Comparison Xiaomi Mijia Automatic Umbrella vs Unit Fiber

The purpose determines the category of people for which the umbrella is designed.

— Male. Traditional men's umbrellas have a strict, discreet design, which usually goes well with a business style.

— Female. Umbrellas specially designed for women are usually designed to match, often with unusual colours, patterns, and the like.

— Children's. Children's umbrellas are distinguished primarily by their characteristic bright design with variegated colours; they can also carry drawings — for example, with popular cartoon or comic book characters. Also, many of these models are smaller than "adults" — otherwise it would be inconvenient for a child to use an umbrella.

— Unisex. Umbrellas without a pronounced "gender", equally well suited for both men and women. They can have a different design — from restrained to quite bright and catchy.

The presence in the design of the umbrella of reinforced elements and additional parts that provide protection from strong winds. Note that the essence of such protection is not so much the prevention of eversion, but the ability to withstand bad weather without breaking. In other words, most storm umbrellas can easily turn inside out, but they endure this trouble without any consequences and easily return to normal working shape. And the wind directed from the outside, they resist much better than ordinary ones. Therefore, if you often have to be outside during heavy rains with strong winds, it makes sense to pay attention to models with this function.

The material from which the umbrella frame is made. The frame in this case means mainly the central rod, however, the spokes are often made of the same material — unless otherwise indicated in the characteristics (see "Spoke material").

— Steel. One of the most popular options among modern umbrellas. Steel allows you to provide good indicators of strength and elasticity. It is worth noting that different types and grades of this material can be used in umbrellas, so the actual characteristics of a particular steel frame are directly related to the price category of the product. However, steel is used even in high-end premium models. Of its "global" shortcomings, one can only note a rather large weight.

— Aluminium. Aluminium alloys used in umbrellas are noticeably lighter than steel, but less durable. They can also have different characteristics, usually directly related to the price category of the respective model, however, in general, this material is considered less reliable, and therefore is found mainly in entry-level and mid-level umbrellas.

— Fiberglass. Material based on glass drawn into thin threads. It has little in common with ordinary window glass: it is highly durable, does not break, and bends well without damage. Actually, flexibility is one of the main advantages of fiberglass — it is this material that is often used in storm umbrellas(see above), because. such knitting needles easily endure repeated turning inside out and back.

— Fiberglass. A polymeric material combining the fiberglass described above with a plastic base. It costs much less than pure fiberglass, but loses to it in terms of performance, which is why it is found mainly in inexpensive models of umbrellas.

— CFRP. A composite material that combines fine carbon fiber fabric and a plastic base. Differs in extreme durability — some grades surpass even steel — at the same time it weighs very little; on the other hand, the cost of CFRP is quite high. As a result of all this, this material is used quite rarely in umbrellas, mainly among luxury products.

— Tree. Wood has a pleasant appearance, but is inferior to metal in strength. Therefore, it is used mainly as a design material in some cane umbrellas (see "Type") — and even then in such models only the central rod is usually made of wood, the rest of the parts are made of metal.

— Plastic. Pure plastic is poorly suited for the manufacture of frames for umbrellas: it is not strong enough and resistant to stress for this. Therefore, this option can only be found in the most inexpensive models, as well as in children's umbrellas (see "Purpose"), for which light weight and the absence of sharp edges are more important than high strength.

Note that some models can be equipped with combined frames: for example, the central rod is made of steel, and the spokes are made of fiberglass. This is usually indicated in the specifications.

The diameter of the umbrella dome when unfolded. The larger the diameter of the dome, the more reliably it will protect you from rain and the easier it will be to place one more person under the umbrella. On the other hand, a wide umbrella can be uncomfortable in tight spaces — for example, in the flow of pedestrians on a busy street — and when folded it will take up more space. Therefore, it does not always make sense to choose the largest of the available options.

The minimum diameter for an "adult" umbrella (see "Destination") is considered to be about 80 cm. Most models are in the range of 90 – 110 cm — this provides a good degree of protection with ease of movement. And in the largest modern products, the diameter of the dome can reach 150 cm.

The material of the dome is a canopy stretched between the spokes of the umbrella.

