Anyone looking at the landing page and wondering whether the umbrella is "a joke or not", "what the design is" or thinking it's "highly suspect" etc., I agree with you but the videos on the video tab at the top right are far more informative.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BLYLrdOXe8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BLYLrdOXe8</a> has examples of the umbrella unfurling and the motivations behind the design.
Looks like a Japanese design firm tried something similar back in 2013 called the unbrella, still shipping for about $90 (<a href="http://h-concept.jp/fs/hshop/c/unbrella" rel="nofollow">http://h-concept.jp/fs/hshop/c/unbrella</a>).<p>English press story at <a href="http://www.damngeeky.com/2013/12/11/16246/unbrella-solves-the-wet-umbrella-problem-with-its-reverse-folding.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.damngeeky.com/2013/12/11/16246/unbrella-solves-th...</a><p>Minor marketing fail that while the Kazbrella solves the 'brush against other people's pants' problem, it doesn't solve the 'drip water on the floor problem', yet the promotional video implies it will.
From the comments there seems to be negative sentiment towards this product. I believe it is a great endeavor and I would have funded the prototype and development entirely. The reason is not so much that it could be much more efficient than the current one, but that someone thinks he can improve something that most people have thought to be the solution for so many years. It takes guts, and observation to ask "is this the best we can do?"
From the page:<p>"KAZbrella is a symbol of inventive thinking. A design unchanged for 3000 years is turned inside out. "<p>Uh, no, that is factually incorrect!<p>There are one-hinge umbrellas which are the traditional kind. There are three-hinge umbrellas which are the highly compact kind. And now they've "invented" a two-hinge umbrella. Color me unimpressed.<p><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=three+hinge+umbrella" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/search?q=three+hinge+umbrella</a><p>I don't know exactly when the three hinge compact umbrella was invented, but they have existed for as long as I can remember. So that puts them at least 20-30 years old. And the technology isn't terribly complicated, though it does rely on fairly small diameter tubes with very thin walls. It wouldn't surprise me too much to learn that three hinge umbrellas were 100 years old or more.<p>So while they may have been the first people to make a two-hinge umbrella they were certainly not the first to improve on the single hinge design.
Water is trapped inside so basically this umbrella is a cup. All the water spread on its surface will be at the bottom of it after half an hour on a bus / metro train. Be careful when you get out and open it. You better turn it upside down and empty it.<p>Apart from that, it seems to be more convenient to open and close in a crowded environment (metro stairs in rush hour) than the traditional design.
It's nice that people are still trying to make improvements on old solutions to old problems, but I don't think I'll be buying this one.<p>I already solved my problems with umbrellas by buying a wide-brimmed hat instead. It reduced my needs for both sunglasses and umbrellas, and does not need to be stowed or carried.<p>In any case, my greatest problem with traditional umbrella design is inversion due to wind, not trying to enter a vehicle with it or the fact that it gets wet. Those problems have all been solved (separately) anyway. Inversion is mitigated by venting the canopy. Entering a vehicle is improved by one-handed, spring-assisted collapse levers in the handle. Its inherent wetness can be mitigated by hydrophobic fabric as the canopy. If the water does not stick, the dripping issue is solved by one shake before entering the dry space.<p>None of these problems seem to be helped much by making the canopy collapse in the opposite direction. I remain concerned that an inversion due to wind might not just be inconvenient, but that it will also damage the structure of this new product, or even force it to collapse instead of just invert its canopy.
My problem with the umbrella is that it is symmetric. If I hold it with my left hand, my right part becomes exposed, and vice versa. If I try to protect my backpack from getting wet, my front side get wet.
You really, really, need to add some more links to the bottom of your home page content.<p>I scrolled up and down multiple times looking for something along the lines of 'find out more'.<p>When I refound the learn more button, it just scrolled me down.<p>I was about to leave the site, and just noticed the tiny navigation in the upper right.<p>If your sell is Innovation, you need to prove it.
Someone elses umbrella is soaking my trousers and the solution for me is to buy a reversed umbrella?<p>Maybe the idea is nice but I don't think this is how you should promote your product.
When there's any hint of rain, I carry (and wear, if needed), a lightweight raincoat made from a breathable fabric. This means that when I am not wearing it I can fold it over my arm and not have to battle through a busy street, or on public transport with a stick-like thing.
Seems like you trade one problem for maybe a slightly lesser one... if the inside is wet, you still have to open it in the rain and thusly getting the dry side wet (but maybe not as wet).
Here is another design. The "air umbrella": [1]<p>[1] <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1243275397/air-umbrella" rel="nofollow">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1243275397/air-umbrella</a>
Back in 2006 I watched "American Inventor" Sheryl McDonald had a similar product as this KAZbrella but better. not only was it an "upsidedown" umbrella but when you collapsed the umbrella it was surrounded by a cover so no water would spill on you. here is a post that summarizes one episode that inludes her, I have been unable to find video of the show: <a href="http://www.fansofrealitytv.com/forums/official-articles/53790-american-inventor-4-20-recap-ed-ventures-stupidity.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.fansofrealitytv.com/forums/official-articles/5379...</a>
It seems funny but smart at the same time. I wanna know more about the wind resistance, however. I realize this might not be the design goal, but how does it compare with Senz, for example?
On a side note, I think that for products like this to be successful, they need to open source the design and the hardware. Yes, there will be the chinese knock-offs if I want to buy a cheap one, but those never have the desired quality that I desire.<p>By having it as a proprietary products, the product is relegated to a niche market, that too in a Umbrella market where people would be reluctant to shift from the time-tested design.
Previously on HN:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9437364" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9437364</a>
Is this spam? If I were to guess, this looks like some marketer trying to make a product go viral. But I looked at the poster's history, though, and brown-dragon doesn't seem to be a shill.<p>Am I missing something here? Are people actually excited about a minor change to the design of an umbrella?
The description on the front page is badly in need of editing -- word choice is awkward and stilted. The template you've used looks really unpolished for a product page.
The landing page doesn't communicate features, in particular, why this design is better than the old one - or even what the design <i>is</i>. This makes the whole thing highly suspect. It's hard to get enthusiastic about something who's utility is, at best, marginally better than what already exists.<p>I mean, if you want to improve the umbrella, you could make one with a highly reflective inner surface that doubles as a solar oven. Maybe even a solar oven on the top surface that works on sunny days, so you can keep the sun off you <i>and</i> cook food, at the same time. Or, I like umbrellas that have useful information printed on them, like subway maps. Or, how about a hollow handle made of clear material that lets you measure how much it's raining. Or maybe an umbrella on a gimbal, so that if it's windy some of the energy can be absorbed by angular momentum.