Backpacking Umbrella Head and Hands Free Version 3.0 - How to Make

[@MrHatetheplayer]

that's the best trekking umbrella set up i've ever seen. looks ridiculous, but when your audience is solely your fellow hikers, you'll be the happiest one during a downpour, i'd guarantee!

[@ronrampfel2197]

I'm no hiker. But I wear a backpack sprayer all day in the florida heat. I'm gonna adapt that rig to my sprayer.

[@pokerchannel6991]

I swear, this guy is the real life inspector Gadget! Way too freaking cool

[@JustMe-hg5bq]

Great idea! I thought about a head umbrella for rain and snow but i didnt tought about wind. U are a genius!

[@MM-jy6kw]

You look like you are about to fly, sort of like the guy who few with geese🤣 I love this umbrella, too. Thanks!

[@slickwillie3376]

This is ingenious, and it totally looks better than holding it with your hand, or god forbid, wearing it on your head.

[@reginaldlancasterjr7763]

This is my first comment on KZbin and all I have to say is wow. Solving problems I didn’t even know I had!

[@juergenska]

Oh wow! Congrats! You are the real MacGyver :-)

[@sophiehellinger]

This is genius, I’ve been trying to think of a way to do this for the longest time

[@jimpflugrath6220]

Thanks! Be sure to see the update to this video. It's even easier to deploy than ever.

[@Stewbphoto]

great idea!!! thanks for sharing

[@nokchilton1562]

Marvellous idea! Thanks for sharing it! You should produce them and sell in the market….

[@anthonylauria919]

This was excellent! I'll admit, at first I was thinking it was kind of clunky and more hassle than it's worth. But once I saw how you pulled that second tent pole up and plugged everything in quick and easy.....I was sold. Very cool!

[@jake-gd8rb]

I have used bic pens for all kinds of things but that has to be the most clever use of the caps i have ever seen i hope you dont mind but i have every intention of using the concept for my benefit it will never be on video but i do want to thank you for helping solve a delemia i have been poking at for quite some time now..thank you sir very much i can tell you for a fact you will be fondly thought of every single time it is put to use and i live in washington so pretty much every day in the winter lol thanks again......be safe

[@jaysilence3314]

Simply genius. Thanks for sharing!

[@koudacyen]

You are a genius

[@Casual_BackPacking]

Pretty good 👍

[@waynefarrellvoiceovers]

Genius!

[@Romin.777]

I'm impressed with the genius of this idea. Wow. :)) Gonna happily steal your idea. And thanks for using the superior metric system.

[@impermanenthuman8427]

I wish I was genius too, good work man 👍🏻

[@functionalclothinglab]

This is lovely! SO good to see the mundane objects like pens being used for building this. If I ever going to get umbrella for hiking - I will not settle for any other way of carrying it then yours. Thanks for sharing!!

[@PeteBraginton]

Cool design & well done! I think you're on to something here, thanks for sharing!

[@33Jenesis]

If I see you on the trail I’d be green with envy. I use umbrella even for one hour hike but it gets tiring during long hike.

[@GentleTaipan]

Patent this. I want this so bad!

[@jimpflugrath6220]

Thanks, but just make one for yourself! :)

[@pokerchannel6991]

dude! u rig good. U may be a genius

[@alanlau3278]

That was just awesome!!!!!!!!

[@jimpflugrath6220]

Thanks!

[@luisfigueroa5072]

Jim Pflugrath AKA MacGyver

[@mtminded4498]

Thanks for the super detailed description, not only about the function of your contraption but also the pieces you used for construction. How may comments do you get on trail when rocking this setup?

[@jimpflugrath6220]

Thanks for the comment! The reality is that very few people use an umbrella in the first place AND one's umbrella is deployed for rain only when it is raining, so when that is combined with going places where I meet very few people who are actually hiking in the rain it means I've seen a grand total of 5 people carrying folded umbrellas and NO one actually using an umbrella for rain nor sun on the trail ever. I had my umbrella deployed for sun and got a very interested person who tried on my pack to see whether they would want to copy the mods. So the comment count is 1. :)

[@turkeyphant]

How much do the tent poles weigh?

