# Are Expensive Umbrellas Worth It? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089 "2010-07-09T13:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089/21 "2010-07-10T03:28:55Z")
An item can be expensive but be of poor quality, rather than high quality. However, a cheap item is almost always of poor quality. There are occasional exceptions to the cheap item is poor quality, but you have to know how to judge quality. For instance, I buy Birkenstock sandals. I pay over $100 a pair, but I’m happy with them, because they last and last and last. On the other hand, my husband buys sneakers from WalMart for under $20 a pair, and the pair might last for a year or 18 months. If my pair of sandals lasts for 6 years or more (and I think that the pair I’ve got are over 10 years old) I have spent LESS money on my shoes, per wearing, than my husband has. My initial outlay was greater, but the goods lasted long enough for me to recoup my investment and then some. However, it’s perfectly possible to spend over $100 on a pair of shoes, and have them develop a hole or otherwise become unwearable in less than a year. And it’s possible (though not likely) to buy a pair of shoes for under $20 and have them last longer than 6 years. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089/22 "2010-07-10T04:06:00Z")
Well, I had a great one. It would turn inside out, but then you could turn it back, and it was fine.\* Too bad I let it on the bus. OTOH I once asked the bus driver if he’d found a red umbrella (different umbrella, different bus) and got one that was way better than the one I’d left. ETA: It was not a GustBuster, but neither was it a $5 umbrella ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089/23 "2010-07-10T06:07:36Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Dear god, if you live in a city, please don’t buy a golf umbrella to walk down the street. There are plenty of normal-sized, Gustbuster-type umbrellas one can find for less than $40. My thoughts exactly. I’m picturing a golf umbrella in downtown Chicago… That’s not a good choice at all! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089/24 "2010-07-15T04:46:09Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Dear god, if you live in a city, please don’t buy a golf umbrella to walk down the street. Why? If I’m in a crowded place with the old bumbershoot, I just make sure I raise it up a bit, if necessary, when someone’s about to cross my path. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089/25 "2010-07-17T03:05:50Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If you’re not prone to losing umbrellas, then get yourself a good one. Preferably a larger one. Then you’ll wonder why you put up with the cheap ones for so long. I agree with this. I have a good umbrella. My current one has lasted for a few years now. Like Lynn said… a larger one is the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089/26 "2010-07-17T03:16:35Z")
I totally agree that while ‘expensive’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good quality’, ‘cheap’ pretty much means not-so-good-quality. However, I buy cheap umbrellas the same reason I buy cheap sunglasses: I lose them _so freakin’ fast_ it would make your head spin! If I lived in a locale where either good umbrellas or good sunglasses were more a necessity, I might change my behavior patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089/27 "2010-07-17T03:32:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > An item can be expensive but be of poor quality, rather than high quality. However, a cheap item is almost always of poor quality. There are occasional exceptions to the cheap item is poor quality, but you have to know how to judge quality. > > For instance, I buy Birkenstock sandals. I pay over $100 a pair, but I’m happy with them, because they last and last and last. On the other hand, my husband buys sneakers from WalMart for under $20 a pair, and the pair might last for a year or 18 months. If my pair of sandals lasts for 6 years or more (and I think that the pair I’ve got are over 10 years old) I have spent LESS money on my shoes, per wearing, than my husband has. My initial outlay was greater, but the goods lasted long enough for me to recoup my investment and then some. > > However, it’s perfectly possible to spend over $100 on a pair of shoes, and have them develop a hole or otherwise become unwearable in less than a year. And it’s possible (though not likely) to buy a pair of shoes for under $20 and have them last longer than 6 years. Ah, OK, I retract my :dubious:. I didn’t parse the “necessarily” correctly on my first read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-expensive-umbrellas-worth-it/546089.md?page=1)