— Polyester. Synthetic material, the most popular among modern umbrellas. It has good strength and density, as well as water-repellent properties (although in its pure form it still gets wet sooner or later); in addition, it is resistant to temperature extremes and ultraviolet radiation. It is also worth noting that various additives can be used in polyester domes, which can significantly change the appearance and properties of the fabric — for example, it can easily be given a resemblance to silk or satin, provide additional water-repellent properties, etc. Therefore, we can say that such umbrellas are very diverse, and the properties of the dome largely depend on the price category of the product.

— Nylon. Synthetic material, somewhat similar to polyester, but cheaper — and in every sense: it is inexpensive, but it loses in a number of characteristics. In particular, nylon is not so strong and reliable, besides it is less pleasant to the touch, and after drying it can “sit down”. It is used mainly in low-cost models of umbrellas.

— Eponge. Cotton or silk fabric, characterized by an original surface texture — it resembles a sponge (hence the name — from the French eponge). However, unlike a regular sponge, pongee practically does not absorb moisture — on the contrary, it has excellent water-repellent properties and dries quickly. At the same time, the fabric has a...n original appearance, is pleasant to the touch, and its price is low, which makes it possible to use this material even in relatively inexpensive umbrellas.

— Silk. Silk provides the product with a luxurious appearance, but loses to other materials in terms of strength, and also gets very wet. As a result, this material is usually used in umbrellas from the sun (see "Application"), and among the "rain" is almost never found.

— PVC film. Distinctive features of a film based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are complete imperviousness, as well as transparency. This allows you to create on its basis not only classic umbrellas, but also the so-called birdcage ("birdcage") — models with a high dome, covering not only the head, but also the shoulders.

— Jacquard. Waterproof fabric, usually synthetic, having a so-called jacquard weave. Due to this, a specific texture pattern is visible on the surface of the dome, giving it an original appearance. On the other hand, jacquard is quite difficult to manufacture, and therefore expensive.

— Satin. Cotton or silk fabric with an additional water-repellent impregnation, having a satin weave. This weave gives a rather dense surface with a characteristic sheen, giving it a pleasant appearance. Satin is used mainly in design models of umbrellas, on the domes of which various patterns are applied.

— Polyamide. Polyamides is the general name for a number of synthetic fibers, in particular, capron and nylon (see above). They have good water-repellent properties, but the performance characteristics (durability, resistance to stretching, etc.) can be different — depending on the price category of the umbrella.

The type of clasp installed on the umbrella strap.

We are talking about a strap that tightly secures the dome in the closed position. Most often, Velcro or a button is used as a fastener, and in some models a button is used. Here is a description of each option:

- Velcro. The most popular type of fastener these days. Velcro is inexpensive, extremely compact (in particular, it does not protrude above the strap, unlike buttons), and is also easy to use - so they can be found in all price categories of umbrellas. The main disadvantage of such devices is that as they wear out, their effectiveness drops noticeably - to the point that at one point the Velcro stops holding it at all. However, the service life of such fasteners is still usually quite long, and worn-out Velcro can be replaced without any problems or costs in a workshop or even on your own.

- Button. The clasp is in the form of a characteristic metal button, like clothing buttons. Such devices are much more reliable and durable than Velcro, but they are more expensive and somewhat less convenient: unfastening the button requires a certain amount of force, and fastening it also requires greater precision. In addition, not all users like the part that noticeably protrudes from the strap when the umbrella is closed. In light of this, buttons are used much less often than Velcro, and mainly in models of the middle and to...p price categories (with rare exceptions).

- Button. An ordinary button that, when fastened, is threaded into a loop. From a practical point of view, such fasteners are noticeably inferior to Velcro and buttons - they are not as reliable, and they are not particularly convenient. Therefore, buttons can be found extremely rarely in our time - in individual cane umbrellas in the “retro” style, where such a fastener is used primarily as a characteristic design element.

Total weight of the umbrella.

All other things being equal, lighter umbrellas are more convenient to carry (both in the open and closed positions). On the other hand, such products are less reliable and/or more expensive than relatively heavy models of similar design and size. We also note that in some cases, significant weight can be an advantage. For example, in a strong wind, a massive umbrella does not “tear from your hands” as much, and when released, it does not fly as far as a lighter one.