[@jimpflugrath6220]

In a response in the "Version 3.1" video comments the weights are listed: "35 g 2 tentpoles, 2 line-loc 3, 2 pen-caps, 1.2 mm Z-line cordage", so poles only would be slightly less than that, say 30 to 31 g. I did not want to take the bits apart to weigh them. :)

[@hanskirk-hiking9697]

Nice video - I like your attention to detail

[@ASTHECROWFLIESHIKING]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing. ✌️

[@yeseulbaek4931]

It's absolutely brilliant! Could you show us how you made and attached the poles and line lock to your backpack please? It's a bit tricky for a newbie to figure it out

[@jimpflugrath6220]

The best I can do is to ask you to watch a few of the more recent videos that I have published on my channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omKzgJKJbsuCmJI Part 1: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWSqmaN6mqdmkMU Part 2: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaqQoGVvdsl2p5Y You pack may be different from mine, so you may not be able to use the same method for the poles.

[@yeseulbaek4931]

@@jimpflugrath6220 thank you! Sorry what I meant by it was, I can see the cord is coming out from the tent poles on the side of your backpack and if you pull the cord the tent poles come up. How exactly did you fix the pen cap and the cord to the tent pole, and how did the rest of cord come up along the side of your backpack to enable this? Did the cord just go though the same loop the tent poles are in?

[@jimpflugrath6220]

@@yeseulbaek4931 Watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/boHPZ36igryBgKc#t=727 I also just took a close-up photo: i.imgur.com/As2urQ4.jpg The cord does NOT go up through the same loops that the tent poles are in, but I suppose you could try that for yourself. Hope this helps!

[@yeseulbaek4931]

@@jimpflugrath6220 thank you that helps a lot more. I'll try it once the parts arrive 😊😊

[@impermanenthuman8427]

I wonder if there’s a way to make the umbrella canopy out of open cell foam so it doubles as a summer ‘torso’ length sleeping pad? You already have Mylar reflective material on it 🤷🏻‍♂️ but then when you need to go to the toilet in the night what would you use as rain cover?, an ultralight poncho which might defeat the weight saving of using the umbrella as a sleep pad and carrying an umbrella instead of a poncho 😆 but then how do you use it as an umbrella without the pack attached? 🤔

[@jimpflugrath6220]

I use a pee bottle, so I don't need to leave my tent at night. Specifically, I use a 1 qt Nalgene wide-mouth collapsible Cantene which weighs only 60 g (not the heavy polycarbonate Nalgene). A trekking pole can be used as the umbrella shaft for off-pack use. The pole tip screws into the center of the snow basket as designed, but be careful so that the carbide tip does not puncture the umbrella fabric.

[@impermanenthuman8427]

@@jimpflugrath6220 another great idea 👍🏻💡

[@luboyanev]

Great video and thanks for the detailed demostration! I was just curious, when closing the umbrella at 7:01, the tubing with the pen inside comes down, but does not fall, and I guess the trekking pole basket is also removed from the inner top of the umbrella, allowing for the whole umbrella to be able to close... I hope that makes sense :)

[@jimpflugrath6220]

Thanks! Yes, the trekking pole snow basket is essentially permanently attached to the umbrella on the part that normally moves up and down the [now missing and cut off] handle/shaft. This is similar to Version 1 where the snow basket is bolted to the same part of the umbrella (Version 1 video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIqvhpeOm9OMhMk). The clear plastic tubing is attached to the snow basket. Oh, one more improvement today: I used a split key ring to replace the elastic hair tie: The ring is permanently fastened to the snow basket hole 180 deg from the hole used for the center of the umbrella AND to a short inner (as opposed to long outer) umbrella stay. This prevents the snow basket from rotating very much. I put a mitten hook on the ring, too, which is used for a cord. Oh, well, now I need a version 3.1 video. :)

[@luboyanev]

@@jimpflugrath6220 Thanks for the clarification! :)

[@sharonmills1013]

You should patent this!

[@impermanenthuman8427]

At least sell kits on eBay or something 👍🏻

[@bassenji5565]

@@impermanenthuman8427 I would definitely buy!

[@gravy9587]

Ingenious idea. I don't know if I missed it but how much does it weight?

