Product Requirements:
Four AA batteries
Living in dry West Texas, spring rains are definitely one of the things that
I hope for every year. Unfortunately since about 1996, the spring rains have not
been consistent and we have "enjoyed" hotter than usual weather and drier than
usual conditions. This year, things seem to be looking up. If rainfall continues
as it has been, 2004 may be the year in which we see an end to a long
drought cycle.
For once, our area seems to be experiencing
normal rainfall. What this
means is that people are actually carrying umbrellas around, almost in
anticipation of the possible storms.
Y’all know that I wouldn’t be caught dead carrying just any ol’ boring
umbrella, or one that just (gasp!) repels rain. This wonderfully wet spring I am
carrying the Bright Night
Illuminated Umbrella, available from
Wishing Fish. Available in
Red Stripe,
Green Wave,
Blue Ripple,
Black Droplet and
Blue-Brown Geo, there
is an eye-catching design for almost everyone.
I was fortunate enough to be sent the green version, which as most of you
know, is my favorite color.
Picture courtesy of Wishing Fish
Before I even begin to describe the umbrella, I want to tell you about the
case in which it arrives. Composed of a heavy weight clear plastic with
removable black plastic end-caps, this reusable 36" long x 4.75" wide tube features an adjustable
shoulder strap which makes it convenient to tote around.
Buying the umbrella and getting this storage tube is like getting two items
for the price of one. I tend to keep my umbrella by the front door or behind the
rear passenger seat in my ranch truck. I don’t want anything covering it that
would hamper easy access, so I am free to use the tube to store large paper
items in a rolled position. If you are an artist, draftsman, architect or anyone
that carries large paper items around, you will immediately see possible ways to use this
tube.
Now let’s take a look at the umbrella, itself…
Including batteries, the umbrella weighs just over one pound. It measures
three feet long and approximately 3" in diameter at it’s thickest point when
closed, this is a full size umbrella that opens to a generous 43" across. This
is plenty of room for two people to comfortably share. The canopy of the
umbrella is comprised of denier nylon and is securely attached to the spokes
radiating from the central shaft.
The comfortable handle is 8" x 1.25". Four AA batteries (not included) fit
inside behind a trap-door secured with a flathead screw. A rubberized button
that controls the the light is installed in the middle of the grip. There is a 6.5" wrist-strap attached to the handle, ending in a silver
bell-shaped fob.
The umbrella is kept closed with a metal and nylon branded strap which fastens
with a patch of velcro.
At the top of the umbrella’s inner shaft is a silver cylinder which holds one
bright white krypton bulb. The umbrella comes with two, so you have a backup.
As you have no doubt figured by now, when carrying the umbrella you have the
option of turning on the bright krypton bulb to illuminate your path. How
awesome is that on a dark rainy night? The umbrellas canopy lights up, as well
as the entire area beneath, all the way down to your toes.
This picture did not focus properly because it was taken in a very dark hallway
with no flash. You can see by the light thrown that the umbrella’s little light
bulb is no slacker! According to the information at the Wishing Fish web site, the four AA
batteries should provide four hours of light.
The Bright Night Illuminated Umbrella is a gorgeous display of color in a sea
of otherwise boring umbrella canopies. The addition of the light-bulb makes it a
convenient gadget for those that want the security of a lighted path while they
are walking in the rain on a gloomy night. I can’t tell you how much I have been
enjoying mine. If I had to pick one con it would be that I wish there was a
compact model available that could fit in my gear-bag.
Looking out of my window at the overcast conditions we are enjoying today
(along with the cooler temperatures), I can only hope that I will have many more
occasions to use this umbrella before another one of our notoriously hot and dry
summers begins…
The Bright Night Illuminated Umbrella is available from
The Wishing Fish
and other retailers.
Price: $38.00
Pros:
Generously sized umbrella with comfortable grip
White krypton bulb lights your path
Eye-catching canopy that stands out in a crowd
Cons:
No compact version available
Product Information
| Price: | 38.0 |
| Manufacturer: | Bright Night |
| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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What size of bulb is required
Believe it or not, I still have the umbrella; although the switch stopped working years ago and the batteries had been removed, the tiny lightbulb (roughly 9/10ths of an inch long) was still in place and is intact. It appears to (very faintly) have K6V0.5A etched on the side. I hope that helps! =)
Hi,
I think that this is a great idea and I love the colors. I just thought I would point out the 7 years bad luck coming to the person who is holding the opened umbrella inside of the house…tsk tsk :p
–Aequitas
That only counts if you are superstitious, which I am definitely not. 😉
I didn’t notice until afterwards that you posted it just as I clicked on it to view it lol….I edited my previous post after I found that out lol.
