hot air’s vented out which keeps the area under the umbrella nice and cool. If you’re looking for a top of the line umbrella for a very reasonable price, then this one by UV-Blocker is unmatched.

Conclusion

An umbrella is a tool that a lot of hikers forget to add to their arsenal of equipment, but having one makes life a lot easier and it’s a versatile tool for sun protection and keeping dry. If you’re hiking in desert conditions, you absolutely need a UV blocking umbrella with either a high thread count, or a silver chrome canopy.

Having a canopy that’s double layered is also a really great benefit in a hiking umbrella because it vents out hot air that can become trapped, and also allows some air to flow through which protects it from inverting and becoming damaged in high winds.

If we were to make a suggestion to you, we’ d say the best umbrella for desert hiking is the last one made by UV-Blocker since it has such a high UPF to protect against UV rays. Under more temperate climate conditions where your main concern is rain you’ll want a cloth umbrella that dries quickly, but is also compact, so the umbrella by Lejorain is the best choice. If you’re looking for one that is the best of both worlds, then EEZ-Y’s umbrella would be a great choice.

What your choice is we hope that you enjoyed this content. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions about how we can improve this content we would love to hear it. Please leave a comment below, we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

As always, thank you so much for reading, may the trails be kind to you, and have a wonderful day!