[@jimpflugrath6220]

2020-08-09 Version: I have modified a SMD SilverShadow Carbon umbrella in the same way. This umbrella is lighter to start with mostly because the inner stays are shorter giving the umbrella slightly more curvature and an overall diameter of about 2 inches less. Here is a weight breakdown: 164.4 g Umbrella with shaft cut off 18.1 g Snow basket (one could trim off some of this) 10.9 g 4 cords, 2 mitten hooks, 4 cord locks, 5 split key rings all for umbrella 18.6 g Two 5 cm long pieces of 3/8"x1/2" PV tubing, four 6 cm pieces of the CF shaft, short white plastic "rod" used as insert to hold two of the CF pieces together, a piece of 1.2 mm Z-line cord (this is the tubing setup through the snow basket in the new June 2020 design, (i.imgur.com/KF1dVPK.jpg ignore the trekking pole please) not shown in videos yet) 212 g TOTAL For the pack: 35 g 2 tentpoles, 2 line-loc 3, 2 pen-caps, 1.2 mm Z-line cordage 245 g is about 8.6 oz. A trekking pole can be used for a shaft when the umbrella is not attached to the pack.

[@leonchen1432]

@@jimpflugrath6220Will you be doing a video on the updated design? Simply outstanding work, I'd really love to try and make one myself.

[@jimpflugrath6220]

Thanks, did you see the version 3.1 video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/omKzgJKJbsuCmJI Also my 3rd reply to Andrew Even in the comments below has a link to a picture. But to answer your question, I will not be doing a video on the updated design anytime soon, but perhaps in a few months.

[@AndrewatMANNA]

This great! Could the original umbrella pole be used as one of the side poles on the pack?

[@jimpflugrath6220]

Possibly, but I use the original pole for the parts that fit into the snow basket. The original shaft is not really long enough, is too large a diameter, and has a hand grip would need to be cut off. At least with the SMD Silver Shadow Carbon the inner diameter of the shaft allows the CF tent poles I purchased to fit snugly into them without being too tight which is a big plus. That is, I no longer use the polyvinyl clear tubing to insert the CF tent poles into as it it not snug enough. The new method is shown in this photo: imgur.com/KF1dVPK found in the comments to this video showing version 3.1: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omKzgJKJbsuCmJI

[@AndrewatMANNA]

Jim Pflugrath Thanks, I’ll check it out!

[@AndrewatMANNA]

What material are you using instead of the clear tubing now? A piece of the carbon fiber?

[@jimpflugrath6220]

It's a little bit more complicated than that. I have cut 4 pieces of the CF shaft from the umbrella that are each 6 cm long. I made two halves of the old design with each half consisting of 2 pieces with an "elbow" made from the clear tubing. One has a piece of white plastic cut from a coat hangar to function as an insert like those used to join tent poles. 1.2 mm Z-line is threaded through the center to keep the 7 individual pieces from separating. Please see the photo I linked in my first reply. Here is a photo of the dis-assembled halves which makes the umbrella easier to fold: i.imgur.com/3nbPNxd.jpg Maybe I need to make an additional video?

[@AndrewatMANNA]

Jim Pflugrath Thanks for the detailed picture. It all makes sense.

[@AnnaKra]

♥️

[@billb5732]

I wonder how many of these you could sell profitably? If people will pay $50 for an umbrella, they might be willing to pay $100 for one that attaches to their pack.

[@jimpflugrath6220]

I won't be doing any selling, but I think the videos would allow someone else (YOU!) to have a go at it. Thanks!

[@pokerchannel6991]

hi: are you go go gadget? He has a hands free, head free umbrella that comes out of his skull.

[@samiam3297]

Great vid but no thanks...simple bandana under the hat keeps sun off the neck. This would only distract from situational awareness....its the wild animals house we are trecking into not the other way around.

[@jimpflugrath6220]

I use a wide-brimmed hat, but I have to ask: How does a bandana keep rain off of your neck and head?

[@samiam3297]

They don't...a slight drizzle is always welcomed after miles of work...rain cover on the pack and all is good. Now if it starts getting crazy wet...probably the best time to stop and take a breather and pull out the poncho...keeps me bone dry all the time and weighs about .05 lbs...drys very fast and always kept on top or side bag.

[@DahSkada]

gimmicky and not very useful in any real conditions