–Aequitas
I edited mine too. 🙂
I’m not either, that is why my posting was in a playful way instead of a “watch your back” way lol :p
–Aequitas
Gotcha :p
What is going on in Texas these past few days??? Every morning I get up and check the NEXRAD radar on http://www.rap.ucar.edu and there is Texas, getting hammered by another round of thunderstorms. A few days ago, there was a nasty line that came through from eastern New Mexico, three big supercells, one sporting a very distinct hook echo! I guess it’s supercell and tornado season now for you guys. For the last few days, it’s all thunderstorms, all the time. I hope that umbrella can withstand heavy winds from the outflow of such storms!!!! Straight-line winds and downdrafts can turn an umbrella into so much scrap pretty fast.
isobutane,
The umbrella is holding up very well – but I obviously don’t go out when it looks like tornado weather. 😉
I have no idea what is going on here in Tom Green County, but as long is it doesn’t include hail (my homeowners policy doesn’t need the hit) or a massive tornado in the middle of my block, I say keep it coming!
We had seen the 90s by this time last year, so the high 60s/low 70s of this spring are a welcome change.
Judie :0)
Every transmitter benefits from a larger antenna.
As long as this baby is already wired, why not add in a discreet antenna and some consumer electronics …
and pretty soon hey presto, you could have a wide-area cellphone jammer!
This could be a lot of fun.
Hi my name is Sean Murphy I am the Umbrella Guy/Inventor of Bright Night Umbrella, and for the Con’s of Bright Night comment that you wish I made a compact Bright Night, well you are in luck I do. Matter of Fact I have 10 new umbrellas that no one has ever seen before I am in Asia developing the Bright Night Line.
Cheers Sean.
P.S. it is bad luck to open umbrella inside because many years ago when the first Automatic open umbrella was invented people would push the button to open it and knock things over and break them inside the house. There you have the bad luck, the 7 years bad luck I believe is a mirror.
Hi Sean – we defintely look forward to seeing the new models! 🙂
Okay, I have that very same umbrella design (green swirl patttern) that I bought directly from the manfacturer http://www.bright-night.com. I think I bought mine back in 2012 or 13 and have only used it once since then and that was simply to walk around outside in the dark just to see if it would give off as bight a light as the pictures claimed it did or would. Eh, 1.)–It’s not all that bright and 2.) Because the tiny bulb only sits on one side of the stick…the canopy only lights up on one side or area, so to speak. Not the whole canopy lights up which is a bummer and a big let down! There needs to be 2 bulb housings, so that the entire umbrella canopy cover lights up–not just one side!
Another (pet peeve) thing about the design us the weirdly designedm rectangularly shaped handle where the on & off switch for the light is. It’s not a comfortable design to hold and that needs to change. Other than that, I think the ‘concept’ is good but the pricing is another (factor) along with the few flaws I’ve noticed and encountered, that keeps this *unique* umbrella stuck in it’s shell, collecting dust in the closet. It’s not an every day utility umbrella, as i’d be too afraid of losing it and my $65 I paid for it! I’m already mortified over leaving my nice, $10 big canopied umbrella at a ‘friends’ house who likes it so much that it never got returned! Imgaine if it had of been my more expensive one?!? Also…it must be kept in the protective shell to keep it in pristine condition. I had mine laying on the back floor in my truck behind the driver’s seat, without it’s protective shell. The lightbulb had receeded into the socket and I thought all was lost, a it wouldn’t come on….nor could I get the bulb out, so I just put it back into it’s shell and had considered throwing it away..but that darn $65 price tag haunted me, so I simply stuck it back into its’ shell and stuck it upright back in my closet. Well, when I got ready to move, I came across my expensive umbrella and out of pure curiousity, wanted to see if I could ‘fix’ it. Lo and behold…it had somehow fixed itself! The bulb had popped out of it’s socket and was now working–and has been ever since! Thank GOD, I could breathe a sigh of relief! And it’s been sitting in its’ protective shell ever since..well..until a few minutes ago that I took it out just to see if it still worked…and it does! 🙂