(Designed in UK) Balios Travel Folding Umbrella Luxurious Rosewood Handle Auto Open & Close Windproof Single Canopy (Jet Black)

Broke first time used. Very disappointed. Wouldn’t recommend. I’ve had a £3.99 umbrella for over 10 years and still works. Don’t buy!

Living in Britain, the question of which umbrella to purchase is an important decision. After some deliberation I came across this travel umbrella by Balios and read through some of the reviews. I decided to try it out, and I thought I should leave one as well to help out any future buyers.Well, when the umbrella arrived, I was impressed by the presentation straight away. It came inside the protective covering of a water-repellent sleeve; useful for when you’re out and about and have to bring your umbrella inside without getting water everywhere.The design of the umbrella itself is truly elegant, for lack of a better word. The handle fits perfectly in your hand, and is crafted out of rosewood, capped on both ends by stainless steel. The design is timeless, and is just as beautiful and stylish today as it would be at any other time.In terms of its performance, the first time I tried it out I found the automatic open and close to be instantaneous, and the strength and resilience of the frame in high winds to certainly be better than any other umbrella which I’ve tried.Regarding it’s design, I don’t think that pictures can do it justice; without having it in front of you it’s hard to appreciate just how beautiful an object this is. I’m glad I decided on this umbrella, I know that I’ll be carrying it with me for many years to come and I’m certain that this is the right umbrella for me.

This folding umbrella has an impressively large and sturdy canopy for its size (about 1m) so keeps the rain off easily. I found that the opening mechanism is pretty tightly sprung, so much so that most of the water shoots off when reopening the umbrella inside to dry it - this does mean that it dries very quickly, but be aware that you'll spray water everywhere in the process! The wooden and stainless steel handle feels heavy and solid in the hand, and is probably the most comfortable umbrella handle I've come across so far. I was also very happy with the packaging that it came in - just a thick paper bag which can easily be recycled. The umbrella wasn't in a plastic bag, and came in a reusable fabric dust cover bag (like you might get with handbags/shoes) which is useful.Something to bear in mind - because of the longer wooden handle, this umbrella is 35cm long when closed and quite heavy for its size. This means that it is more difficult to fit into and carry around in a standard handbag than a more compact folded umbrella with a short plastic handle which I'm more used to taking around with me. However as it has a bigger canopy, better handle and is convenient with the auto open/close, I feel it's a fair trade-off.Overall I'm happy with this umbrella and feel that it will last longer than the small, cheap ones I've had in the past.

I bought this brolley after my previous one succumbed to the great british weather and ended up in the bin half way through a walk!I have to be honest and admit I have never paid more than around £10 tops for an umbrella, mostly due to the fact that they never last long and I can never find one when I need one. However since I gave up driving last year and decided to walk more and use public transport I have gone through 3 brolley’s (including one of my daughters) and so I decided to invest a little more this time since collectively the last 3 came to around £25!I chose this one mainly as it seemed like a quality brand and because it has a lovely polished wooden handle. It is not too heavy or big so it can go in my back pack and sit quietly until needed without taking up too much space.The best part however is that it pops up and down with a press of a button! The down part is a revelation since none of my other brolleys have done this, and also the closing part (after strong winds) is the critical breaking point since they all have slightly different mechanisms. This is a great little umbrella and has already braved the worst of the spring storms in the last week alone and survived intact. I have high hopes this will last a bit longer than the old ones!

After the last storm, I was left without an umbrella because of the wind. After browsing online for better options, I came across with Balios. I had a chance to properly test it out, and I can say that at the moment it’s one of the best umbrellas I've had. The umbrella is a stunning piece of design with resistant rods. It’s slightly bigger than a typical folding umbrella but worth it the size. The handle's shape and material, stunning rosewood, make it easy and comfortable to hold. Furthermore, the open/close mechanism works efficiently. I would certainly recommend.

I absolutely love this umbrella. It's stylish, but more importantly, it doesn't turn inside out!I love that it came in an external dust cover, than had its own cover too. It has an auto-open button, so its so easy to open and close. I didn't have to fight with it to get it up or down, even when it was wet.What surprised me most is how durable, and sturdy it is. I've had hundreds of umbrellas and almost all of them have turned inside out on me. This one didn't. It barely moved in the wind. The structure and the materials are so sturdy that the wind made absolutely no difference to how I was holding it.It took me a while to decide which design to choose. They all look amazing, but in the end I chose the herringbone pattern. It's very pretty, but it's subtle too.I can not recommend this umbrella enough!