Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

While many people carry umbrellas when walking around the city or hiking out to a car in a distant work parking lot, the umbrella isn't a common piece of gear in the outdoors. Why? It's not that you couldn't benefit from an umbrella; in fact, storms are quite tough to predict and an umbrella could be invaluable. However, an umbrella is rather heavy and bulky. A poncho can suffice.

Now, what if you combined the umbrella with another backcountry necessity? Maybe then you could justify packing it. The Euroschirm Light Trek Flashlite combines an umbrella and flashlight into one handy device. You need a flashlight anyway so why not get a little umbrella with it. The three-LED flashlight can be unscrewed from the umbrella handle and used separately. The 12.4 ounces isn't too much of a weight sacrifice, either.  Being able to temporarily escape the rain without trying to pitch a tent would be a great convenience.

Euroschirm also makes a variety of other tiny umbrellas designed specifically for hiking and trekking. Some of them can fit in a shirt pocket. If you ever wished that you had an umbrella out on the trail, be sure to check them out.

• rain_gear
• umbrella
• flashlight
• LED
• backpacking
• hiking