Is an umbrella the most underrated piece of tramping kit? This thru-hiker thinks so.
I set off from Bluff to walk Te Araroa this summer with a sun umbrella wedged in the side pocket of my pack. The thru-hiker’s obsession with weight is legendary, and in a sub-culture where some won’t even carry pots and stoves, my 193g umbrella drew many comments ranging from incredulity to condescension.
“Is that … an umbrella?” people would say. “Oh, mate,” one woman said, shaking her head as I packed up camp one day. But after spending long summer days under its silver dome, I’m convinced it’s the most overlooked piece of tramping kit.
Having lived most of my life in Tauranga and Nelson, I developed my first pre-cancerous solar keratosis in my early 30s; the rest of my family regularly has dodgy bits cut out of their skin. I would endure months of blazing heat and UV exposure as I walked the length of New Zealand, the country with the highest rate of skin cancer in the world.
The best thing about the umbrella was the comfort it provided on some of the longest, hottest days I’ve experienced tramping. And it’s hands-free. You can buy clips and cords that attach it to your pack straps, but I just poked the handle under my sternum strap and let it rest on the top of my pack. On windier days I attached the cord to my waist belt to keep it upright.
The umbrella proved its worth on the very first section, from Bluff to Invercargill. On a cloudless day I strolled along hatless, delighting in the novelty of staying cool. The blazing sun was just a faint spot showing through the umbrella’s black underside.
Most people walk 20–40km a day on Te Araroa, and there are long stretches of treeless hills and plains. On one of the hottest legs, through the baking Ahuriri Valley, I started getting nods from roasting southbound hikers.
“Smart idea,” said one. Finally! Some respect for the umbrella!
It kept me and my pack dry in the rain, resisted brushes with gorse and matagouri and was great against wind – I spent a few lunchtimes huddled under it, grateful for protection from the tiring gusts I fought all day.
I spoke to another umbrella-loving tramper, Christchurch’s Andrew Craig, who has used his silver EuroSCHIRM trekking umbrella since he saw a hiker with one on the Bibbulman Track in about 2017. Andrew was determined to get one, and not just for the sun protection. “I can stand under it in rain, read the map, have a little snack and get to the hut with my upper half completely dry.”
Unable to find a tramping umbrella in New Zealand, Craig bought his first one online from the United States. He uses his with a pack strap attachment.
He says umbrellas are rare among Kiwi trampers but more common in Australia.
“A lot of people are bemused when they see it,” he says. “It would have been the same when walking poles first came to New Zealand. Some people are curious, some a little bit mocking.”
The only issue he has is being unable to fit through swingbridges. “You do need to fold them down for that.”
Although a couple of stores now sell them in New Zealand – I got my Six Moon Designs Silver Shadow from PackGearGo – they’re often sold out. At $119.95, it’s some of the best money I’ve spent on kit to date.
In fact, I feel just like Andrew about my umbrella. He admits he’s a “very old school” tramper, but never goes out without it.
“I’m extremely happy with it, a total convert,” he says. “And I don’t mind people laughing.”
